But one of the most anticipated races of the games -- at least for American fans -- is the men's 1500m, scheduled for Wednesday, August 29th. For Alan Webb, it is a pivotal race in his career. Webb has the world's fastest time in the 1500 this year, and broke Steve Scott's American record in the mile, but running well in the OSaka final means much more, and would establish him as one of the all-time greats of American middle-distance running.
He very nearly missed qualifying for the finals.
After breezing through the 1500 preliminaries on Day 1 of the World T&F Championships, Webb managed to advance out of the semi-finals by the margin of 0.07. Here's how the IAAF saw it:
"Webb must have huge confidence in his own finishing kick. Either that or he simply forgot any tactical lessons he’s ever learned. He hung right at the back of the field, off the back at some stages, until the last 300m. Then, just as the battle kicked off between the leaders 10m in front of him, Webb found himself with it all to do. He switched gears again with 200m to go, but was still well out of the places as he entered the straight. Only a rather desperate lunge for the line saw him into fifth, in 3:41.08, 0.06s ahead of three others. "
It's baffling why Webb ran the race he did -- essentially the same mistake he made in Athens. He has to know by know that in a World Championship semi-final, everyone can run the last 300m fast, and it isn't safe to be behind seven or eight other runners at that point.
Here's Webb's quote from the IAAF site:
"I wasn't aggressive enough at the start. I had to do something I don't like doing, being in the back the whole time. It almost cost me a spot in the final. That's why you don't do that. I knew I was really close. I tried to count the guys. The last 50, I tried to stay as relaxed as I could. It was hard and there was so much going on. I just didn't want to get left out."
Well, I always felt that Webb would get through the heats on talent, and would struggle in the semi's. Now that he has dodged that bullet, there's no reason to think he can't run well in the finals. However, if the pace is slow and tactical, he has to show better judgment to put himself in medal position earlier. If he is in 2nd or 3rd at the bell, he'll be ok, I think. One worries, though, that he will either charge to the front too early, or fail to get on the leaders' shoulder when he can.
Regardless of the pace, one hopes that his confidence is intact and he will put his abilities to the best possible use in the final. he is clearly one of the best runners out there, and with Lagat, a definite medal hope.
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