Friday, June 21, 2002
Greene is healthy at track championships
By BOB BAUM
AP Sports Writer
STANFORD, Calif. — Maurice Greene is back and ready for all challengers — especially Tim Montgomery.
Greene stayed away from racing for 10 months while recovering from a hamstring injury. He had hurt himself at the 2001 world championships late in a 100-meter race he won in the third-fastest time ever.
He returned to the track June 10 in Greece and won the 100 in 9.97 seconds.
“I think I'm going to come here, and I'm going to run fast,” he said Thursday. “As a matter of fact, I know I'm going to run fast.”
Greene will be going for his third 100-meter title at the U.S. Outdoor Track and Field Championships, which run Friday through Sunday at Stanford's Cobb Track and Angell Field.
Montgomery is the defending champion and has the fastest time in the world this year at 9.94.
“I'm always striving to run faster than I ever ran before,” Montgomery said. “And I'm hoping he's going to run faster than he's ever run before. To do that, it's going to take a world record.”
In the trash-talking world of men's sprinting, truth and posturing are hard to separate. But Montgomery wants nothing more than to dethrone Greene, the world record holder and defending world champion at 100 meters. Greene, though, is relishing the opportunity to silence his challengers.
“I know I can run faster,” Greene said. “I'm looking for one thing, and that's perfection. Until I find that, I'll keep trying.”
Many of those who watched Greene's victory in the 100 at last year's world championships in Edmonton, Alberta, believe he was on his way to a world record had he not limped the final few steps with an injured left hamstring. His time of 9.82 was 0.03 seconds off his world record of 9.79. Montgomery was second in 9.85.
Montgomery ran his 9.94 in Pretoria, South Africa, at altitude on April 12. Since then, his performances have been up and down in travels to the Penn Relays, to Japan and then back to the United States for the Prefontaine Classic, where he won in 9.97.
He blamed his inconsistency on a lack of serious training and being away for a month from his coach, Trevor Graham, also the longtime coach of Marion Jones. Montgomery skipped a trip back to Europe.
“Instead of going to Athens and taking on Maurice, I just went back to do training and focus on myself,” Montgomery said.
That's the advice he got in a talk with Jones.
“I asked her if there is anything I need to change,” he said. “What I got from the conversation was to just focus on you and do what you've got to do. This is all preparation for the world championships and the Olympic Games.”
Jones enters the U.S. championships with the world's fastest times in the 100 (10.90 seconds) and 200 (22.32) this year after a tough 2001, when she was dethroned as 100 world champion and was divorced from shot putter T.J. Hunter.
“I've never been one to lie about anything, and overall it was a difficult year for me,” Jones said. “I had several things going on off the track that I needed to deal with. And whether I wanted to admit it last year or not, looking back, sure it affected what I did on the track.
“But I'm so excited now to look forward to the future and just have this renewed spirit for life and for the sport that I love.”
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Greene is healthy at track championships
