Webb Gets Lift From Victory in 1,500 Meters

Alan Webb spent the last few years struggling to fulfill the promise he demonstrated in 2001, when he broke Jim Ryun’s 36-year-old American high school record in the mile.

Injury, illness and declining performances threatened to derail Webb’s dream of being one of the world’s top middle-distance runners.

But he served notice Saturday that writing him off as a flash in the pan would be a mistake.

Running his best race since high school, Webb easily beat a competitive field in the men’s 1,500 meters in 3 minutes 35.71 seconds in the Home Depot Track & Field Invitational at the Home Depot Center in Carson.

Webb’s time was the fastest by an American and the second-fastest in the world this year. He beat second-place Kevin Sullivan of Canada (3:39.32) by more than three seconds.

Perhaps most important, it was a confidence boost for a 21-year-old runner who needed one.

“It’s been a rough couple of years,” Webb said. “It’s been hard to be patient. I feel like I’ve always gone into every race knowing that it just takes one race, a special race, to prove to yourself that it can be done.

“I always knew that this day would come.”

Webb’s time, a personal best, exceeded the A qualifying standard for the Olympic Games in Athens this summer. He’ll earn a spot on the team with a top-three finish in the Olympic trials at Sacramento State in July.

“It’s huge,” Webb said. “To be honest, I didn’t think I’d do it this early.”

Webb’s previous best in the 1,500 was 3:38.26, run during his record-setting mile in the 2001 Prefontaine Classic at Eugene, Ore., when he was a senior at South Lakes High in Reston, Va. His mile time of 3:53.43 broke the national high school mark of 3:55.3 set by Ryun in 1965.

Webb finished that season by placing fifth in the 1,500 in the U.S. championships. Only 18 at the time, great expectations were placed on his shoulders.

But he grew disenchanted after an injury-riddled track season at Michigan and dropped out of college after his freshman year. He signed with Nike and went back to train with his high school coach, Scott Raczko.

Looking back, Webb acknowledged that he placed too much pressure on himself trying to live up to the expectations of others.

“As much as I wanted to say that I didn’t care what people thought, in the back of your mind, it’s always there,” he said.

“I would have liked to not have the pressure, but that’s what great athletes have to deal with.”

Webb finished a disappointing 2003 track season by placing 10th in the 1,500 at the U.S. championships, and last summer he had surgery to remove his appendix.

Since then, Webb has been healthy and has trained without interruption.

“The biggest thing I’ve learned is that in training, the key is consistency,” he said.

Webb went out aggressively in Saturday’s race, staying close to pacesetter Milton Browne, a Barbados Olympian in the 800 in 2,000. By the time Browne dropped out at 1,000 meters, Webb had a comfortable lead.

Webb said he was surprised to find himself alone at the finish in an 11-man field that included nine Americans.

“They were farther behind than I thought,” he said of his competitors. “I was trying not to focus too much on what was going on behind me. At the same time, I was ready for anybody who [might pass] me. I just ran the race as if somebody was right behind me.”

Webb has several races planned in the coming weeks, including at least two races in Europe, leading up to the trials.

“I wouldn’t call myself the favorite,” he said. “In high school I ran one great race, but I didn’t prove I could be consistent.”

On Saturday, he took a big step toward changing that.