Alan Webb to retire and become Triathlete (Link)

ITU makes more sense because it is more about running with some swimming importance (to make the lead pack in the bike). He has the swim background.

Swimming is a formality in the 70.3 and bike would take him longer to learn without the drafting benefit.

If bike riding is so hard to master why do people use the expression "it's just like riding a bike"?

he swam a 4:40 500 free in high school which is pretty good but he'll be nowhere near that level right now.

if he could get back to ~4:50 or so he might have a shot at sniffing my jock in the water. that'll be hard work though.

gonna take some major commitment to do that and from all the "burnt out" talk he sounds like he needs a vacation and a career change.

What if he some how managed to win the Wanamaker Mile? This board would crash like never before. I hope he goes out with a decent race.

For those that say he should run a marathon, just look at the top "local" runner in your city that's running 100+ mile weeks and racing in the 2:20 range. I just can't see Webb with that kind of mental toughness and grind.

still some hope wrote:

I just can't see Webb with that kind of mental toughness and grind.

I easily can.

i welcome it though

if he wants to make the U.S. team, whatever, no problem for me, i don't really care, i'll just go fly my kite.

but if he wants to win, to be competitive at the very top of the itu stage, and at the olympics, well he has a lot of guys to go through and if he does that...then he has javi, my lil bro and me waiting for him at the top, and we don't talk about being "burnt out".

reality checky wrote:

Alistair Brownlee wrote:

we'll see where he is in the water. that is the #1 determining factor to how well he does in the ITU, there are others but what level he gets to in the water is #1.

doesn't matter if you are a fantastic runner like webb is, if he is more than a few seconds down out of the water, that gap will be 1-2min coming off the bike. he could do well even with that gap but he won't win. it will be a couple years until he is very good.

You do realize that Webb was initially a swimmer and relatively successful. It's not like we're throwing Ryan Hall into a pool here.

i'm well aware of what he swam in high school. but the top of the itu is a long way from just having "a swimming background"

I have ZERO doubt Webby could reincarnate himself as an elite triathlete. A guy like him has the speed, fitness, and mentality to dominate- one of the slower guys on my DIII team turned to triathloning and really tore up the local try scene- I imagine a talent like webb could dominate at LEAST as much.

Few things:

Morons that were excited to see webb in a MARATHON? Did you really think he'd do well there? Please.

He will swim fast, he's jacked and grew up swimming.

He can learn to bike, he's nowhere near as lanky as ANY distance runner in the USA. He's got more leg mass than lagat, jeager, rupp, solinsky, hall, ritz, true, etc. To power through those long 70.3 splits.

but tri is mental just like track. will he crumble?

We're also aware that you're not Alistair Brownlee. Thanks for playing.

You do realize the 1500m swim times are artificial? Wet suit provides a huge advantage as does swimming in a pack (25% draft effect). He could hold his own. He only needs to be close to the main pack and then draft easily on the bike. He can do it. The real danger is a change in triathlon format because it's no longer an individual trial of three sports. And apparently the Olympic committee wasn't impressed with how your GB gamed the sport with team tactics in the last Olympics. There's talk of shortening the race to sprint format to rectify the lame bike drafting problem which negates the first two sports.

Alistair Brownlee wrote:

i'm well aware of what he swam in high school. but the top of the itu is a long way from just having "a swimming background"

Shampoo, Blow Dry followed by 10000 metre foot race. Webb will be outstanding.

Hardloper wrote:

still some hope wrote:

I just can't see Webb with that kind of mental toughness and grind.

I easily can.

Me too. He's burned out on lack of success. Once he starts performing, he's unstoppable.

Webb made his money in the sport, I do recall a 250K yearly thing for 8 years so hopefully he didn't spend everything, He can always go back to school or continue in the running field, but clearly his money making days on the oval are behind him. Good career a magical year with a 1:43 and 3:46 summer and who could forget that 3:53 at PRE right after his senior year ( Prep record). That was awesome!

I think what happened was he realized that his fans were now the ilk of xenonscreams, Hardloper and Jamin and he just lost the will to live.

trime wrote:

Few things:

Morons that were excited to see webb in a MARATHON? Did you really think he'd do well there? Please.

He will swim fast, he's jacked and grew up swimming.

Why not? You're aware this is the guy who ran 27:30 and beat Ritz in his first 10k, right? He's not very heavy, either. I'm basically the same weight and height and my marathon is in line with my 10k.

Alistair Brownlee wrote:

i'm going to destroy webb

webster, wrote:

He ranks below Jim Ryun, Steve Scott, and Jim Spivey.

Nope, to me he ranks #1 as he is the American record holder. No one cares about the old guys you mentioned.

the402miler wrote:

And apparently the Olympic committee wasn't impressed with how your GB gamed the sport with team tactics in the last Olympics.

I don't think "GB" was allowed to game the Olympics.

Check the rules.