Alan Webb, seen here winning in Paris on July 6, broke the American record in the mile in Belgium. © www.photorun.net
At a low-key meet in Brasschaat, Belgium on Saturday, Alan Webb ran 3:46.91 to break Steve Scott’s American record for the mile. Scott ran his best of 3:47:69 in 1982—one year before Webb was born.
Webb’s agent, Ray Flynn, was in that 1982 race with Scott, and pushed Scott to his record. Flynn was also instrumental in Webb’s success on Saturday, as he convinced the Belgian meet organizers to add a mile race so that Webb could shoot for Scott’s mark. Two pacemakers were Webb’s only real companions, as the second-place finisher, Max Smith of New Zealand, finished in 3:56.46.
Webb’s rabbits did an excellent job, covering the first two laps in an evenly paced 1:53.5. One rabbit stuck with Webb through 1200m, passed in 2:49, and then Webb was on his own. The 24-year-old has a history of running well on his own—he ran a solo 3:51 mile in windy conditions in April—and in Belgium, he was able to slightly pick up the pace over the last three-quarters of a lap to seal his spot in American distance running history.
Webb’s time makes him the 8th-fastest miler in history, ahead of such luminaries as Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett. While the mile is run with decreasing frequency at the top levels of the sport, it should be noted that Webb also has a world-leading time in the more commonly run 1500m, with his 3:30.54 victory in Paris earlier this month. With his combination of fast times, new-found homestraight sprint speed and growing tactical savvy, Webb has emerged as a true world-class miler.
Fast 10Ks at All-Africa Games
The 10,000m races were the highlights at the All Africa Games in Algiers. Four months after his world cross country title in Kenya, Eritrea’s Zersenay Tadesse front-ran to a surprisingly quick victory in 27:00.30, 42 seconds under the old championship record, and almost half a lap ahead of Ethiopia’s Tadesse Tola, who earned silver in 27:28.08. Tadesse, who won the 10,000m bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics, will try to further his pattern of upsetting top Ethiopians and Kenyans at next month’s World Championships in Osaka, Japan.
The winning time in the women’s 10,000m wasn’t nearly as stunning, but the results still contained some interesting news. Ethiopia’s Mestawot Tufa won in 31:26.05. One place and 5 seconds behind her, Edith Masai took the silver in 31:31.18. Masai’s mark is notable because she turned 40 in April. Her time in Algiers bettered the previous world masters mark of 32:12.07, set back in 1994 by France’s Nicole Leveque. Masai set her personal best at the distance, 30:30.26, just two years ago at the World Championships. That mark is the Kenyan national record.
Want Nice Weather? Go to China for the Olympics
Perhaps the past week’s oddest news came out of China, where government officials announced they will attempt to guarantee perfect weather during next summer’s Olympics in Beijing.
Next month, the Chinese meteorological service will practice firing rockets into the sky to disperse rain clouds. If all goes according to plan, once the rockets have reached the upper atmosphere, silver iodide and dry ice inside the rockets will detonate, and destroy rain clouds below. August is the rainy season in Beijing, so officials will use this summer to practice the weather manipulation they hope to perfect when all the world is watching next year.
