The Webb master

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EUGENE, Ore. -- The Alan Webb who will compete in the men’s 1,500-meter quarterfinals on Thursday at Hayward Field and the Alan Webb who set a national prep record with a 3-minute, 59.86-second mile in 2001 are very different people.

That 2001 Webb was mostly promise. This Webb has performed, though he’s still trying to get a good Olympic result on his resume.

Webb, 25, has endured many disappointments -- he won the Olympic trials 1,500 in 2004 but didn’t get out of the first round of qualifying at Athens -- but has also enjoyed significant triumphs, including setting an American record of 3:46.91 in the mile last year and running a world-leading 3:30.54 in the 1,500.

‘Somebody told me that every seven years you become a different person,’ he said. ‘I feel like it’s a totally different game to me now. Like how I see things and how I approach it is different, and my confidence is different.

‘I think I’m a different runner than I was before. Smarter, not just in individual races but on the whole.’

That seasoning helped him get through some difficult moments this season. He skipped the indoor season and has competed outdoors only a few times, recording a seventh-place finish in the 1,500 here at the Prefontaine Classic and a did-not-finish at the Carlsbad 5,000 in April.

‘In the past I might have gotten real frantic,’ he said, ‘but it helps having the confidence of a couple of times where I’ve struggled in my career and just returned even better. It’s ‘let’s just relax, let’s keep turning those legs over in training.’ As long as you still want it, as long as you’re still honest with yourself -- do I want to still do this? The answer is yes.’

Webb skipped the 800 to conserve his strength for the 1,500 here. ‘I’m confident right now,’ he said. ‘I’m getting back on there. I’m going to be ready to go.’

-- Helene Elliott