Courtesy: USATF

USATF Outdoor Nationals preview

At the 2002 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships Friday through Sunday at Stanford University's Cobb Track and Angell Field, an expected packed house likely will be treated to what the track and field world has been waiting for all season - a head-to-head showdown between Maurice Greene and Tim Montgomery in the men's 100 meters.

Greene and Montgomery were joined by Olympic champion sprinter Marion Jones, the world's top two shot putters, Kevin Toth and Adam Nelson, four-time U.S. champion and three-time world champion hurdler Allen Johnson, and world junior record holder LaShinda Demus at a USA Track & Field press conference.

Jones leads the world in the 100 meters (10.90 seconds) and 200 meters (22.32) and is the heavy favorite to win both events at Stanford. Nelson and Toth will be joined by three-time world champion John Godina for a shot put battle royal. The 1996 Olympic champion, Johnson is the favorite to win his fifth U.S. 110m hurdles crown. Demus, who like Johnson is coached by University of South Carolina head coach Curtis Frye, will run her specialty 400m hurdles at the USA Junior Championships, which are held in conjunction with the Outdoor Championships and serve at the Team USA selection event for the World Junior Championships. Demus recently won the event at the 2002 NCAA Championships as a freshman.

Other key athletes competing at Stanford include Olympic champion pole vaulter Stacy Dragila, three-time world 100m hurdles champion Gail Devers, American record holder pole vaulter Jeff Hartwig, Olympic pole vault champ Nick Hysong, Olympic gold medalist 400m hurdler Angelo Taylor, American record-holding distance runner Deena Drossin and 10-time U.S. 1,500m champion Regina Jacobs.

While the shot putters have been dominating the field of competition throughout USA Track & Field's 2002 Golden Spike Tour with spectacular head-to-head competition, the men's 100 meters packs a huge buzz of its own. Greene, the three-time world champion, Olympic champion and world record holder, and Montgomery, the reigning U.S. champion and silver medalist behind Greene at the 2001 World Outdoor Championships, have talked all year of racing each other. Until now, it hasn't happened.

With Greene having run the 100m only once in 2001, in Athens, and Montgomery not having raced in four weeks, the two may not meet until the men's 100m final at the U.S. Championships. Montgomery has the fastest time in the world this year at 9.94 seconds, but Greene owns the world record at 9.79 seconds and beat Montgomery the last time they raced, at the 2001 World Championships.

"The time has come," Montgomery said. "This year has been a roller-coaster year for me. Instead of going to Athens and taking on Maurice, I just went home and focused on training."

As for how a Montgomery-Greene showdown might shape up this weekend, Montgomery said, "I'm always striving to run faster than I ever have before. And I'm hoping that (Greene) is going to run faster than he's ever run before. If everybody crosses the finish line together, god willing, it's going to be something fast. I'm sure he's not going to let me win; I'm sure I'm not going to let him win."

Greene also is looking forward to a heated competition. "My season is just beginning," he said. "I'm just looking forward to coming out here and putting on a great show. A lot of things have been said this year. Now it's time to put it all on the line, see what you've got."

Greene and Montgomery won't be alone, however. Four other runners in the 100-meter field have seed times under 10 seconds, including reigning U.S. 200m champion Shawn Crawford (9.95), the world's fastest 200m man last season Joshua "J.J." Johnson (9.95), 2001 USA indoor 200m champion Coby Miller (9.98) and two-time U.S. runner-up Brian Lewis (9.99) having sub-10 seed times. First round action in the men's 100m begins Friday at 5 p.m., with the semifinals scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Finals will be held Saturday at 5:35 p.m.

The USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be broadcast from 5:30-7 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, June 12 on ESPN2.