BBC Athletics Correspondent John Rawling reports for BBC Sport

The 25-year-old World Champion was originally credited with a time of 9.78sec by the officials, but the time was later confirmed at 9.79.

The former record of 9.84 was set by Donovan Bailey of Canada on 27 July 1996 at the Atlanta Olympics.

Greene: World's top sprinter

Since the introduction of electronic timing in the 1960s no runner has managed to slice such a margin off the record.

"I expected it," said Greene. "I wanted to win it here ... This is only the beginning."

The race, a special event for top sprinters at the meet, took place on a nearly windless evening in the stadium that will be the main venue for the 2004 Olympics.

Maurice Greene: "I had to be in the race"

Ato Boldon of Trinidad and Tobago was second at 9.86 seconds, followed by Bruny Surin of Canada in 9.97 seconds.

The crowd gave the Kansas City, Kansas, native a standing ovation as he hugged other athletes and waved the banner of his manager's organization.

Special place

"This is a special place for me," said Greene, who won the 1997 World Championships on the same track.

Bolden: Second at birthplace of track and field

Boldon agreed, and then promised to beat the mark.

"I think it's very significant we came to the birthplace of track and field to break this record," said Greene's training partner.

"Next time it will be me who gets the record."

Boldon had earlier finished first in the regular 100m event with 9.97 seconds.

Greene's time makes him the man to beat at the World Championships in Seville in August.

He equalled Bailey's world record at Eugene, Oregon, on 30 May but was propelled by a strong tail-wind.

The clock stops and Greene's delight is clear

Greene also holds the world indoor 60m mark at 6.39 seconds and was the world's top sprinter last year.

He set his next goal at 9.76 seconds and revealed that he had wanted to tell his mother the news by phone, but she was not at home.

His new mark for the 100m equals the time set by Canadian Ben Johnson in winning the 1988 Olympic gold medal in Seoul.

Johnson's time was annulled after the Canadian tested positive for steroids.

Maurice Greene's coach John Smith: "I was pacing up and down"

The Athens meet is named for the Greek athlete Kostas Tsiklitiras, who was the world's last Olympic champion in the standing long jump.

He died a year after taking the gold medal at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics.

The sport was eliminated from the games programme after the Stockholm event.

Previous 100m records