Wow... anyone who says Bernard Lagat isn't a true American should watch that video. He seemed as happy to win for the USA as he did to win his first world championship.
Webb really was in contention all the way up to the end, he just looked too tired to kick. The race he ran was perfect, just faded a bit where he normally would have taken off. Can't criticize him for that. I think he has learned a lot this season, and I think he just learned another very important lesson. Since April, he has run 3:58, 3:51, 3:46, 3:30, 1:43, and a number of 1500s in the 3:30-35 range. I think next year, we will see something similar to Lagat's progression this year. Webb will not be in great racing form until relatively close to the olympics. That way he will hit the Olympics on the upswing, instead of towards the end of an amazingly impressive season.
Hats off to Lagat, they really performed well and represented their country well.
On a side note, how frickin tall is Asbel Kiprop? Dude is huge compared to Lagat!