Webb > Centro

Surgewith500togo wrote:

Webb 4:06 as a HS soph

3:53 HS record

3:46.91 AR

Webb’s #2 mile is 3:48.92

Alan Webb ran faster than his high school mile PR 6 times outdoors as a pro.

Webb’s top 10 outdoor miles

3:46.71-2007

3:48.92-2005

3:50.73-2004

3:50.85-2004

3:51.71-2007

3:52.94-2007

3:53.43-2001-HS PR

3:55.47-2008

3:55.99-2009

3:57.83-2007

Centro has now also beaten Webb’s High school PR 6 times

Centros top 10 outdoor miles

3:49.26-2021

3:50.53-2014

3:51.20-2015

3:51.79-2013

3:52.23-2014

3:52.26-2019

3:53.46-2014

3:53.61-2018

3:55.03-2015

3:57.44-2012

Ben Blankenships top 10 outdoor miles

3:52.51-2019

3:53.04-2017

3:53.83-2016

3:54.10-2011

3:54.88-2018

3:55.48-2015

3:55.72-2015

3:55.89-2017

3:56.27-2013

3:56.66-2013

Nick Willis has also beat Webb’s high school PR 6 times

Nick Willis top 15 outdoor miles

3:49.83-2014

3:50.66-2008

3:51.77-2012

3:51.95-2011

3:52.26-2016

3:52.75-2006

3:53.43-2005

3:53.50-2015

3:53.51-2004

3:53.64-2012

3:55.09-2007

3:55.45-2019

3:55.66-2006

3:55.66-2016

3:56.41-2017

This is all you need to know:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G94h7MqOVu0

Name one runner with the same amount of sheer and unadulterated talent as Webb. Bet you can’t.

Scratch that. *This* is all you need to know:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abxUL7zz1nI

notdoongthe itxh wrote:

Name one runner with the same amount of sheer and unadulterated talent as Webb. Bet you can’t.

Hobbs Kessler.

Agreed.

Manzano > Webb.

Webb isn’t even in the discussion with Centro.

notdoongthe itxh wrote:

Name one runner with the same amount of sheer and unadulterated talent as Webb. Bet you can’t.

Name 1 runner who can run a 3:45 indoor time trial relaxed.

Name one other runner who had the "guts" to drop a 12.3 second 100m at the halfway point in a world championship final. Talk about talent!

yah right wrote:

Centro’s Olympic Gold means he sits next to Frank Shorter and Billy Mills at dinner on the Mount Olympus of US distance running.

LOL, Bob Schul is on Rushmore

Yes, Centro has accomplished way more so that sort of starts and ends the discussion.

But something left out I would point out is that the USA system at the time did not help, Webb.

Flip the Periods of American Distance Running that Webb and Centro were running in and you are looking at two very different careers.

When Webb ran 3:53 in Highschool I believe at the time that was the fastest ANY American had run in over 8 years. So the united states did not have the groups or systems that have now to really help Webb out at the time of his peak years.

That's an interesting point, but wouldn't Webb's erstwhile coach Ron Warhurst produce such a system at University of Michigan? Certainly he coached Nick Willis to great things.

Both guys are great runners. Medals are great. But in 10 years, high school runners will look records up and see Webb's name but they won't know who Centro is. Long term, people focus on records and top 10 lists. Walk into college track and you will see a top 10 list. Pull up a high school team's website and you will see a top 10 list. Times and records last the test of time. People don't go looking for who won an ACC meet 10 years after the fact but they look up the top 10 list for their.

Faster than you wrote:

Both guys are great runners. Medals are great. But in 10 years, high school runners will look records up and see Webb's name but they won't know who Centro is. Long term, people focus on records and top 10 lists. Walk into college track and you will see a top 10 list. Pull up a high school team's website and you will see a top 10 list. Times and records last the test of time. People don't go looking for who won an ACC meet 10 years after the fact but they look up the top 10 list for their.

High school runners won’t look up World and Olympic champions? Most high school and college teams not only have top 10 performance list on display but they also have list and banners of State champions, National champions, All-Americans etc.

Kobbs Hessler wrote:

Audience poll: Would you rather have an Olympic gold medal at 1500 meters or the American record?

I'll vote first - Olympic gold medal

#1- Both were/are great runners. LRC needs to ease up on finding ways to hate on Centro.

#2- Gold

#3- Webb retired in 2014 but didn't do much in the tail end of his career. Centro is 31 now. That's roughly when Webb retired &, again, he hadn't done much the few years before that. Centro is getting ready for his 3rd Olympics (Webb ran in 1), where he has a 4th & Gold. He also has 3 other global medals (4 if you count juniors). It doesn't have to be an either/or. Webb ran fast. Centro has the hardware & has run almost as fast (faster at 5k tho...).

Faster than you wrote:

Both guys are great runners. Medals are great. But in 10 years, high school runners will look records up and see Webb's name but they won't know who Centro is. Long term, people focus on records and top 10 lists. Walk into college track and you will see a top 10 list. Pull up a high school team's website and you will see a top 10 list. Times and records last the test of time. People don't go looking for who won an ACC meet 10 years after the fact but they look up the top 10 list for their.

lol nobody is gonna remember webb man

centrowitz's 1500 PR equates to maybe a couple tenths slower than Webb's mile WR, so who cares. times are essentially a wash, and Centro has 4 global medals, including the most coveted of all, and is one of the three best american distance runners of all time with Shorter and Rupp.

No they won't. When high school kids have a kid run their school reocrd 1600 in 4:15, the question is, "What is the high school record and how fast has an American run?" They don't ask about who has earned an Olympic medal in the 1500 in the past. Here is a link to the University of Oregon Track and Field site.

https://goducks.com/documents/2021/6/5/UO_Outdoor_Top_10.pdf

They have the indoor and outdoor top 10 lists right there but I don't see a link to conference champs or NCAA champs. Times are what people look for.

Put me down in the Centro group. It's a no brainer imo. Don't you think Courtney Frerichs would trade in her 3000 Steeple AR + World Championship Silver for Emma's WC Gold + WC Silver + Olympic Bronze?

LOL no way.

Who's better, Steph Curry or Allen Iverson?

Both were immensely talented. Both were the best at what they did during their primes. Both had a huge impact on the culture of the sport. People who don't really follow the sport might even think they were on the same level.

But get down to actually measuring their legacy and it's not even close. Steph and Centro are CHAMPIONS. They each won the big enchilada. And they repeatedly performed at their best on the biggest stages. They have had long careers where they were elite for an unusual length of time, and they are STILL ADDING to their legacies as their careers extend into their 30s.

Webb is like Iverson - an immensely talented shining star who set a number of impressive records but ultimately washed out without ever seeing the full realization of his potential. Honestly the comparison isn't really fair to Iverson because at least he had a lengthy career. Webb was an incredible high school runner who could have had a great college career and did have two very good seasons as a pro.