Gosh you know the 1500m is on a down year when people rave about a semi going in 3:36. Most semis and even qualifying rounds in the 90s in the Morceli/ElG era would typically go 3:35-3:38. Morceli's semi in the 96 Olympics he won in 3:32.88 with the slowest time qualifier coming in at 3:34.55! Now that was a semi. ElG won the other heat with the last auto qualifier in 3:36.
This page has a ton of the heats of 90s 1500m races:
is it at all possible that Ivan Heshko is Alan Webb's brother? they look like twins! 'cept they grow more hair in the ukraine...women too!
"Balls" aren't measured in qualifying rounds.
well, detroit's pretty close to canada too.
the Michigan connection wrote:
Gosh you know the 1500m is on a down year when people rave about a semi going in 3:36. Most semis and even qualifying rounds in the 90s in the Morceli/ElG era would typically go 3:35-3:38. Morceli's semi in the 96 Olympics he won in 3:32.88 with the slowest time qualifier coming in at 3:34.55! Now that was a semi. ElG won the other heat with the last auto qualifier in 3:36.
This page has a ton of the heats of 90s 1500m races:
http://www.cs.rochester.edu/u/tetreaul/mres.html
you are a moron. time means nothing in championship races. the 92 olympic final was won in what? 3:40?
i've been getting an hour of world champs coverage every day on Paxton here in the states. it's been great. maybe that's old news - but if you don't get CBC, look for Paxton .
Well, if he has really big balls I guess that settles the steriods question.
I agree. A win in 3:30 gives you the same medal as a win in 3:40.
Steve-O wrote:
Brannen is jealous - don't blame him though. All 3 U of M guys out of the 1500? I can't believe the Patriot has started gloating yet!
Webb went to U of M...and don't say he doesn't count because he didn't graduate....cause neither did Willis, or Brannen
Alan Webb has balls. I like balls.
I just have to get this out of my system. The CBC commentators (3 cheers for the CBC!) were talking about Sully prior to the semi, saying that at 31 he was the oldest and most experienced runner in the 1500. What the hell was he thinking then? Why does he never seem to put himself out there? I think he's got as good a kick as anyone, but why always leave it to a risk? As well, Brannen in his interview said that his strategy was to get into the mix, near the front and hold on. All I saw him do was immediately take up the rear (in a relatively slow race). C'mon guys, Webb went out at 1:55. Surely guys who can run 1:45-1:48 should be able to do something similar.
i'll tell you why...
because sullivan and brannen know they are not the best 1500m runners...
webb believes he is the best 1500m...
that is why!
That is insane BS by Brannen.
When someone regularly runs, 3:45-3:48, which Webb will do in a few more years, it will be seen by everyone, as in El G's day, that he doesn't have to 'race' since no one will be able to keep up.
Front leading is the way of champions and the supremely talented which Webb is. It's the tactic of the brave, the victorious, and those people for whom only the clock is a worthy adversary. Sitting and kicking isn't 'racing'--it's the tactic of the moderately talented.
I hope Webb never learns how to 'race' like Brannen and every other 2nd rate miler out there. If I had Webb's talent, I would do everything in my power to run everyone into the ground every race until the day I retired.
Champions should listen to Conan: what is the greatest pleasure in life: to crush thy enemy, drive him before you, and hear the lamentations of the women!
Yes, I believe that Detroit is technically well out of the CBC's normal broadcasting range, but they did this as an act of compassion. If you are stuck having to live in a hole like Detroit, at least they can give you tv access to the big track meets, I guess.
Steve-O wrote:
You can get CBC in Michigan too - I'm from Detroit and I can pick it up.
I'm not sure what you mean by front-running, but I take front-running to mean leading from the gun. No one has won an olympic or world championship race doing this since at least the 1950s, maybe earlier. What El Gerroudj did was not front-running. He would take the lead somewhere between 700m and 1000m into the race and make it a long drive for home. He never lead a championship race from the gun. And he's rare as a guy would could wind it up over the last 500-800m and pull away. Plus, he often had help from his teammates making the first 600-800m decently fast (99 worlds, 00 olympics, 01 worlds he had help) Aouita couldn't succeed at the long drive. Cram couldn't do it when it counted. Snell didn't try it. Coe and Ovett didn't try it. Morceli only tried it once. El Gerroudj is arguably the greatest 1500m runner of all-time, and even his tactic of winding it up from half-way out failed him in the 2000 olympics. For Webb to win championship races, he will either need to develop a long drive for home like El Gerroudj and be able to run 1:48 for his last 800m or learn to kick in 51-52 seconds for the last 400m. Leading from the gun will win him nothing.
According to this article, it seems webb was going all out, and didnt shut it down like everyone is saying. (Notice at the bottom how it says his 1500m time is "more than three minutes slower than the leading time this year", haha)
http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/news/story?id=2128931
HELSINKI, Finland -- Alan Webb shot to the front of the pack for the second time in two 1,500-meter races at the World Track and Field Championships, leaving many to wonder yet again whether he knew how to run a smart race against a tough international field.
It worked this time.
After faltering in the preliminaries with the same tactic, Webb finished second in his semifinal heat Monday to advance to the final.
"Nobody thought I was dumb enough to do it twice in a row," Webb said.
The 22-year-old Webb clocked 3 minutes, 36.07 seconds after Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain passed him with 400 meters to go to win the heat. But it hardly mattered. Webb made it through to his first world championships final, set for Wednesday.
"That was my goal all year, to make the final," Webb said. "I told my coach I just want to make the final. I've accomplished a big goal of mine. And then we'll see, anything can happen."
Plenty has happened since he broke Jim Ryun's school-age mile record in 2001. He had a bad freshman year at Michigan and left the school after one year to turn professional. It was not so easy to stay on top. He finished 10th at the U.S. championships in 2003, struggling with the pressures of turning pro and having been built up as the next great American distance runner.
Things started to change in 2004, when he ran well at several international meets and won the U.S. trials. Then came the Olympics. Webb got spiked on the right leg about 200 meters into his preliminary heat, drawing blood. After that, he could never get in the right position to make a move and finished ninth in a field of 13.
Webb called his tactical mistakes "stupid."
It seemed he had hardly learned anything during preliminaries Saturday, when he raced to the lead only to finish sixth. He qualified for the semifinals based on his time, but stormed off afterward. Even U.S. teammate Chris Lukezic said, "He's got to learn how to race."
Webb explained Monday that he got flustered when he saw a big pack gaining on him toward the finish.
"I was basically most angry because I lost my focus in the last 100 meters," Webb said. "I thought I ran a great race until that point. I got a little scared, I thought I set a fast enough pace. I knew some guys were going to come in the last 100, but I didn't think five guys were going to come. I saw this big blob, and I just started looking to my right, to my side. That cost me. If I would have stayed focused, I might not have won the race but I would have been there."
He took the same approach Monday to guarantee himself a spot in the final. It paid off.
"I basically wanted to get a feel for it in the first 200," Webb said. "I just went for it and nobody came with me. Ramzi passed me with 400 to go. I tried to stay with him as long as I could, but I'd already been out front the whole race. That's the way it goes."
Webb will be an underdog going into the final, with little shot at a medal. Ramzi, the favorite, has a season-leading 3:30 this year, more than three minutes faster than Webb's best of 3:33.16. The only American left in the field will decide on his race tactics at the starting line, but he has no regrets over the way he ran his two heats to make it this far.
"Maybe I hurt a little more than those other guys did but I guaranteed that I was in the final, that's all I wanted to do," Webb said.