RIO DE JANEIRO _ Matthew Centrowitz became the first American since 1908 to win international middle distance running's premier event, the Olympic 1,500-meter final.
Centrowitz controlled a slow tactical race from the outset and then held off defending Olympic champion Taoufik Makhloufi of Algeria with a blistering 50.62 final lap.
Centrowitz was clocked in 3 minutes, 50.00 seconds, Makhloufi 3:50.11.
