As a former NCAA champion for the Oregon Ducks, Matthew Centrowitz Jr. is comfortable in front of the crowd at Hayward Field, and he knows how to feed off of its energy. So he was comfortably near the front of the pack as it approached the final 200 meters in the Bowerman Mile at the Prefontaine Classic.
Sitting in second place with 200 meters to go, Centrowitz heard the growing roar of the crowd and decided it was time to make his move on defending champion Ayanleh Souleiman, who had been just a step ahead of him the whole race.
“I was on his shoulder pretty much the last 400 meters, and I thought I was going to get him all the way through that last lap,” said Centrowitz. “I was definitely not underestimating what he might have had left in the tank. He is so strong in that last 100, so I tried to kind of hold back a little extra something as well.”
The little bit that Centrowitz did have left in the tank was not enough to out-kick Souleiman, who went on to win the race in 3 minutes, 51.10 seconds.
Centrowitz never let up, staying on Souleiman’s shoulder through the tape and crossing in 3:51.20.
“He had a step on me in that last 100, and he finished with a step on me. But it was a good battle,” said Centrowitz. “I think I tried pulling up on him once unsuccessfully, so I tried it again. That’s all I really had in me today.”
Sitting behind Centrowitz were two dueling Kenyans, Silas Kiplagat and Asbel Kiprop. Competing against each other in their fifth straight Bowerman Mile, the two were no strangers to one another after trading the No.1 ranking in the world every year since 2009.
Kiplagat was running steadily in third place around the Bowerman Curve, but Kiprop, the only three-time winner of the Bowerman Mile, would not let his rival finish before him.
Kiprop out-kicked Kiplagat in the last 100 meters, crossing the finish line just .67 ahead of his fellow Kenyan at 3:51.25.
“I kicked as hard as I could in the last 100, but I was not able to get close to the leaders,” said Kiprop. “I think if I was closer to the leaders with about 300 to go, I could have caught them.”
In a race that is known for its history in posting sub-3:50 miles, no runner was able to break that mark this year, breaking a six-year streak.
“This is a meet where you have all of the best runners in the world, so coming in here and competing with them is the most important thing,” said Centrowitz. “I am happier with a 3:51 and finishing second today than finishing in 3:49 and finishing 10th.”
