http://www.iaaf.org/news/Kind=2/newsId=29081.html
Sunday 10 April 2005 Austin, Texas, USA - It was the annual "Saturday of Speed" at the Texas Relays yesterday, and former World and Olympic champion Maurice Greene looked like his old self as he anchored an HSI foursome to two sprint relay victories before a crowd of 22,500. Ten years ago, Greene came here an unknown and won a wind-aided 100 metres in 9.88, beating Carl Lewis, John Drummond and Tim Montgomery. "Who?!" asked Lewis. Now everyone here knows who he is, and the three-time 100m World champion basks in the applause when he is introduced. They applauded even louder after he ran. The HSI team ran in the same order for both the 4x100m and 4x200m relays: John Capel, Leonard Scott, Kaaron Conright, and Greene. In the 4x100 Greene crossed the line in 38.48 - the world's fastest time of 2005 - ahead of two USA "all-star" teams which ran 38.68 and 38.93 with a minimum of practice earlier in the week. The 4x200 was won in 1:21.49, just a tad faster than Mississippi State's 1:21.57 which won the university division race. Greene, a "people's champion" if ever there was one, spent a lot of time after the races talking with the spectators and posing with them for their friends to photograph. He was also his usual - when healthy and winning - ebullient self with the press. Aiming for sub-10 clocking number 60! "It's always fun to come back here to Texas," he said. "It opens our [HSI] season and gives us a break from training. John's (John Smith) been beatin' on us pretty hard. The fans are great. When they [announce] my name, they go crazy!" "I have two goals this year," he added. "One is to win the World Championship. The other is to run under 10 flat 60 times. I've done it 56 times so far." Greene said he would concentrate on the 100 metres, with perhaps an occasional 200. "But," he said, "the 100 is the race I love the most. I mean - it's me!" Speaking of the World record which he lost to Tim Montgomery in 2002, Greene said, "This year I want to run as fast as I can, and I know I'm capable of running faster than I have." Fast wind aided sprinting There were plenty of other fast performances, but most of them were wind-aided. 100-metre victories were won by Walter Dix of Florida State University (9.96, +4.5 m/s), DaBryan Blanton of Oklahoma (10.07, +4.2), Mark Jelks (10.01, +3.6) of Greene's native Kansas City, and Steve Mullings (JAM) (10.06, +2.5). Mullings also contributed a strong leg to Mississippi State's excellent 4x200 time of 1:21.62. There were fast 4x400 races, too, capped by a "USA Red" team anchored by Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner and timed in 3:01.91. Hosts dominate women's division The women's university races were dominated by the host University of Texas, which posted times of 43.25 (4x100), 1:31.97 (4x200), and 3:31.29 (4x400) Texas' star was Marshevet Hooker, who added to her Long Jump win of 6.65 Friday with anchor legs in the two shorter relays and a close loss to NCAA indoor champion Tremedia Brice in the 100 metres, 11.00 to 11.03 (+5.7) Statistically, Texas' women hurdlers perhaps did even better. Melaine Walker won the 400 hurdles final in 55.37; Ashlee Williams clocked a legal (+0.8) 100m Hurdles victory over Priscilla Lopes (CAN), 12.83 to 12.89; and 2004 Texas graduate Nichole Denby won her 100m hurdles race in a slightly windy (+2.3) victory over NCAA indoor champion Virginia Powell, 12.66w to 12.70w. The fastest women's 4x400 was turned in by another "USA Red" which ran 3:28.53 included former Texas sprinters Raasin McIntosh and Sanya Richards, who anchored in 50.2. James Dunaway for the IAAF FULL RESULTS http://www.texassports.com/results/tr2005/index.htm
