Alan Webb - 3:53.43
Alan Webb (5/27/01) breaks Jim Ryan's (1965) HS Mile record by running 3:53.43 at the Prefontaine Classic while finishing 5th. 1 14 EL GUERROUJ Hicham MOROCCO 3:49.92 2 3 SULLIVAN Kevin CANADA 3:51.82 3 13 LAGAT Bernard KENYA 3:53.14 4 10 KAOUCH Adil MOROCCO 3:53.40 5 9 WEBB Alan U.S.A. 3:53.43 6 11 DE SOUZA Hudson BRAZIL 3:54.39 7 5 HOOD Graham CANADA 3:54.62 8 2 BERRYHILL Bryan U.S.A. 3:55.01 9 6 BABA Youssef MOROCCO 3:55.10 10 7 YATOR Raymond KENYA 3:55.12 11 8 KEINO Martin KENYA 3:56.87 12 4 ZEGEYE Daniel ETHIOPIA 3:57.92 13 12 ADEN Ibrahim SOMALIA 4:01.27 No kidding. The last lap was in 55. I heard he was reeling guys in on the last 150. I'd love to see the tape. ---------------- I was lucky enough to be there for Webb's phenomenal effort. It was a thing of beauty. He was in a big field (14 or 16 maybe) and went out way in the back. The rabbit went through in 53.something, but nobody (except the 2nd rabbit) went with him. Eventually both rabbits got out of the way and Hicham El took over. I can't really describe went on in the front of the race at this point because my eyes, like EVERYBODY else's, were on Webb. He split 58, 1:57, 2:58 and was about 12th with 400 to go. He passed 2-3 guys in the first turn and was up to about 7th with 200 to go. That 200 took him 27.5 (yeah, I timed it.) Then he passed a couple more guys in the last turn (essentially running the entire last lap in lane 2) and was still catching people (not Hicham or Lagat) when the finish line came up and stopped him. His last 200 was 27.6. I had him in 3:53.2; all of the folks around us were screaming as we knew he had clearly broken Ryun's thought-to-be-untouchable 3:55.3. It didn't take long for the official time of 3:53.43 to go up on the board, and the enitre stadium erupted!! Hicham El had run the first sub 3:50 on American soil (outdoors), and nobody really even cared. Most people I talked to thought that Webb had 3:57 or maybe 3:56 in him--and even with a lap to go that's what it looked like--but I doubt anyone (except he and his coach, maybe) thought he was capable of 3:53. His FAT time through 1500m was 3:38.something so he got his USATF qualifier and (I assume) will be racing in Eugene (at this point probably his favorite track) at the National Championships in late June. I suggest you make your way to Eugene to see it. frankie out. ------------------ >From George Moss: I've just returned from the Mecca of middle-distance running, Hayward Field, where I attended the Prefontaine Meet, an annual trek. The top story is not about el-Guerrouj, who ran the fastest mile ever run on U. S. soil, 3:49.92, or Stacy Dragila, who had a near-miss at 15' 5 1/2", which would have upped her world record (she was well over, just brushed it coming down), or Marion Jones, not yet in top form, blitzing a strong field in the 200M, fastest in the world this year by a bunch in 22.26. It is Alan Webb, the high-school phenom from Reston, Virginia. In fact he is the whole story! The second coming of Jim Ryun--heck he is better than Ryun at age 17. A statement I never expected to write in my remaining life. Even though I write books for a living, and I have been a track-and-field athlete and fan for over half-a-century, I find it difficult to put into words what this extraordinary young talent did yesterday on the not-really-fast synthetic track at Hayward Field. It was not only the phenomenal time, but it was how he did it. Running in a strong field that included six of the finest 1500m/mile runners in the world, including the world record holder, and also running in a race where the rabbits set too fast a pace (53 seconds for the opening quarter-1:53.5 for the 800M split--even el-Guerrouj was running well off the rabbits' pace), he ran a perfectly paced, poised race that set up his drive for the record. Incidentally, his 3:53.43 (It's incredible even to write it!) is the fastest mile ever run by a 17-year-old. He trailed the field through the first lap at 58.0 (my timing of the split), hit the 1/2-mile mark at 1:57.7 (my timing), the 3/4 mile mark at 2:58.4, and then powered home in 55 seconds! Voila! 3:53.43. For the entire race he looked comfortable, running smoothly and confidently--a prodigy of uncanny racing savvy and talent for one so young. He was neither cocky nor awed by the world-class field. He ran down several runners on the last lap. Turning for home on the last 100m straightaway, it looked to me like he faltered a bit, probably just out of breath, because he didn't tie up, and a runner just nipped him at the wire for 4th place. He looks like a middle-distance runner, slender, but powerfully built, about 5' 9" and weighs about 140-142 lbs. He is a converted sprinter, and can run 400M in 48 seconds. He is also a promising 800 Meter runner. In addition to the new mark in the mile, he set a new high-school record for the 1500M, passing that spot in 3:38.26, thereby breaking another of Ryun's supposedly unbreakable records. (3:39.0) For cf. Here are Ryun's splits when he ran the 3:55.30--59.7-2:00.5-3:01.4-(53.9!)-3:55.3 at a race in San Diego in 1965. Webb's coach told me that on Wednesday last, Alan did the following workout: 7X 400 in 55-56, with a 1-2 minute jog interval, and handled it comfortably. Amazing. America, at last, has a promising middle distance runner who surely has the potential to compete with the best in the world within a few years. (He actually finished 5th in the race yesterday.) The first since Steve Scott in his prime. Webb is going to compete in the USA Championships in June (also being held at Hayward Field) and try to make the American team that will go to the World Games scheduled for Edmonton in August. He's got a good shot at it. He will be enrolling at the University of Michigan this fall, which already has a 3:53 miler to keep him company, Kevin Sullivan, the Irish runner who got 5th in the 1500M race at Sydney, and whom Webb beat yesterday, passing him on the backstretch of the final lap. They can push and help each other get better. --------------------