by Guy Jackson
PARIS, July 3 (AFP) - Olympic champion Maurice Greeneis seeking the speed that will take him to a fourthstraight world title when he runs here on Friday on thetrack where the World Championships begin in sevenweeks’ time.
Greene came out this year vowing to amend for adreadful 2002, but the 28-year-old has been upstaged by unheralded sprinterssuch as Nigeria’s Deji Aliu, who beat him into third inrainy Lausanne on Tuesday and is back to haunt theAmerican here in the second Golden League meeting of theseason.
Aliu is knocking on the door of a magical sub-10second time, having run 10 flat in Greece last month.
Consistency has been hard to find in the short sprintthis season - Australia’s Patrick Johnson for examplewill want to prove his world-leading 9.93sec time back in early May was no one-off.
The winner in Oslo last week, Britain’s MarkLewis-Francis, is looking for a second Golden League winand European champion Dwain Chambers could have finallygot his season under way after victory over world recordholder Tim Montgomery in Glasgow last Sunday.
Montgomery meanwhile has scratched from the meetingafter returning home to the United States after hispartner, Olympic champion Marion Jones, gave birth totheir son.
At just 17, Allyson Felix has been compared to Jonesand Europe gets its first look at the fastest woman inthe 200 metres this year when she clashes with Europeanchampion and home heroine Muriel Hurtis.
Athletes like Felix will be having a foretaste of theStade de France that is the focus for their entireseason - the World Championships which take place onAugust 23-31.
Haile Gebrselassie knows his heir apparent, KenenisaBekele, has been installed as favourite for the 10,000metres title after two breathtaking performances over5,000 metres in the space of five days.
Bekele is due to meet the old Ethiopian master in nextweek’s Rome meeting, but ‘Gebr’ has other youngpretenders to worry about in the shape of 19-year-old Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who was third in Oslowith a new world junior record of 12min 52.61sec.
Unlike the 100 metres, the 400 metres hurdles worldtitle already looks to have only one man’s name on it:reigning champion Felix Sanchez, who left his rivalstrailing by over seven metres at the finish in Lausanneto record a world best for the year of 47.80sec. The manfrom the Dominican Republic is back to repeat the feathere.
Yamile Aldama will aim to prove again she is the classact in the women’s triple jump, but she needs to find acountry to take her on in time for next year’s AthensOlympics.
The Cuban is divorcing her British husband after hewas jailed for 15 years for his part in a massive drugsring, and that could delay her application for Britishcitizenship.
``I left my country in very sad circumstances and nowI have no other option. I am still waiting for an answerfrom Britain but I would be more than happy to takecitizenship in any other country who would beinterested,’’ said Aldama.