Webb challenged Kiprop at the bell and fought near the front down the backstretch, through the turn and into the very top of the home straightaway. In the final 100 meters he tightened and gave way. It's true: He had nothing left. "I wish I could learn a lesson from that," Webb said. "But I learned nothing and I got nothing out of it. If I wanted to be seventh (sic.), I would have run for seventh, or whatever the hell I got. I didn't come to get seventh. I came to get first and I didn't, so...." Webb's words trailed off.

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The questions mercifully stopped. He turned and walked away. It would be wrong at this point to ignore Lagat, a nice man with immense talent and toughness and a much longer resume that Webb, if not Jim Ryun's high school record. He came to the United States 11 years ago to run for Washington State and has never left.

For all its brilliance, his career is not without controversy. Just before the world championships in 2003, Lagat was notified that his 'A' sample had tested positive for EPO. The Kenyan team yanked him from the meet and the positive test result was leaked to the media. Later, the 'B' sample tested negative, exonerating Lagat.

Further, the Chicago Tribune reported in 2005 that Lagat actually became a U.S. citizen before the 2004 Olympics, where he won a medal for Kenya. (Kenya has continued to claim the medal as its own). Yet some perspective is in order; track is full of nefarious and untrustworthy characters. Lagat hardly belongs among them.

One Lagat story: Earlier this month I was writing a story about Webb for Sports Illustrated and seeking a phone interview with Lagat. USA Track and Field public relations guru Jill Geer got the message to Lagat, who left me a number. I caught Lagat as he was sitting down to dinner in a restaurant near his summer training home in Germany, on the night before his departure for Osaka. "I am going crazy packing and trying to get some good food," said Lagat. "But let's talk."

To get fit for Worlds, Lagat had to overcome stomach problems that began bothering him a year go. Hard training would be followed by bouts of pain, diarrhea and bloody stools. Lagat saw specialists and underwent tests that showed no cause for the pain. He tried medication. Nothing worked. He said a gastro enterologist told him in June, "It's the stress that I put on my body, from too hard training."

Lagat backed off and began feeling better in midsummer. Not long after running a slowish 3:36.24 for 1,500 meters July 15 in Sheffield, England, Lagat ran 2:21 for 1,000 meters in a workout. "I had never done that before," Lagat said. And his fitness only improved through the rest of the ramp up to Osaka. Never was the contrast between Webb and Lagat more telling than in the running of the race.

Acting on a race plan formulated by his coach of nearly 12 years, James Li, Lagat settled into the front part of the race and simply stayed there, running comfortably, but never attacking the lead. "We wanted to be number three [third place]," said Lagat after the race. "Not number four or five, but always number three. And just run hard for the last 50 meters."

He makes this sound easy. It is terrifically difficult to occupy such a prized position in a championship 1,500, because everyone wants to be there. "Everyone wants to sit back," said Lagat.

Not Webb. Burned by a semifinal nightmare in which he was shuffled back early and had to sprint to finish fifth and qualify for the final, Webb bounced off the starting line and into the lead. He was left there to break the wind and tow the field for nearly half the race, a position from which it is nearly impossible to win a championship-level race. (Ironically, Webb's front-running aided Lagat. "The pace was honest," said Li. "That definitely helped."

The half mile split was 1:58.08; Lagat said he would have sat back no matter what the pace.) The event remains inscrutable to Webb. He has been brilliant throughout the summer, pushing his fitness to the highest levels in the sport, which he had done to make himself impervious to the unpredictability of championship 1,500s.

Perhaps he peaked in July. Perhaps he needs more time to sort out his best approach or apply it properly. It's pointless to guess and cruel to beat him up (lord knows, he's doing enough of that himself). He remains one of the best milers in the world. Lagat moves onto the world championship 5,000 meters on Sunday, attempting a brutal double in the Osaka heat. Webb moves on to the rest of the Golden League season and beyond, chasing more fast times and, far in the distance, the solution to a tactical riddle that has eluded him.