Matthew Centrowitz, who won the gold medal at the 2016 Olympics, pulled out of the 1,500-meter competition at the U.S. Olympic trials on Friday due to a hamstring injury, just hours before racing was set to begin in Eugene, Ore.
Centrowitz ended a 108-year drought for U.S. men’s Olympians in the 1,500 meters when he won the event in a stunning upset in Rio de Janeiro. He was hoping to become a four-time Olympian in 2024 but that bid was derailed by an injury.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be having the fairytale ending I was hoping to have this week,” Centrowitz said in a social media post.
The 34-year-old said he came down with an illness after competing in the Los Angeles Grand Prix in mid-May and then injured the hamstring once he resumed training.
“It’s been equally difficult physically and mentally the last 3 weeks staying optimistic that I’d be able to still compete,” Centrowitz said. “Unfortunately I ran out of time. My hamstring still won’t allow me to run race pace intervals.”
Centrowitz was the first American to win gold in the 1,500 since Mel Sheppard in 1908. Jim Lightbody (1904) is the only other American to win the event.
–Field Level Media