Centrowitz officially leaves Nike Oregon Project...
Centrowitz told letsrun.com writer Jonathan Gault after the USATF 5k road championship hosted by the Abbott Dash to the Finish Line in New York’s Central Park that he has left the Alberto Salazar-led Nike Oregon Project.
Centrowitz wore the standard 2018 Nike elite racing kit (see photo) instead of the current Nike Oregon Project uniform Saturday at the USATF 5k road championship, where he finished eighth in 14:02.
He finished off his weekend in New York by working for ESPN as an analyst in the men's race at the TCS New York City Marathon.
Monday, Salazar spoke to the Oregonian’s Ken Goe, stating, "He has let us know he is not running with the Oregon Project. I’m not coaching him.”
The 29-year old Centrowitz joined the Nike Oregon Project after leaving the University of Oregon, where he won the Pac-10 title three times, and the NCAA title in the 1500.
Under Salazar’s tutelage, he won the Olympic title in the 1500 in Rio in 2016, the first by an American at that distance since 1908.
He is the second Olympic gold medalist to leave the Nike Oregon Project, as double Olympic 5000/10000 champ Mo Farah left after the Rio Olympics to concentrate on the marathon.
After not qualifying for the finals of the 1500 at the IAAF World Track & Field Championships in London, he moved to Washington, DC from Portland. He was coached by Salazar long distance with input from Matt Centrowitz, his father and former coach at American University.
The younger Centrowitz moved back to the West Coast after his father took the job as head coach at Manhattan College in New York, and his best friend and American assistant coach Chris Kwiatkowski was hired as an assistant at the University of Washington by new head coach Andy Powell, who coached Centrowitz at Oregon.
In the 2018 season, Centrowitz won his fifth USATF title in the 1500, and won the IAAF Diamond League stop in London. He ran a season best of 3:31.77 at the Herculis Meeting in Monaco in July, a mark which was the ninth fastest in the world this year, and the fastest by an American.
Though no announcement has been made, and with his new role as a volunteer coach at the University of Washington, Husky head coach Andy Powell and/or close friend and Husky assistant Chris Kwiatkowski are the most logical choices to coach Centrowitz moving forward. Powell is already coaching 2018 Pac-12 1500 meter champion and Oregon grad Sam Prakel, so Centrowitz would have a ready-made training partner in Prakel.
"It's been an honor having Matthew in the Oregon Project," Salazar said. "We wish him success going forward."
Centrowitz will continue to be sponsored by Nike.
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