#matt centrowitz

IAAF World Indoors 2016

Algeria's Abdellatif Baka wins the gold medal in the men's 1,500-meter T13 final during the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (AP Photo)

Algerian Abdellatif Baka won the Paralympic gold in men’s 1,500m for the visually impaired — the T13 category —  setting a new world record, clocking 3 minutes 48.29 seconds. Baka’s timing bested the timing of Rio Olympic gold medalist Matthew Centrowitz, who finished the 1,500m in 3 minutes 50 seconds.

The 1,500m T13 category garnered a lot of attention for the aforementioned factor. Furthermore, the contestants who came in second, third and fourth — Tamiru Demisse (3:48.49); Henry Kirwa (3:49.59), and Fouad Baka (3.49.84) — all finished faster than Olympic champion Centrowitz; a remarkable feat, indeed.

However, that doesn’t undermine the achievement of Centrowitz, as there is more to the story beyond the first glance.

1,500m is all about running smart. It requires not just pace, but strategy also. Akin to a game of chess, the contestants will resort to tactics — which sometimes would require them to run slow —  to gain an edge over their fellow runners.

On the contrary, the visually impaired paralympians, who obviously couldn’t see their fellow contestants, maintained their pace throughout, running as fast as they could.

In the case of Centrowitz, his timing at Rio was one of the slowest in the recent Olympics history, since Luigi Beccali in the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics. After his win, Centrowitz told reporters that the race could have gone either way, fast or slow, and he was prepared to change his strategy accordingly.

The race started off slowly, and the runners maintained that tempo till they passed the 800m mark.

Centrowitz’s personal best in 1500m category is 3:30.40, about 20 seconds less than his timing in Rio (3.50) .