Maurice Greene: The world's fastest man

Year after year, the Penn Relays boil down to a competition between American runners and the rest of the world.

And now, without the domineering presence of Michael Johnson, the U.S. team is in search of a new hero.

Enter Maurice Greene.

You can call him MoGreene, Mo, Reece or Mo-Reece. But whichever one you choose, he's still the fastest man in history.

In 1999, Greene snatched the title of "World's Fastest Man" from Donovan Bailey, shattering the previous world record time by five-hundreths of a second.

Greene's blazing time of 9.79 still stands today.

Just one year later, Greene led the U.S. 4x100 squad to victory at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Greene, who doesn't believe in pre-race rituals, went on to capture the gold medal in the 100 meter dash.

Even though Greene has claimed the two most coveted glories in track -- a world record and an Olympic medal -- he continues to train.

His goal?

"I'm looking for one thing, and that is perfection," Greene said. "And until I find it, I'll keep trying."

Plus, Greene can't turn his back on the sport that first grabbed his attention in the fourth grade.

Growing up in Kansas City, Kan., Greene was an athlete from the start. In elementary school he competed as an eight-year-old fourth grader in the fifth-grade-only competition.

And he took home blue ribbons in the three events he entered -- the 50m dash, the 100m dash and the eraser shuffle.

Aware of his obvious talent, Maurice's older brother, Ernest prompted his sibling to take up running.

Maurice agreed, but only because he enjoyed watching Ernest's meets.

Ernest, who established himself as a successful sprinter in high school, used to bring Maurice along with him to competitions.

Even though Maurice was tempted to pursue football during high school, he soon realized that track was his true passion.

After graduating from high school he enrolled in a local community college, but trained on his own.

Without the backing of a college, it was difficult for Greene to get the attention that many Division I sprinters garner.

Although Greene at first found it difficult to establish himself on the professional track circuit, he soon realized that the way to glory is through hard work and fast times.

Greene won his first World Championship in 1997 in Athens, Greece. Since then, he has refused to turn back, maintaining his status as the world's best for the past five years.

Greene has also made his mark on the Penn Relays during the same time. Most notably, last year the USA "Blue" 4x100 team -- comprised of Greene, Jon Drummond, Bernard Williams, Curtis Johnson -- stormed past the competition and in the process set a new meet record with a time of 38.03 seconds.

Although he is unable to confirm his participation in the 108th running of the Penn Relays, Greene may anchor the USA's 4x100 meter relay team.

"I like everything about the Penn Relays," Greene said. "The whole thing is good and the whole thing is fun. I love going there and competing. The fans are great, the competition is good and we just have a big show and a big party."

If Greene makes an appearance at the 2002 Penn Relays, it is possible that the crowd won't get to see the World's Fastest Man in his best form.

Greene has been diligently working through a recurring hamstring injury. In addition to his physical ailments, Greene has struggled as of late with mental setbacks.

"It's been tough because I've had a lot of deaths in the family of people I was real close to," Greene said. "My grandmother died, my uncle just past away a week ago. Its just been tough on me that way. I've been messed up mentally, but it's starting to look up now."

But now that Greene has won it all, he is focusing on himself. Perfecting his own race is his goal, and he could care less about what the guy in lane five is doing.

"I gained the world record and I have a lot of accomplishments. But I don't necessarily look at it that a way," Greene said. "I just figure I've done something good one time, now it's time for me to do something better.

"I don't dwell on what I've done in the past. I have to look forward to what I'm going to do in the future -- try to better myself and better my sport, the sport that I love."

Maurice Greene has gone back to doing what he knows best -- hard work. In the upcoming months, Greene will continue to train with Ato Boldon, one of his most challening competitors.

"It's great, even though he's my toughest competitor, he's my best training partner," Greene said. "We push each other in practice. We're very fierce competitors, but we're good friends also."

This weekend, as the cameras lineup to capture the world's top runners, perhaps America will realize its hidden jewel.

With Michael Johnson's gold shoes now retired, a new hero is ready to emerge. Greene is the world's fastest man, and he's ready to be perfect.

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