Former Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz withdraws from U.S. track and field trials due to injury
Anne Arundel County native and former Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz withdrew from the 2024 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials on Thursday night, announcing the decision on his social media platforms.
Centrowitz, who won the 1,500-meter run at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, said a lingering hamstring injury has derailed his dream of qualifying for the Olympics for the fourth time. The 34-year-old was slated to compete in the 1,500 trials, which began Friday with preliminary heats in Eugene, Oregon.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be having the fairytale ending I was hoping to have this week at my fourth Olympic Trials,” Centrowitz wrote in a post to X, formerly Twitter.
Centrowitz reported that he got sick shortly after competing in the Los Angeles Grand Prix meet in mid-May and missed a week of training as a result. One week later, he suffered a hamstring strain that completely derailed preparation for the Olympic Trials.
“It’s been equally difficult physically and mentally the last three weeks staying optimistic that I’d be able to still compete,” Centrowitz wrote. “Unfortunately, I ran out of time. My hamstring still won’t allow me to run race pace intervals, but I am able to jog now.”
Centrowitz nonetheless traveled to Eugene where the trials are being held from June 21-30 at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. He did so to “hang out and celebrate with family and friends who came to watch me race. So if you see me around Eugene the next few days, don’t be bashful.”
The 2007 Broadneck High graduate became the first American in 108 years to claim an Olympic championship in the 1,500 by winning a tactical race.
Centrowitz made his first Olympic team as a 22-year-old and finished fourth in the 1,500 at the 2012 Olympics in London. The seven-time All-American at Oregon qualified for the Olympics for a third time in 2021 after finishing second in the U.S. Trials following a memorable duel with Cole Hocker.
Centrowitz did not advance to the finals of the 1,500 at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, after placing ninth in his semifinal heat.
Agent Ricky Simms of Pace Management, who has represented Centrowitz throughout his professional career, told the website LetsRun.com that his client suffered the hamstring injury three days before the Prefontaine Classic. Centrowitz withdrew from that meet and the New York City Grand Prix that was held June 9.
Simms said Centrowitz made one last attempt at a training run at Hayward Field on Thursday.
“He’s able to run, but he hasn’t had any workouts,” Simms said. “This thing won’t let him do the quality work he needs to be competitive. If he was 85% or even 90% he’d try. He tried to do some strides [Thursday], but it’s just not letting him go.”
Centrowitz hinted that he is considering retirement by beginning his social media post with the following statement: “Finding it very difficult to come up with the right words for this Tweet/post. How do you say goodbye to a sport you’ve competed at and obsessed over for half of your life.”
Simms declined comment when asked if Centrowitz would compete again in 2024 or retire from professional running after 13 years. “We haven’t discussed that yet,” Simms said.
Centrowitz grew up in Arnold and captured several state championships in cross country as well as indoor and outdoor track. As a senior in 2007, he set the Maryland state record in the 1,600 with a time of 4:04.09.
Navy athletes at trials
Navy sprinter Nathan Kent advanced to the 400-meter semifinals at the U.S. Olympic Trials with a sizzling performance on Thursday evening.
Kent set a Navy record by blazing a time of 45.42 seconds to finish fourth in his preliminary heat and 15th overall out of 33 runners. He broke the previous school record of 45.68 seconds that was established by Torrance Chaplin in 2000.
Kent advances to the semifinals that will be held Sunday night (9:35 p.m.) and broadcast on NBC and Peacock. The 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior must finish first or second in his heat or post one of the three fastest times beyond the six automatic qualifiers. There are three semifinal heats and a total of nine runners advance to the finals.
Quincy Hall, a South Carolina graduate who runs for Adidas, posted the fastest preliminary time of 44.60 seconds. Bryce Dedmon, a Texas A&M graduate who runs for Nike, had the ninth-fastest time of 45.21.
“I’m just happy to have this opportunity and my goal is to make it to the finals. I think I can compete for that,” Kent said prior to departing for Eugene.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior praised Navy director of track and field Jamie Cook for his ability to prepare athletes for important competitions and added that he was “feeling pretty confident.”
“I feel like I have a shot. We feel like we belong with the big dogs,” said Kent, who is also a wide receiver on the Navy football team.
Kent is coming off a 13th place finish in the 400 meters at the NCAA Championships, earning second team All-American honors by clocking a time of 45.85.
Meanwhile, Navy javelin thrower Braden Presser also competed at the U.S Trials on Thursday night and failed to advance after throwing 211-feet, 3-inches. The 2024 academy graduate earned All-American honors for the third time by placing 16th at the NCAA Championships with a throw of 226-10.
Navy has two other athletes competing at the Olympic Trials in hurdlers Brahmir Vick and Jacques Guillaume. Vick, a recent graduate, will run his preliminary heat of the 110-meter hurdles on Monday. Guillaume, a rising senior, will run the first round of the 400-meter hurdles on Thursday.
Vick was among four Navy athletes to receive All-American honors as a result of their performances at the NCAA Championships. Vick finished 16th in the 110-meter hurdles with a time of 13.66 seconds that was third-fastest in program history.