On August 20, 2016, Centrowitz competed at the 2016 Olympic Games, where he won the 1500 meters race in 3:50.00, becoming the first American to win the event since Mel Sheppard in 1908. The race was tactical and the pace slow at the start, which is very common at championship level 1500 meter events. However, this race was even slower than normal; the first four finalists in the T13 1500m men's final at the 2016 Summer Paralympics all finished faster than Centrowitz.