Alan Webb Speaks: "It was a colossal breakdown"

no, it just seems like a colossal breakdown at this point.

he just didnt have it today, and in this sport that happens. nothing to be overly critical of. go back, rest a little, have fun in any remaining '07 events and get ready for '08.

GREAT YEAR AW and GREAT PERFORMANCE!!!!

on a side note i guess the "journalist" brojo assclowns should revel in the glory of not picking webb.

I agree. After the semis he no longer was the favorite and I figured he might be a little off his game.

8th is obviously disappointing but he's 1 second from first. It is a very fine line at that level.

Webb's #1 asset is he tries and want to win. You can't win the race without going for it and some of the gusy in the final are just content to be there.

wejo wrote:

You can't win the race without going for it and some of the gusy in the final are just content to be there.

Is this a veiled insult towards Rupp and Ritz??

ohhhhh no, the brojo's would never say anything negative about the great Ritz, or maybe i missed their op/ed piece about ritz sitting way in the back, the entire race, and finsihing 9th!?

not much of an insult; rupp and ritz are so far off from competing for the victory that it's not even funny. webb is on a whole other plane.

are you a veiled pole smoker of rupp and ritz??

Hats of to Webb. He went for it. (Of course hats of to Lagat as well, but not sure if he needed it. I mean - he won...)

colonel obvious wrote:

no, it just seems like a colossal breakdown at this point.

he just didnt have it today, and in this sport that happens. nothing to be overly critical of. go back, rest a little, have fun in any remaining '07 events and get ready for '08.

GREAT YEAR AW and GREAT PERFORMANCE!!!!

on a side note i guess the "journalist" brojo assclowns should revel in the glory of not picking webb.

you really think about it he did "have it". 2nd place was 3:35.00 and 9th place was 3:35.95...you usually dont have such a blanket finish like that.

Has it been confirmed Webb was coming off a cold? He looked well positioned, the pace wasn't crazy, and if he was 100% he should have been able to come off the last curve with everyone else with no problem. It appears he simply had no strength to close the deal.

The Eagle wrote:

Hats of to Webb. He went for it. (Of course hats of to Lagat as well, but not sure if he needed it. I mean - he won...)

You do not want to be in the lead on the first lap (maybe not even the 2nd lap). Not very smart; a few steps off of the pace, feels so much easier!!! I am not upset with Alan; great effort, but needs to relax and be smarter. This should help him for next year.

The whole run from the back run from the front part of the quote just shows his immaturity as an international runner. there is middle ground. If something does not work it does not mean to nessasarily do the opposite. He did put himself in postion with to win however and at that level that is all you can do, put yourself in position and go for it.

franey wrote:

You do not want to be in the lead on the first lap (maybe not even the 2nd lap). Not very smart; a few steps off of the pace, feels so much easier!!! I am not upset with Alan; great effort, but needs to relax and be smarter. This should help him for next year.

If everyone followed that strategy, they would all still be standing at the starting line. Webb's only chance at the win was off a quick pace, so he had to keep things honest early. If there is one thing he did do today, it is that he ran a great tactical race. Just didn't have the final gear today for whatever reason*

*Wejo's poll will of course answer that question definitively

franey wrote:

You do not want to be in the lead on the first lap (maybe not even the 2nd lap). Not very smart; a few steps off of the pace, feels so much easier!!!

I understand what you're saying, but they only ran 3:35, which for Webb should not flatten his kick like it did today. I think his tactics were fine, I do wonder about the impact that a lack of confidence played in not having more energy at the end, but I think it was indeed a physical breakdown. After all, he really strained in the semi, which may have worn him down.

ExOf1 wrote:

I think his tactics were fine, I do wonder about the impact that a lack of confidence played in not having more energy at the end, but I think it was indeed a physical breakdown. After all, he really strained in the semi, which may have worn him down.

I'm with you, I think that there were physical problems at play. He obviously thought going into the semis that he would be able to mow everyone down at the end and given the season he has had, he probably should have been able to. Instead, he labored with uncharacteristically loose form. In the final he did a better job of getting himself in position before the very end but again just looked labored and tight and couldn't accelerate.

Maybe low confidence kept him from relaxing but I'd bet that he was actually a little less than 100% physically. *A little* mind you, he still finished 8th and I'm not saying that if he had been 100% he definitely would have won or medalled.

Webb's performances this year demonstrate:

- Incredible strength

- Early peaking

- Fast times off of fast paces

I may be wrong, but I think Webb would have won if he'd taken it from 600m out or if 1200 had been reached much faster (2:50)...no one else in that field is in shape to run 3:46.

THANK YOU! Someone who realizes that every race can't be one's best and an athlete is not a failure if he "fails" to win a WC.

I may be wrong too but I don't think Webb could have won this race with any possible strategy out there. He simply was not bringing to the line the same level of fitness Lagat and Ramzi were.

i thought his tactics today were a great improvement over some past world-level races. a quick first lap made sense and getting to the front made sense with 14 guys in the final. however, with greater experience he would have allowed a gap to develop when the kenyan guy passed him on the 2nd lap. either he would have stayed in 2nd with a 5-10 meter gap or he would have dropped to 3rd or 4th or so, within a comfortable distance of the lead. that would have allowed him to save precious energy, as lagat and ramzi did at that point. i would bet that webb's 100 splits over the first 1000 were pretty much all over the place, which wastes tons of evergy.

at the same time, it wasn't too bad of a race tactically as things turned out. the way he looked in paris and at USATF, i think he would have won or challenged for the win at his peak this year.

so i think this year has been a great learning experience for mr. webb. he should take away two things - first, his opponents at the 1500 are experienced and every bit as talented as he is, so he has to improve on his race tactics, specifically exerting some control over the pace of the race without needlessly wasting energy. and second, that his peak must come much later in the year. this latter item is tough coming from the US high school and college system. we get so used to being in peak shape in may and june that it is a big shift in training to push that back by 2 full months. i hope he doesn't race indoors in 2008 hardly at all and that he doesn't race outdoors until late may at the earliest. he's always been good and winning races is fun, even if they are relatively non-important meets in april. i hope he can resist the urge to be sharp at that point and avoid the racing scene altogether then.

nevertheless, whatever he does from now through the end of the 2007 season, it's been a great year for him, with a huge breakthrough in the 800, an american record in the mile, and a competitive showing in the world champs final, plus a great victory in paris.

Baddely is actually better than Webb too. When Badders is o nform he is a lot more graceful; his knee lift is beautiful. Webb is a chicken shit, he can't pull anything out of his arse when he needs to he just bums out. It's becuse he's a total loser. When East was in the Olympics and world champs he'd always be right up there in the mix but Webb can't hack it. He just let's them all go past in the closing stages. He's got no fight. He's overpaid, oversexed and overrated.