A posting to the Canadian list that the American centrists might find of interest. His
time is
confirmed. He comes from the same "Rift Valley" area of Southern Ontario area as
Sullivan and Hood
among many others.
"I heard that junior runner, Nathan Brannen, ran a 1:46.6 800m today at the
national champs. If that's an accurate result, it's a new Can Junior record!
With all the hype surrounding Webb's sub 4:00, Nathan will be going into
Michigan this fall almost unnoticed, despite an indoor 4:03 mile and a superior
800m time to Webb. Even the Canadian news service overlooked Brannen's
accomplishment.
Based on what I've heard from some Tri-city runners, Nathan hasn't even been
doing any real quick speed sessions yet! A lot of the intervals have been 3k-10k
orientated stuff. Webb's been hammering reps all winter and spring to get his
mile time down to where it is right now. Apparently Webb ran 8 X 400m at 53-54
with a short jog recovery prior to Pre. Brannen's speed has come mostly by way
of his strength and natural speed thus far.
I wonder if his 1:46 and 3:45 from 2000 are just scratching the surface with
this kid? Nationals are Nathan's first track race this year where he's actually
raced against senior athletes. He's run a couple of solo 1:48-1:49's already
this spring in local H.S. races. I wouldn't be surprised to see him crush the
4:00 barrier himself this year, given the right competition. Could Brannen be
the
next great North American miler, developing right next to the supposed heir to
that title? It will be fun watching him and Webb at next June's NCAA's.
J. Holowka"
Regards,
Martin
Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2001 02:52:23
From: "alan tobin" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Subject: t-and-f: There goes the market value
Now that Webb is not going to Worlds I guess it pretty much takes away the
spotlight that track has had since he broke Ryun's record. In a perfect
world, he would have been top 3, got the A standard in Europe went to worlds
and competed. Hopefully the spotlight will still remain, but I'm afraid that
after the Worlds hoopla as usual track will return with the likes of table
tennis and bowling on the sports scene radar..
Alan
