Former Olympic Champion Matthew Centrowitz withdraws from U.S. Olympic Trials due to persisting health issues

Matthew Centrowitz announced that he would not compete in the US Olympic Track and Field Trials in the wake of a hamstring injury. Earlier in March, he talked about retiring after the 2024 outdoor season but his recent update implied a premature exit.

Centrowitz won the 1500m gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, thus becoming the first American to win the event since Mel Sheppard in 1908. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, he coasted through and clocked a time of 3:41.12 in the 1500m heats. However, a ninth-place finish in the semifinals wasn't enough to see him qualify for the final.

Matthew Centrowitz took to Twitter to confirm that he would not compete in the Olympic Trials due to health issues. The 34-year-old said that he got sick after the LA Grand Prix while also straining his hamstring.

Centrowitz said that he went to Eugene, the venue for the Olympic Trials to spend time with his family and friends.

"Unfortunately, I Won't be having the fairytale ending I was hoping to have this week at my fourth Olympic Trials. I got sick right after the LA Grand Prix meet that took me out for a week and then strained my hamstring the following week. It's been equally difficult physically and mentally the last 3 weeks staying optimistic that I'd be able to still complete. Unfortunately I ran out of time. My hamstring won't allow me to run pace intervals, but I am able to jog now. I still traveled to Eugene to hang out and celebrate with family & friends who came to see me race, " Matthew Centrowitz's caption read.

Matthew Centrowitz on his retirement in 2024 - "Mentally where I’m at with it, like this is it for me"

Matthew Centrowitz at the Tokyo Olympics

Matthew Centrowitz underwent an ACL surgery in May 2022 but the impact of it lingered. He was consistently running slow races, since coming back to the competition at his age [34] was hard (as per his statement).

Therefore, he was mentally prepared to end his track career after his last shot at the 2024 Summer Games.

"Mentally where I’m at with it, like this is it for me. Like this is my last year. This is it, so, of course, I wouldn’t be here racing and continuing to do it if I didn’t think I would give myself a shot come end of June to make that Olympic team, " he said to NBC.

In May 2024, Matthew Centrowitz competed at the 2024 LA Grand Prix, winning the bronze medal by clocking 3:35.16 in the 1500m. He ran four other outdoor races in 2024 with a goal to make his fourth Olympic team.