By Gene Cherry (Reuters)
23 June 1999 - Eugene, Oregon - Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene, world record-holders both, put their sizzling speed to the test this weekend in a 200 metres showdown at the U.S. national athletics championships. Their meeting in the cool of Oregon's early summer is a rarity, both athletes being defending world champions in other events.
But there is no doubting the seriousness of their anticipated clash on Sunday, the last day of the four-day competition, which will determine America's team for August's World Championships in Seville, Spain.
"The 200 metres will be the best race at nationals," world 200 metres champion Ato Boldon of Trinidad predicted last week, minutes after training partner Greene smashed Canadian Donovan Bailey's 100 metres world record with a time of 9.79 seconds in Athens.
But the lustre of the championships will not come solely from the two speed kings. The outstanding Marion Jones will seek to embellish her glittering credentials with wins in the 200 metres and long jump as she prepares for what she hopes will be a four-gold-medal performance in Seville.
Olympic 110 metres hurdles champion Allen Johnson takes on the young pretenders led by Larry Wade, while the nation's top women's hurdler Melissa Morrison faces double Olympic 100 metres gold medallist Gail Devers, who is on a comeback and due to compete in the high hurdles as well as the 100 sprint.
The top three finishers in each event will be eligible for Seville, with exception made only for defending world champions who are guaranteed "wild card" berths.
That has prompted reigning world champions Michael Johnson (men's 400 metres), Greene (men's 100 metres) and Jones (women's 100 metres) to run other events here.
Allen Johnson (110 metres hurdles) and John Godina (shot put) also have free entry to the world championships but will still compete here in their speciality events.
Jones and Greene would like to use their 200 metres runs here to set up sprint doubles at 100 and 200 metres in Seville.
Michael Johnson, however, has yet to decide whether to run the 200 or the 400 in the world championships. He has said he will not do both. Healthy again after a series of injuries during the past two years, the 200 metres world record-holder said on Tuesday he believed he was ready to run fast times again in the event.
"This will be my first time since '96 getting back into some hot competition into the 200, so my focus will be on this race and doing well," he said. He insisted Greene's "blazing" 100 metres would not affect how he himself ran the 200. "The fact that someone goes out and breaks the world record in a totally different event, there's nothing you can do about that," Johnson said.
He called the field for the event "loaded," pointing to college speedsters John Capel, who has run 19.87 seconds this season, and Coby Miller as potential candidates for the U.S. team along with himself, Greene and several other veterans.
Jones, who is bidding to become the first athlete to win four gold medals at one world championships, wants to win here as easily as possible, her coach, Trevor Graham, said.
"We're just going to play it safe," Graham said. "If we can win the long jump with one or two jumps we will. And if we can win the 200 in 23 (seconds) flat we will." Jones's right knee, slightly injured while the athlete was jumping in North Carolina earlier this month, is fine, Graham said. "There was nothing involved, no tear or anything...just a little sore," he said. "She was back jumping today."
