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Montgomery to miss Athens
Reigning Olympic champion Maurice Greene surged from behind to win the 100m final at the United States Olympic Athletics Trials while world record-holder Tim Montgomery will stay home. Three-time world champion Greene served notice that he will be a threat to defend his title next month at Athens by winning in 9.91 seconds on Sunday with Justin Gatlin second in 9.91 seconds and Shawn Crawford third in 9.93 seconds. "I knew it was going to be a tough race. It was going to take everything I had," Greene said. "They ran good. I ran good. It's whoever executes the best." Greene closed quickly in the middle of the race to edge rivals at the line. "My fear factor is gone," Greene said. "Everyone believes they can beat me now. They are not going to give me anything." All three advanced to the Athens Games but Montgomery, fighting a possible lifetime ban on doping charges, was seventh in 10.13 seconds to end his hopes of going to Greece. "I'm going to show you. This ain't my last race," Montgomery said after exiting the stadium. Montgomery is among six athletes seeking an Athens Olympics berth who have pending drug appeals. He is among four facing lifetime bans on charges based upon gathered evidence, not a doping positive. Montgomery, who squeaked into the final by nine-thousandths of a second, has appealed his doping case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). Greene, who turns 30 in 12 days, vowed to erase doping scandal headlines with pure speed as he tries to reclaim the world record of 9.78 seconds set by Montgomery in 2002 at Paris. "We're going to give you all something else to talk about," Greene said. "We're going to make some positive things happen." Greene, nagged by injuries the past two years, will try to become the second man to defend a 100m Olympic title. Carl Lewis won the 1984 title and was awarded gold in 1988 after Canada's Ben Johnson was disqualified. "People counted me out. That doesn't worry me whatsoever," Greene said. "I knew I was going to come back. It was just a matter of time. This is my time." Gatlin, 22, and Crawford, 26, are both trained by Trevor Graham, the former coach of Montgomery and Marion Jones. Crawford has the 2004 world best of 9.88 seconds. "It'll be a coin toss who wins in Athens," Gatlin said. "We have the three best sprinters in the world representing us in Athens," Crawford said. "I don't worry about the others. I just go hard and train. I'm ready to bring the gold home." Calvin and Alvin Harrison, also fighting doping charges, advanced to Monday's 400m semi-finals to extend their hopes for a place in Athens. "I'll be eligible," Calvin Harrison said. "Everything will be OK so keep the thumbs up and the smiles going. Everything will be OK. Everything will be OK with (Alvin) too." Also advancing was Jerome Young, whose successful US doping appeal to run in the 2000 Olympics was recently overturned by CAS, leaving a 4x400m US relay gold from Sydney in doubt. Reigning Olympic men's pole vault champion Nick Hysong will not defend his title in Athens after finishing fifth in the US trials, clearing just 5.75m. "I can relax a little more this summer and take some time off," Hysong said. "I just need a tad more confidence to finish the jumps." Tim Mack, the 2001 Brisbane Goodwill Games pole vault winner, cleared 5.90m to set the pace with Toby Stevenson, the 2004 world leader with a 6.00m clearance, second at 5.85m to book his Athens trip. James Carter ran 2004's fastest time in the world to win the 400m hurdles in 47.68 seconds, lowering Dominican world champion Felix Sanchez's mark of 47.86 seconds. "He's very beatable and I plan to do it at the Games," Carter said of Sanchez. The reigning Olympic men's 400m hurdles champion, Angelo Taylor, will have the chance to defend his title after finishing second in 48.03 seconds. "I've been battling injuries ever since 2001," Taylor said. "I just couldn't get it together. This year I did everything to stay in it. I did a great job getting second." Two-time US college champion Sheena Johnson became the all-time 10th-fastest performer to win the women's 400m hurdles in 52.95 seconds, lowering the 2004 world-best mark of 53.52 seconds set a week ago by Australia's Jana Pittman. World champion Dwight Phillips won the long jump in 8.28m to secure an Olympic spot. He owns the 2004 world best of 8.44m. Tiombe Hurd won the women's triple jump final with an American record leap of 14.45m, breaking the old mark of 14.41m by Sheila Hudson in 1996. |
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