BY Elliot Denman // Photo by Kim Spir

LONDON – The United States brought two battle-hardened veterans and one rookie to compete in the men’s 1,500 meters at the recent World Championships here.

Sure enough, it was the newcomer – 25-year-old Johnny Gregorek, Columbia graduate and the son of an Olympic steeplechaser, his namesake, John Gregorek – who made the final.

His teammates in the event, both of whom ran for the U.S. in the Olympics a year ago, bowed out early.

Team USA’s 1,500-meter team came to London riding a string of recent brilliance, and a story line to match – all three the sons of outstanding runners who themselves became top-notch coaches – and all thought to be in good form. All three are also Armory veterans, seen here many times training or competing, from high school and beyond.

But there were to be no repeats of the Rio Olympics, where Matthew Centrowitz won it all, the first gold medal for the U.S. in the event in more than a century. 

(Consider other recent international success by Americans in the event – Silver by Centrowitz in the 2013 outdoor Worlds in Moscow, followed by his victory at the indoor Worlds a year ago. Silver for Leo Manzano at the 2012 London Olympics. Bronze for Centro in ’11 and Lagat in ’09 in Berlin. Gold for Lagat in Osaka in ’07. The U.S. has become an established player in the event after decades of disappointment.)

In his first-round race – with most of the focus on him as Olympic champion – Centrowitz faded to the back of the field and finished 14^th and last, in a shabby 3:48.34.

He’d been battling a series of ailments all year, he said. He wasn’t at his best when he ran second to Andrews at the USA Nationals in Sacramento.

“It’s kind-of been a culmination of all the things that have gone on this year, all the things I’ve been battling,” said Centrowitz, the son of Matt Centrowitz, the former Olympic runner and recently retired coach at American University.

“After USAs, I’ve already given enough excuses,” the younger Centrowitz, now 27, said. “This year is more than I’ve ever had in one season … I never felt like I was able to get more than a couple of weeks of good training, of good healthy training. I’m just kind of relieved more than frustrated right now… It’s been one thing after another.”

Centrowitz opened his outdoor season with an excellent 3:33.41 1,500 in May, but that would turn out to be his seasonal best and the last race he would win in an injury-shortened campaign. “I just (need to) get 100 percent and get ready for better results in the future,” he said diplomatically after his quick exit in London.

Centrowitz’s sudden departure came in Heat I, Round I. Next up, in Heat II, was Andrews, the winner at Nationals and a veteran of the 2016 Games. And just as suddenly, Andrews found himself at the back of a large pack. “I had myself worried,” he said. “That’s international racing. One guy gets bumped, another guy’s bumped. All of a sudden, you’re in last.”

Giving it all he had, Andrews – the son of Bob Andrews, a veteran runner and coach himself in New Jersey – was chasing a lot of runners ahead of him in the final straightaway when suddenly, one of them went down. Just like that, Andrews found himself in the final automatic qualifying position, 6^th place, by .07. “Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,” he lamented afterward.

One out, one barely in, with the relative newcomer, Gregorek, still to run in Heat III. He was well back throughout the race, ran the final 200 all-out but finished 8^th, in 3:39.62. Afterward, interviewed on NBC, he said that he knew his race was going at a faster pace than the others and that he thought 8^th would be good enough to qualify. A shrewd assessment by a novice runner, and he was right, advancing to the semis on time. He and Andrews remained to fight another day, but it was coming up fast, as the semifinals were the next day.

It turned out that, as with Centrowitz, Andrews also was not ready for the physical challenge of Worlds. Asked to run another hard race the day after his opener, his body rebelled. A calf muscle gave out, and he limped off the track after 600 meters. “I just saw medical, and they said it was a calf strain,” Andrews said immediately after the race. “USATF Medical has been working with me all week… I thought I would be able to make it through the championships. Unfortunately not…”

One American remained in the event, as Johnny Gregorek took the line for the second semifinal. Again, he fell back early. “It wasn’t great positioning once again,” he said later, calmly analyzing his own race, “but it’s something I’m working on. I know if I’m in the right position when it counts, I’ll be able to be finishing closer to the front.

“It was another learning experience at a high level, and I’m glad I was able to close like that.”

Giving it everything he had over the final 200 and passing several runners, Gregorek finished 7^th – five advanced automatically – but, as in his first-round race, because Semi II was faster than I, he grabbed the very last spot in the final, running 3:38.68, a quarter-second ahead of an old East Coast rival, the Villanova graduate Jordy Williamsz of Australia. “It was just blind, blind fury,” Gregorek said. “I managed to get in there.”

With Saturday off to rest between the semis and the final, Gregorek carried America’s hopes into the final, held on the final afternoon of the Championships.

While many of the men’s championship 1500s – because they are unrabbited – go at a leisurely pace, this one did not, as the three Kenyans in the field aggressively took it out. Gregorek again found himself at the back.

“I’m pretty disappointed,” he said afterward. “I wanted to be in a better position. I just couldn’t quite move up.”

Gregorek ran his fastest time of the competition, 3:37.56, and finished 10^th. The medals went to Elijah Manangoi and Timothy Cheruiyot of Kenya and Filip Ingebrigtsen of Norway.

“(This was) definitely a huge lesson for the future,” Gregorek said. “I have to get stronger for these rounds… I think it’s important to have moments like this. I was feeling a little invincible coming into this final. I’d recovered really well. But 600 meters into the race, I was in the well already.

“I hope I get another chance. I intend to get another chance. I know I can run with a lot of these guys.”

What of the veterans Andrews, now 26, and Centrowitz?

Andrews needed a last-ditch race at Randall’s Island in July to get his qualifying time for London. Centrowitz, who turns 28 in October, shut it down after London after a minimal season. In 2018, there is no outdoor national team to make.

Jack Pfeifer, Kim Spir and the USATF contributed to this article.