...separated American teammates Bernard Lagat and Alan Webb. One gets feted as the first American winner of the 1500 ever in an Olympics or World Championships, the other roasted as an over-hyped also-ran for his 8th place finish.
Lagat, cited constantly as a wonderful ambassador for the sport, wins his first championship medal at age 32, having spent years laboring in the shadows of Hicham El Guerrouj and Nourredine Mourceli. The second-fastest 1500 meter runner in history (3:26.34 in 2001), he is seen as an athlete on the decline, far-removed from his best times. But Lagat had more than enough speed to take charge of the last 100 meters of Wednesday's final, just holding off defending champion Rashid Ramzi. Lagat goes for the 5000 meter double on Sunday, along with fellow Americans Adam Goucher and new wunderkind Matt Tegenkamp (look for Ethiopia's Bekele and Australian Mottram to run with a lot of guts).
But while "Bernie" is an honorable champion achieving an important first for American distance running, rooting for him feels like rooting for a Daniel Snyder free agent brought in to help the team. This former Washington State runner's connection to the US is heartfelt, quite unlike the cynical repatriation of other Kenyans to Middle Eastern countries offering cash. And yet, and yet...
Alan Webb put himself into position to win over the final straightaway, but his newfound speed failed him. There are rumors of a cold, antibiotics, perhaps peaking too soon to go for the American record in the mile. Maybe a more extended kick over the last lap would have been harder for his opponents to cover. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. Webb waxes philosophical about Beijing and the rest of the season in this Flotrack interview.
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Also worth mentioning is the overall U.S. domination of the competition at these games. I realize it's expected of American sprinters to usually do well, but it's been pretty lopsided with Gay taking the shorter events and Wariner (Michael Johnson's protege, I believe) showing that yes, white boys can run too. And not just in Chariots of Fire.
Great point, Ollie. I had hoped to spend some time acknowledging the other great performances by Americans at the championships, but a business trip got in the way.
American sprinters have long formed the true Dream Team of the track & field world. We keep producing stars, and we have such depth that occurences like the 1-2-3 sweep of the men's 400 happen with regularity.
Wariner is one of my faves, along with Allyson Felix and Tyson Gay. I've rooted for Tyson ever since the 2004 Olympics where he and another sprinter left the Olympic village because of idiotic hazing by senior Americans on the team, including Maurice Greene. Wariner is closing in on the 400 record of Michael Johnson I saw set in Seville in 1999.
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