Fast times expected in Carson

The facts

* When: Today, noon-3 p.m.

* Where: Home Depot Center, Carson

* TV: ESPN, 1-3 p.m.

Top events

The men’s 400 meters features defending Olympic and world champion Jeremy Wariner against top contenders such as 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Derrick Brew and 2005 NCAA champion Darold Williamson, Wariner’s former Baylor teammate. Wariner has set himself the goal of breaking Michael Johnson’s record of 43.18 by the end of the world championships this summer. Wariner beat Williamson last month in Osaka, Japan, in a time of 44.02 seconds to 44.68 for Williamson.

The men’s 100 will be brightened by the late entry of exuberant 32-year-old Maurice Greene but will more likely be determined by the performance of Tyson Gay, the 24-year-old from Arkansas who is ranked second in the world to Jamaican world-record holder Asafa Powell. Also in the field are Derrick Atkins of the Bahamas, who ran a 9.98 last month to set a Bahamas national record, and Leonard Scott, the 2006 world indoor champion in the 60 meters. Greene won the 100 gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and a bronze in 2004 in Athens but has raced only once in two years.

The men’s 200 includes Olympic champion Shawn Crawford, who spent last season concentrating on the 100, in which he had finished fourth in Athens. Xavier Carter, who ran the second-fastest time in 200 history last year, a 19.63 in Lausanne, Switzerland, should push Crawford. Carter passed Gay down the stretch in that Swiss race. Also is the field is 2005 world champion Wallace Spearmon.

The women’s 200 is highlighted by 2004 Olympic silver medalist and 2005 world champion Allyson Felix of Los Angeles against 2005 world silver medalist Rachelle Smith.

The women’s pole vault will be a showdown between 2000 Olympic gold medalist Stacy Dragila, who is trying to come back after Achilles’ surgery, and American Jenn Stuczynski, who is ranked No. 1 in the U.S. after winning the 2006 U.S. outdoor championships. Stuczynski, 25, had been vaulting less than a year when she won her first national title in 2005.

Other notable competitors

Ethiopian 5,000-meter world-record holder Meseret Defar in the women’s two miles; 2005 world shotput champion Adam Nelson, seven-time U.S. javelin champion Breaux Greer; two-time Olympic silver medalist Terrence Trammell in the men’s 110 hurdles; 2003 world champion Torri Edwards in the women’s 100.

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diane.pucin@latimes.com