Maurice shows Greene signal of being the fastest on Earth

But Greene prevailed and the 9.80 was just one hundredth of a second outside the world record 9.79 he ran June 16 in Athens.

Dwain Chambers of Britain got the bronze medal with 9.97 seconds.

The women’s race saw Jones in charge from the start as she stormed to victory in a 1999 world best 10.70, just five hundredth outside her career fastest 10.65. The win came 24 hours after her husband C.J. Hunter had won the shot put.

Inger Miller completed a glorious US one-two when she lowered her personal best for the third time in four Seville races to collect the silver in 10.79 seconds.

The 60 metresworld indoor champion Ekaterini Thanou took home the bronze in 10.84 seconds.

The 1997 200m winner Zhanna Pintusevich of Ukraine (10.95), olympic 100m champ Gail Devers of the US (10.95) and European champion Christine Arron (10.97) also stayed below 11 seconds. Never before have the top six run such fast times at a major event.

Germany’s Karsten Kobs won the men’s hammer competition with his first throw of the evening.

The competition lasted nearly two hours but no one could get within a metre of Kobs’s initial effort of 80.24 metres.

Hungary’s Zsolt Nemeth moved up from sixth to second in the final round with a throw of 79.05.

France’s Eunice Barber produced three personal bests to take the world women’s heptathlon title ahead of Briton Denise Lewis.

Barber, who began the second day just one point ahead over the European champion, consolidated her advantage in the long jump yesterday then followed up with a personal best in the javelin.

She finished with 6,861 points ahead of Lewis, who scored6,724, with Syrian Ghada Shouaa in third place on 6,500.

Barber, an emigrant from Sierra Leone, also recorded personal bests in the high jump and hurdles.

Vladislav Piskunov, of the Ukraine, finished third after throwing 79.03 in the fifth round.

In preliminary action on the second day, Olympic 800m and 1,500m champ Svetlana Masterkova of Russia won her 800m semi-final in 1:59.25 to reach the final along with the 1993 world champion Maria Mutola of Mozambique (1:59.84).

Lars Riedel needed just one throw of 64.00 metres to reach the discus final en route to a possible fifth straight men’s discus. Fellow-German and 1983 winner Juergen Schult, who with Italian sprinter Stefano Tilly has competed at all World Championships, also advanced.

Tsiaamita Paraskevi of Greece became the eighth athlete to leap beyond 15 metres in the women’s triple jump with 15.07 metres.