NEW YORK (AP) – Matthew Centrowitz realizes there’s always a chance he could wake up feeling ill the morning of his race at the Rio Olympics or the U.S. trials.
As he put it Saturday after defending his title in the Wanamaker Mile at the 109th Millrose Games: “You’re not allowed to call it a day and reschedule.”
The two-time world championships medalist was fighting off an upper-respiratory infection this week, and on Friday night he considered dropping out of the storied indoor meet. A phone call with coach Alberto Salazar convinced him to compete and go after his third Wanamaker title, though he couldn’t run the race as aggressively as he would have liked. Centrowitz didn’t keep tabs on his splits as he ran, simply trying to win.
The 26-year-old American made his move with a lap to go to pull ahead of New Zealand’s Nick Willis and wasn’t expecting to see this time on the scoreboard: 3 minutes, 50.63 seconds – a meet record. This is the fifth year that the meet has been held at the Armory and its faster track after the move from Madison Square Garden.
“That was a pretty big surprise, but it also allows me to know this could be a pretty good year for me,” said Centrowitz, who dropped to a knee and did a windmill on his air guitar in celebration.