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Highlights from the Pre
EUGENE, Ore. -- A little track talk in the wake of Sunday's Prefontaine Classic, the best track meet in America: 1) Alan Webb's stunning 3:53.43 performance in the mile was one of the most sensational moments I have witnessed in the sport, including the eight world records and three Olympic Games I've seen in person. Watching an 18-year-old kid pick off grown-ups in the backstretch of a 55-second last quarter en route to obliterating Jim Ryun's 26-year-old record of 3:55.3 was way, way cool. Cooler yet was the way Webb came back to earth afterward and started thinking about getting even better. "I can compete with these guys," he told me. "Now I want to beat them." Four years ago, then-Georgetown head coach Frank Gagliano told me "America needs a great miler for the sport to thrive." I believe America has one. 2) Quick Webb story: Three weeks ago when I was at his Reston, Va. high school to report the Sports Illustrated story that appears in the May 28 issue, Webb saw me arrive and bopped over to say, "You picked a good day. I'm doing a really hard workout." He was laughing, right before ripping off seven 400s in 56-point, which you know has got to hurt lots. The guy loves running fast. Period. 3) Quick Webb story II: Once it came time to race on Sunday, Webb was thoroughly unintimidated by his opposition. Just a bunch of runners. Most kids his age break out in hives when they face another good high school runner. He's got stones. 4) Don't say Maurice Greene doesn't learn. The Sydney relay flap has taught him the value of a soft answer. After Jamaica's Patrick Jarrett beat him in the 100, aided by a false start so blatant that meet director Tom Jordan apologized to Greene afterward, Mo refused to publicly blame Jarrett's flyer for his loss. "I can't worry about that," he said. "Once I came out of the blocks I hesitated, and that's why I lost." Privately, Mo seethed, but he took the high road for the minicams, which was savvy. 5) It was nice to see Suzy Favor Hamilton win the 1,500 meters and get her customary adulation from the Hayward Field crowd. She admits now that her Sydney homestretch meltdown was caused by a panic attack and not dehydration. Fact is, most knowledgeable observers suspected as much. Suzy is also proclaiming, in yet another series of soul-baring interviews, that she has again found a true reason for racing. This time it's "to run for myself." Last year it was to honor the memory of her brother, Dan, who committed suicide in 1999. A gentle suggestion: Even as a journalist who loves to have people talk, I'm thinking that maybe Suzy, a delightful person, should stop publicly analyzing why she runs, because it only restarts the pressure cycle. Maybe just run, and keep it simple. 6) Marion Jones is running slowly so far. By her standards, a 22.26-second 200 meters with a brisk tailwind is walking. I'm not sure what to make of that, but for now I'll assume it's just hard training and that she'll be flying by July. 7) High jumper Amy Acuff is a good candidate for comeback athlete of the year, off her 6-foot-6 winning leap. 8) If you care about running, you've got to love Eugene. It's the only place in America where fans fill an intimate stadium and make a U.S. track meet feel like Zurich. Oregonians walk the walk, too. I went for a 45-minute run early Sunday morning before the Pre and saw at least 20 other runners. Bless their Pacific Northwestern hearts. In my Connecticut hometown, I can go two weeks without seeing a total of 20 runners. Sports Illustrated senior writer Tim Layden covers track and field for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. Click here to send him a question or comment.
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