The 2020 Tokyo Olympics turned out to be a celebration for the winners. But it has also been heartbreaking for the athletes who could not win any medals for their country despite giving their best. These star athletes fought their way among many other athletes in their country to fly to Tokyo.
However, it was just not their time. One of these much-anticipated athletes who was competing in the ongoing Olympics but lost their chance to compete in the final is Matthew Centrowitz Jr.
Centrowitz Jr. is the son of the former Olympian Matthew Centrowitz. Like his father, Centrowitz Jr. is also a skilled track and field athlete who even won gold in the 2016 Olympic in the 1500m race.
The defending champion is a four-time Pac-10 winner who gave his best in the Olympics and even secured second place in the heat 2. But sadly, he couldn’t compete in the final after securing 9th place in the semifinal.
Biography & Wiki Summary
| Popular Name | Matthew Centrowitz Jr. |
| Real Name | Matt Centrowitz Jr. |
| Date of birth | October 18, 1989 |
| Age | 34 years old |
| Place of birth | Beltsville, Maryland |
| Father | Matthew Centrowitz |
| Mother | Beverly Bannister Centrowitz |
| Siblings | Two |
| Sisters | Lauren Centrowitz Marrisa Centrowitz |
| Status | Single |
| Ex-girlfriend | Shelby Houlihan |
| Occupation | Professional track and field athlete |
| Net worth | 1.5 Million USD |
| Nationality | American |
| Ethnicity | Mixed |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Zodiac | Libra |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Weight | 60 kgs |
| Measurement | Unknown |
| Hair color | Black |
| Eye color | Brown |
| Complexion | Dusky |
| Instagram id | mgcentro |
| MattCentrowitz |
Matthew Centrowitz Jr. Net Worth and Earnings
Centrowitz Jr. is one of the skilled track and athletes of the USA. He has won many championships, including the gold that he earned in the 2016 Olympic finals.
All these have earned him a great deal of fame and fortune. From being an athlete solely, he has managed to make his net worth 1.5 Million USD.
Height, Weight, and Physical Measurements
The Nike Sponsored athlete has a well-built muscular body and weighs around only 60 kgs. All his training has made his abs and other muscles ripped.
Despite having a great body, Centrowitz Jr. has a height of only 5 ft and 9 in, shorter than other athletes.
RELATED: American track and field athlete Devon Allen’s wiki.
Matthew Personal Life and Family
Centrowitz Jr. was born in Beltsville to a two-time Olympic runner father, Matt, and mother, Beverly. While his mother is from Guyana, his father is also of a mix of Irish and Jewish.
The family later moved to Arnold. Centrowitz Jr., and his sisters, Lauren and Marrisa, grew up there.
As growing up, his father had a great deal of influence on him and his sisters. He was an All-American runner and also the track and field coach of American University.
Because of his father, all kids started developing an interest in track and field.
Centrowitz Jr. started his career ever since he was in high school and became a professional athlete. Like him and his father, his sister, Lauren is also a great runner.
Lauren even qualified for the 2012 Olympics along with Centrowitz Jr. Besides track, she also has a Master’s degree majoring in Justice, Law, and society.
Centrowitz Jr. has a very close relationship with his family. His family is always there to cheer him on his games and is more proud than ever.
Matthew’s Girlfriend and Relationship
The 2016 gold medalist was dating his fellow 1500m runner Shelby Houlihan till last year. However, the athlete couple broke up.
Despite breaking up, the former couples are still on good terms with each other. Centrowitz Jr. even came to support his ex-girlfriend when she got banned for using nandrolone.
Education and High School
Centrowitz Jr. did his schooling from Annapolis at Track star Broadneck High school.
After high school was over, he enrolled at the University of Oregon and graduated with a sociology degree.
Career
The 34 year-old 2016 Olympic gold medalist officially started his journey in track and field during his high school.
During his high school, he won a 2-mile race during the Nike Outdoor Nationals. It became the best race in history at the prep level. His time of 8:41.55 became the best high school time.
After such great success, Centrowitz Jr. took part in many more championships in the same year. He took part in the Penn Relays and set a new record time of 4:08.38. He also set the Maryland State record of running over 1600m in 4:04.09.
After wrapping up his prep career, he followed the footsteps of his father. He joined the University of Oregon and started playing with the Oregon Ducks.
While still in college, he, along with his teammates Andrew Wheating, Galen Rupp, and Shadrack Kiptoo, broke the previous record in the 4xmile race.
He took part in other championships before starting his professional career in 2011. His professional career had a great start as he won the world championship in the same year.
Later, Nike also approached him to be part of its Nike Oregon Project. He accepted the offer and continued his career with Nike.
Centrowitz Jr. continued achieving more and more during his career. He even qualified for the 2012 London Olympics in the 1500m and got fourth place in the final.
It was just the starting as he again represented the USA in the 2016 Rio Olympics. This time he won the final and brought the gold home. He became the first American athlete to win the gold since 1908.
His journey in the Olympics started again for the third time this year after securing second place in the 1500m during the US Olympic trial games. Cole Hocker had a legendary finish to pass Matthew Centrowitz to win U.S. track and field trials race,
He flew to Tokyo along with his team and gave an excellent performance during the heat. He came in second during the heat and moved to the semi-finals.
However, his journey in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics ended after he came in ninth place in the semi-final.
The defending gold medalist could not defend his spot this year. But we hope that in the next Olympics, he will reclaim his title.
Controversy
In 2015, Centrowitz Jr., along with other members of the Nike Oregon Project, got accused of doping during the game. Many big media like ProPublica, BBC were calling them out for cheating during the games. The media accused them of using the banned testosterone.
Initially, the athletes ignored it. But, when things got out of hand, Centrowitz Jr. spoke on behalf of Nike and its members. He shared that the allegations were baseless.
While clarifying things, he mentioned that those allegations were far from the truth and the only supplements he took were either Iron or Vitamin C.
