Athletics: Greene scorches to second-fastest time

SEVILLE - Maurice Greene ran the second-fastest 100m in history yesterday to win the gold medal at the world athletics championships in 9.80s, just 0.01s off his world record.

Marion Jones took the women's 100m title in 10.70s, a championship record and fastest time of the year, to open her bid for a record four gold medals.

Both Greene and Jones, the world's fastest man and woman, won the world titles for a second consecutive time.

Greene, running in lane five, was slow out of the blocks and trailed Canadian Bruny Surin for the first half of the race. But he moved into another gear in the final 50m and stormed past Surin.

Surin took the silver in a personal best 9.84s, and Briton Dwain Chambers was third in a career best 9.97s.

In the women's 100m, Jones shot out of the blocks and pulled away from the field.

Fellow American Inger Miller took the silver in a personal best 10.79s, and Greek Ekaterini Thanou got the bronze in 10.84s.

In one of the fastest women's dashes ever, six women ran under 11s.

Jones, unbeaten in sprint races in the past two years, is also chasing gold medals in the 200m, long jump and one of the relays.

In other events, France's Eunice Barber was poised for victory in the heptathlon, pulling ahead of Britain's Denise Lewis by 120 points with one event remaining.

* Discus thrower Ian Winchester became the latest New Zealand athlete to dip out at the championships, compounding the mood of disappointment enveloping the Kiwi camp.

Winchester, an outside chance at best to make it past qualifying in the men's discus, finished 24th overall in the field of 36 with a best distance of 58.74m.

The New Zealander started the competition seeded 26th so made a slight improvement in the final standings.

Winchester joined long jumper Chantal Brunner and middle- distance runners Toni Hodgkinson and Hamish Christensen on the sidelines after a disappointing opening two days of competition.

Chris Donaldson, who failed to make it past the first round in the 100m has a chance to atone when he runs the qualifying round of the 200m today.

Only defending women's discus world champion Beatrice Faumuina has a chance at securing a medal after comfortably making the final of her event with a hurl of 64.18m.

Walker Craig Barrett is the only New Zealander yet to see action - his 50km race is today.