Matthew Centrowitz of Annapolis, Maryland, ran from the front and held off Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria at the line to win the gold medal in the men's 1,500 meters, an event Team USA hadn’t won in more than a century.
Nick Willis of New Zealand took bronze. The favorite, Kenya’s Asbel Kiprop, fell halfway through the race and could not get back into medal contention, finishing sixth.
Centrowitz, the son of American University track and cross country coach Matt Centrowitz, finished in 3:50.00 as his friends and family celebrated wildly in the stands.
“Doing my victory lap, I literally kept screaming to everyone I know, ‘Are you kidding me?’” Centrowitz said.
Centrowitz won the silver medal at the 2013 world championships and took fourth at the 2012 London Games. His father also qualified for two Olympics, in 1976 and 1980.
Centrowitz went professional after graduating from the University of Oregon, where he holds two school records and was a PAC-10 champion for three straight years. He won the NCAA 1500m title, as well as his first U.S. 1500m title in 2011.
He won the 1500m in 3:34.09 at Olympic trials -- a new Olympic trials record.
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Matt Centrowitz also ran at Oregon, qualifying for the Olympics in 1976 and setting a then-school record of 3:36.7 for 1500 meters. After college, he qualified for the 1980 Olympic Team at 5,000 meters and won four consecutive national titles from 1979-1982.
The last American to win the men's 1,500 was Mel Sheppard at the 1908 London Olympics.
