Alan Webb's 2012 Olympic Deam is Over

By LetsRun.com
June 25, 2012

When the racing started with two laps to go in first heat the men's 5000m prelim, American mile record holder, Alan Webb, slowly faded from contention and finished 11th and last in his heat in 14:01.25.

Afterwards Webb said that his 2012 Olympic Dream was over and he would not be running the 1500m at the Trials.

"I'm done (for the 2012 Trials). It's not going to happen this year," said Webb. "I hope that they give that (my) spot to (some) other guy."

His immediate attention turns to wife Julia, who is pregnant, and expecting their first child any day.

Webb was visibly happy and relaxed when talking about his child to be.

As for the running, Webb said he had "some calf and achilles problems after New York (where he ran a 1500m at the adidas Grand Prix on June 9th)." The problems limited him to miss a few speed workouts so he opted to run the 5000m here, hoping to make the team against all odds.

"I thought if I could just make it through the rounds, feeling pretty good, give myself a couple of more days to recover and get my legs back, I thought some magic could happen. If it wasn't the Olympic Trials I probably wouldn't have run," said the 29 year old Webb.

As for today's race Webb added, "I felt pretty good halfway. I felt like I could go with them." But when the kicking began, Webb's wheels fell off and Webb realized after the race, "It just wasn't going to happen this year, man."

Now, Webb is left pondering his future saying, "I've got some decisions about what I want to do, not just this summer but in the future."

As he told David Moore of USA Today, "I've been struggling for a few years now. Unfortunately I'm getting used to it...I'm 29 years old, and I'm not getting any younger. But I think I've proved that I can still run. I'm not ready to give up yet."

While Webb has some tough decisions about his future, the allure of the mile still pulls at him. When Webb was asked by LRC if he was going to compete in the 1500 at the Trials, Webb thought he was being asked if he would compete at 1500 in the future, he said, "I want to say yeah. I still think I can get it done if I just have more time." Webb quickly said, "Maybe I'll make a commitment for some longer stuff."

Interview with Webb below.

More: Tim Layden of Sports Illustrated has a piece titled "Sadly, U.S. track renaissance is leaving Alan Webb behind" where Webb says, "The American distance running scene is totally different from it was eight years ago when I won here [actually in Sacramento, at the '04 trials]. That's the way it should be. These guys are the real deal."