by Larry Eder
CENTROWITZ AND LAGAT SHARE SPECIAL BOND ENTERING NYRR MILLROSE GAMES
By Chris Lotsbom, @ChrisLotsbom
(c) 2015 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used with permission.
NEW YORK (12-Feb) — On the track, American miler Matthew Centrowitz wears an intimidating game face, eyes always focused forward above his Nike Oregon Project skull-emblazoned singlet. Away from the track, however, Centrowitz’s true personality shines bright, a playful and relaxed 25-year-old who, in front of a room full of media members, offers love advice to Olympic gold medalist Ashton Eaton and utters playful jabs at American record holder Bernard Lagat.
Of all the athletes appearing at today’s 108th NYRR Millrose Games press conference, Centrowitz appears most like Lagat, a fun-loving 40-year-old who has raced at four Olympics. While they may have been born more than a decade apart, the pair share a brotherly bond that has rapidly developed on and off the track since 2011.
At the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, Centrowitz approached Lagat for advice before a semi-final round of the 1500m. It was at that point that a connection blossomed, Lagat calming the college-aged runner and offering up a few tactical points. The advice clearly worked, as Centrowitz won his semi-final and eventually claimed a bronze medal in 3:36.08.
“When I first came onto the professional scene, I remember very well picking his mind on how I should run,” Centrowitz recalled fondly, pausing to reflect on the time that has passed since 2011. “We’ve built up this nice relationship where it’s playful, we’re always joking with each other [off the track]… He’s just such a nice, humbling guy. It’s easy to get along with him.”
Since Lagat turned 40 on December 12 of last year, Centrowitz has teased his friend and mentor about being “over the hill.” Prior to last week’s New Balance Indoor Grand Prix –where Lagat set a master’s world record for 3000m– the pair shared a memorable moment.
“I said, ‘you know, if you run 3:55 [at the NYRR Millrose Games] and get the world [master’s] record, and I run faster in 3:50, then you’re going to get more press,'” recalled Centrowitz. Lagat’s response to the statement was priceless, a friend putting his junior pal in place: “And I should!”
Since becoming an American citizen in 2005, Lagat has become the face of track and field in the United States, qualifying for the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games and setting a plethora of American records from the 1500m to 5000m. Even more, he has become an ambassador of the sport to thousands of young athletes around the nation.
Centrowitz aspires to one day fill the void left when Lagat steps away from the sport, a tall order that likely will come after the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“I realize that’s a big task to say. He obviously holds so many records and has been running for so long that he’s definitely a guy I emulate and would love to have a career like his,” Centrowitz told Race Results Weekly. “I look up to him.”
Lagat would be very proud passing the torch on to Centrowitz, who he has admired since the former was running at the University of Oregon.
“He is a gentleman and I like the way he is dedicated, the way he has trained with his coach, and the way he approaches races,” Lagat said. “He’s not one of those guys who you can see with a lot of nervousness or anything like that. He can still compose himself, crack jokes, and you can tell those are the people that will really succeed. He is going to have a lot of success in the future.”
On Saturday, the pair will face off in the NYRR Wannamaker Mile, seeking both the race title and a pair of records: Centrowitz thinks he is capable of re-writing Lagat’s American Indoor record in the discipline (3:49.89), while Lagat hopes to break Eamonn Coghlan’s Master’s Indoor Mile world record of 3:58.15, set in 1994.
“He is the guy I’ve always seen, since he was at Oregon, running as hard as possible,” Lagat said of his friend and competitor. “This is the guy, I knew, he was going to be the best professional.”
Centrowitz will have roughly 20 friends and family in the stands on Saturday, wearing Centrowitz-themed t-shirts. The thought ofracing his mentor in front of friends and family, with the very real possibility of an American record being set, brings a genuine grin to Centrowitz’s face.
“To win in a year when there’s such a deep field kind of solidifies how good of a runner and how well you run,” he said. “I always like to put on a good show and I’m not going to come out here and get my butt kicked or not be in good shape. I bring my ‘A’ game and want to compete well in front of my family and friends.”
Among those friends Centrowitz will try to not only impress, but also defeat: one Bernard Lagat.
