Webb DNF in ITU Triathlon this weekend in Australia

The course is shorter than 10K, so Jonny B didn't run quite that fast. But what was remarkable is that he put in the second fastest run despite slowing down at the end, finishing the swim second and then driving a four man (later three man) break on the bike on a flat course. Fantastic stuff...

Not heard what Webb's problem was. Even if his swim improves from poor to average though, he would not be a good choice for Rio because the bike course, the hardest Olympic distance course in living memory, requires someone with vastly more experience than he has or will have in the time available.

There was a guy in here a while ago going on and on about how Webb was going to do great things in triathlon. Where is he now? Ha.

That is a long way to travel to DNF. Ouch.

Ttttttttttt wrote:

There was a guy in here a while ago going on and on about how Webb was going to do great things in triathlon. Where is he now? Ha.

exactly, then he got off on some tangential argument about drafting vs. non-drafting

I root for Webb, but when I see an athlete hang it up in one sport because they can no longer perform at their prime in their primary chosen sport and pursue another I know of no instance where that athlete was able to attain an elite level. Argue away that Webb is currently elite at triathlon if you want but he is not. He can't beat Brownlee, he can't medal at Olympics, and he won't make Olympic team.

long odds wrote:

Ttttttttttt wrote:

There was a guy in here a while ago going on and on about how Webb was going to do great things in triathlon. Where is he now? Ha.

exactly, then he got off on some tangential argument about drafting vs. non-drafting

I root for Webb, but when I see an athlete hang it up in one sport because they can no longer perform at their prime in their primary chosen sport and pursue another I know of no instance where that athlete was able to attain an elite level. Argue away that Webb is currently elite at triathlon if you want but he is not. He can't beat Brownlee, he can't medal at Olympics, and he won't make Olympic team.

Sheila Taormina did it not once but twice so your knowledge base is pretty weak.

Saying that Webb can't beat Brownlee (which one? it's not clear that you are aware that there are two) is not exactly profound as neither can anyone else not named Gomez.

[quote]long odds wrote:

when I see an athlete hang it up in one sport because they can no longer perform at their prime in their primary chosen sport and pursue another I know of no instance where that athlete was able to attain an elite l level. [quote]

Clara Hughes. And she also went back to the first one again.

110 Cents on the Dollar wrote:

long odds wrote:

exactly, then he got off on some tangential argument about drafting vs. non-drafting

I root for Webb, but when I see an athlete hang it up in one sport because they can no longer perform at their prime in their primary chosen sport and pursue another I know of no instance where that athlete was able to attain an elite level. Argue away that Webb is currently elite at triathlon if you want but he is not. He can't beat Brownlee, he can't medal at Olympics, and he won't make Olympic team.

Sheila Taormina did it not once but twice so your knowledge base is pretty weak.

Saying that Webb can't beat Brownlee (which one? it's not clear that you are aware that there are two) is not exactly profound as neither can anyone else not named Gomez.

I know there are 2. You make my point that Webb can't beat either nor can he beat Gomez, so he has no chance to medal. I was not thinking about Sheila or others. Sheila medaled in a relay then never medaled again in the Olympics so I think she does not really make a good example. clara hughes makes an example so literal point made. Hope Webb proves me wrong but name a male changing sports over 30 as an example. It would help me feel there is a chance for Webb, which I currently do not.

and the fact Clara Hughes did it in speed skating makes all of us feel great about Webb's chances for Rio. World fear the Webinator.

So what happened to him? By the looks of it, he came out of the water DFL. Has a transition split and then nothing. I assume he dropped out during the ride somewhere? The guy who came out of the water with him also DNF'd.

Sheila make the Olympics in two different sports after her swimming career. Please tell us what you are smoking if you think making the US Olympic team in a sport doesn't qualify as "elite."

If you want a male, try Eric Heiden. Please go away because your posts are asinine. I have no idea if Webb is going to get it together in triathlon but it would be nice if people who post on here at least have some knowledge of what they are talking about. You do not.

Wow I had forgotten that Heiden made the Olympics in 2 sport disciplines. Impressive.

welcome to non wetsuit swimming

The Argentine got out of the water only 12 sec ahead of Alan and kept going reeling in 5 or 6 people and finished.

At this point Alan needs all experience possible and needs to finish. Maybe with several USA guys competing Alan flatted and did not get quick support. Who knows.

Be interesting to know if Alan's training and training times show improvement or not.

if I recall, someone here can probably answer, the ITU world cup races are not as important as the series races. So the series races probably have better fields and contested more. I think this was Webbs first.

doesn't seem that he did too bad but probably knows by now that he can't make up lost swim time. Smart not to go all out 2 weeks in a row. Save it for later.

swim course was triangle with some current and no wetsuit, Webb was solo from the start

hopefully he had a bad day and his training is showing reason to believe he can do this, needs top end swim speed and bike speed to close gaps and stay in pack and peloton to have a chance

Heiden Strong wrote:

Wow I had forgotten that Heiden made the Olympics in 2 sport disciplines. Impressive.

His sister went from the 1980 olympic team in speed skating to win a world road championship in cycling, then to win an NCAA championship in XC skiing.

The best brother/sister athletes all time:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/296604325433750799/

M Jordan went from the Chicago Bull to Pro baseball back to the Bulls, then played a PGA pro Amp. Then he cheated on his wife and lost 300 million.

Surprised that the omnipotent crowd on letsrun would not know what happened. If he came out last then more than likely he was lapped during the bike portion. At any pro level draft tri, those lapped on the bike must drop out. It makes it difficult to amass points to make it up the rankings, which begs the question, why Webb was even at this race? What is more of a talking point is the outright domination by American women with a great core of up and coming youngster developing as well.

Webb is arguably the greatest distance runner America has produced.