Power Meeting Is Set for Men’s 100

Tim Montgomery, who holds the world record in the 100-meter dash, and the man whose record he broke, Olympic gold medalist Maurice Greene, are scheduled to run side by side today in the Mt. San Antonio College Relays, a potential preview of the Athens Olympic sprint.

Montgomery initially entered the university/open 100, which will precede the invitational 100. However, Mt. SAC meet director Scott Davis said Saturday that he was contacted by Montgomery’s agent, Charles Wells, who requested that Montgomery be moved to the same race as Greene.

“When Charlie called, he said, ‘Here’s an early Christmas present. Tim wants to run against Maurice,’ ” Davis said. “I told him to call Emanuel Hudson [Greene’s agent] and get back to me, and he called me back and said, ‘It’s on.’ ”

Davis also said he offered to “stick somebody between them and put them in Lanes 4 and 6,” but Wells said placing them in adjacent lanes was fine.

“These things can change, but there’s a pretty good chance of it happening,” Davis said.

Montgomery set the world record of 9.78 seconds at Paris on Sept. 14, 2002. Greene had held the previous record, 9.79, since 1999. They have not run in the same race since the 2002 U.S. outdoor championships, won by Greene in 9.88 seconds over Montgomery, who was timed in 9.89 seconds.

Mt. SAC is a popular starting point for the outdoor season and for building toward the Olympics.

The women’s 200 will feature Marion Jones, in her first outdoor race since the 2002 Grand Prix Final. Jones took last year off to have a baby with Montgomery; their son, Tim Jr., was born June 28. Torri Edwards, the 2003 world silver medalist in the 100, will be in a separate section of the 200.

The 400-meter hurdles will feature 2003 world silver medalist Joey Woody. After missing the 2000 U.S. Olympic team, the Iowa resident changed his regimen and now trains in Los Angeles for several weeks at a time with former UCLA and USC coach Jim Bush.

That decision paid off at last year’s world championships in Paris, where a late burst got him to the finish line in 48.18 seconds, behind winner Felix Sanchez’s remarkable time of 47.25. With that and the No. 1 ranking in the U.S. for 2003, Woody feels more secure as he looks ahead to July and the U.S. Olympic trials.

“In 2000, my training had gone pretty well, but I had some minor injuries and I probably didn’t have as much confidence,” said Woody, who plans to run at the Drake Relays next week.

“Going in this year I have way more confidence.... I’ve been having some of the best workouts of my life, and as long as I stay healthy there’s no reason to think I won’t make the Olympic team.”

He expects his toughest competition today to come from Great Britain’s Chris Rawlinson, who made it to the semifinals at the 2000 Olympics, finished fifth at the 2001 world championships and sixth last year at Paris. “He’s a phenomenal athlete and he always opens with a fast time,” Woody said, adding that British athletes have been training here for a month. “This is definitely a good field to open against.”

Scheduled to run in the women’s 100 are Inger Miller, the 1999 world champion at 200 meters and silver medalist at 100 meters; Chryste Gaines, who was ranked second in the U.S. and the world in the 100 last year, and 18-year-old Allyson Felix of Los Angeles.

Felix, an L.A. Baptist High graduate, had a breakthrough season last year, winning the 200 at Mt. SAC in 22.51 seconds and setting a U.S. junior record of 22.11 in May at Mexico City. Her time wasn’t recognized as a world junior record because no drug testing was conducted at the meet.

An intriguing entrant is 43-year-old Merlene Ottey, a seven-time Olympic medalist and 14-time world medalist for Jamaica who has become a citizen of Slovenia and represents that country.

The men’s 400-meter relay also figures to be outstanding. USA Track and Field has entered three teams and the HSI track club, which has headquarters in Irvine, sent two teams.

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Track and Field

* What: Mt. San Antonio College Relays at Walnut.

* Today’s schedule: Kids’ race is 9-9:40 a.m., university/open and invitational events are 9:50 a.m.-6 p.m.