Matthew Centrowitz 10 Years After Rio: Olympic Gold, Cole Hocker, Josh Kerr & the Golden Age of the 1500m
LetsRun.com's Track Talk: The Home of Running and Track and FieldShow Notes
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EPISODE SUMMARY
On the 10-year anniversary of Matthew Centrowitz's iconic Olympic 1500-meter gold in Rio, the 2016 champion joins Jonathan Gault and Weldon Johnson to reflect on the race that changed American distance running.
Centro reveals why the final was so slow, breaks down the decisive inside move that won him gold, and explains why winning left him struggling for motivation.
The trio dives into Cole Hocker's unorthodox tactics, Josh Kerr's 3:42 mile, the unprecedented parity in the men's 1500, and Centro's new lifeβincluding a Chicago Marathon side bet with Evan Jager and Kyle Merber. The episode closes with an epic trivia showdown.
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LINKS
Matthew Centrowitz's 2016 Olympic 1500m Final
TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Rio Olympic 1500m Audio from NBC
01:05 Aletheia.Run Sponsor
02:09 Start of Podcast: The 10-Year Anniversary of Rio Gold
03:38 Blessing and a Curse: Life After Winning
09:02 How Mainstream Was the Olympic Gold?
14:28 Contracts and Fame in Track and Field
19:02 Breaking Down the Rio 1500 Final
21:53 The Patent Move and a 450-Meter Kick
25:45 Why the Race Was So Slow
27:07 Behind the Scenes: The Brazil Soccer Delay
30:37 Unprecedented Parity in the Men's 1500
34:28 Will Fast Championship Racing Continue?
39:01 Josh Kerr's 3:42 and the Depth of the Event
42:45 Cole Hocker's Tactics Analyzed
49:43 Centro's Relationship with Hocker
53:48 Ben Thomas's Unorthodox Training System
56:57 Life After Running: What Centro Is Doing Now
57:52 Chicago Marathon Side Bet with Jager and Merber
64:57 Trivia Warm-Up: Centro's Career
64:57 Centro's Dad and the 1976 Olympic Trials
68:10 From NCAA Races to Daegu Bronze
76:02 The Heartbreaking 2012 Olympic Fourth Place
77:25 General Track and Field Trivia
78:06 Women's 1500 Debut and Distance Firsts
82:11 Sub-Eight Steeple and Mo Farah's Losses
85:46 Centro vs. Galen Rupp at Pac-10s
88:13 Racing Kerr, Jakob, and the Motorcycle Story
94:01 Kip Keino's Olympic Legacy
94:58 1500 Meter Legends Lightning Round
99:06 Mile and 1500 Barrier Breakers
100:56 Final Question: First Sub-3:30 1500m
CONTACT
Email: [email protected]
Call or text: 1-844-LETSRUN (1-844-538-7786)
ABOUT THE LETSRUN.COM PODCAST
Since 2000, LetsRun.com has been the independent home of elite running. Described by the New York Times as the "influential website that serves as something of a superego for American running," the podcast is the weekly deep dive into the world of track and field and elite distance running.
The show is hosted by LetsRun.com co-founders Weldon Johnson, a 2-time Team USA member, and Robert Johnson, a former Cornell coach who helped pace the marathon world record, along with award-winning senior writer Jonathan Gault. Together they move beyond PR headlines to provide insider reporting and unfiltered debate serious fans rely on.
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