Can Alan Webb Earn a Medal, or Even Win, at the World Championships in Osaka?

yes.

he can, but will he? you never know with him!

Following Webb's career is like watching a rattle snake. You never know what is going to happen next. He has the strange distinction of being the only person to run a 3:30 1500 in July and not have a world ranking. Clearly, at this time he is the world's fastest 1500 meter runner. With the great Africans waiting in the wings that may not last.

"400 knots ain't that fast, but we have a gun!"

- A-10 Thunderbolt Pilot

You never know with anyone

No he won't. He is now a great athlete with a high schoolers mental toughness. He has not matured mentally.

i think he's going through some good mental maturation right now. pulling out ahead of baala is a good boost for him- a victory like that should tell him that he doesn't have to run balls to the wall until the end or unless someone makes a move, which he covered nicely(even though it looked like he was struggling a little to cover it).

i don't know- I think Webb gets a top 4 or 5 placing at worlds, but hell, Daniel K. Komen is already running equally fast (3:48 mile), so if the two youngsters can keep a hold of their reigns, it should be a good battle.

what i want to know where is rachid ramzi training right now- i haven't heard anything about him, and at the last worlds, he won the 8 and the 15.

I think his response to Baala's passing him showed patience, confidence, and resolve. I'm assuming Ramzi is a creature of the past. I figure Webb is not going to lose to the entire Kenyan contingent. I pick him for silver and do not rule out gold.

Once we get above 400m, I think he's the best shot for a medal for the U.S.

It will be an interesting summer for Mr. Webb.

well let's think about the contenders. we've got

alan webb(3:30.54)

daniel k. komen(3:29, 3:48)

suleiman simotwo

ivan heshko

mehdi baala

adil kaouch(mar- silver '05)

tarek boukensa

youssef baba

ali belal monsoor(3:31.5 over komen in athens & 1:44.7 over borzakovsky in ostrava)

shadrack korir

nick willis?

rachid ramzi

bernard lagat?

at this stage in the season, i don't see lagat or ramzi being a threat in the mens 1500m, so i think the major contenders will be Komen, Baala, Heshko, Kaouch, Webb, and Monsoor. i don't think rui silva has enough speed left in his legs to finish with some of these guys. i actually haven't even heard of heshko racing much, and i think he's had some sub-par peformances this year already, so maybe he shouldn't be considered a contender yet, but like baala, he always shows up and looks strong in the heats.

To be to get into the head of someone a) you don\'t even know, and b) have probably never met, is quite the achievement.

How can anyone on here seriously speculate with any precision how mentally tough someone is based on what they read and weren\'t even there in person? It always boggles my mind....What do you people base these assumptions on?

I think he will pull a Suzy, but I hope he don't.

There's nothing he's ever done that suggests he'd "pull a Suzy"

Has Lagat even started doing track work yet?

webb should just save himself for Zurich anyway

irun wrote:

pulling out ahead of baala is a good boost for him- a victory like that should tell him that he doesn't have to run balls to the wall until the end or unless someone makes a move, which he covered nicely(even though it looked like he was struggling a little to cover it).

Everyone was struggling a bit after the first 800. To me, Webb getting tripped up, then recovering quickly to cover Baala's move showed he felt it less than the rest. Or maybe he really is one strong beast this year.

If Webb can get to 1350m WITHOUT ANY PACE SURGES he can win, even if he is 10m behind at that point (that would be kinda cool to watch, actually). When he got tripped up at 1200m in France, he should have reeled in Baala over the next 100m, not covered the move in 20m. I guess that kind of patience will come with confidence over time though.

affasf wrote:

Has Lagat even started doing track work yet?

WTF!!??

webb is now definitly ONE of the main contenders, championship races are now quite different in the post El G era, you only have to look at the 05 worlds to see guys like Baala and Komen get spat despite having the fastest times. Medal contenders will need to be strong but be able to close real quick over that last 600m.

For me the current favourite would be Choge, he has run fast and has a very good championship racing history, he easily handeld a very fit Mottram at Comm Games and looks in control over 1500m.

Others likely to be in the mix are: Webb, Kaoch, Kipchirchir, Ramzi (fitness depending), Heshko, Silva, Lagat.

Then if the race is real slow ie 3.38+ guys like: willis, baddely etc have a shot at stealing some tin but only then.

If the final is slow then others like, willis

You can't say that he will, but of course he can. 3:30 is truly world class. There are no Hicham's or Nourredine's in today's middle distance ranks so he has an outside chance of gold.

I feel that Lagat will be running the 5000M.