Greene grabs sprint gold

Maurice Greene: Fastest man on the planet

Maurice Greene lived up to his billing as the world's fastest man with a superb victory in the final of the men's 100m Olympic final.

But there was bad news for Britain's Dwain Chambers, who just missed out on a medal and had to settle for fourth place.

Chambers' compatriot Darren Campbell finished in sixth spot.

Greene blazed ahead of the rest and was first across the line in 9.87 seconds, with Trinidad's Ato Boldon in second and Obadele Thompson of Barbados in third.

Boldon, bronze medallist in Atlanta in 1996 and Greene's friend and training partner, was the only other man to beat 10 seconds as he held off Thompson's challenge to grab silver in 9.99secs.

Dwain Chambers: 0.04sec away from a medal

Greene, reigning world champion and world record-holder, was hot favourite going into the Games - and he did not disappoint as he became the first American to win the title since Carl Lewis in 1988.

Cramp

In winning his semi-final earlier in the Sydney evening Chambers had showed no signs of the cramp that threatened to end his challenge in Friday's heats.

He was in contention for a podium finish for most of the final, but he appeared to dip too soon and was beaten for bronze by Thompson by just 0.04sec.

After his sensational victory, an emotional Greene said: "I came here very focused and tried to concentrate on my race.

Greene celebrates with training partner Boldon

"I know Ato is a very tough competitor and he pushed me all the way to the line. Some people think you can just turn up and get the gold but that is certainly not the case but now I've got the gold I'm a very happy man."

Silver medallist and Greene's training partner Boldon was not too disappointed despite being beaten into second place.

He said: "I think I can win the 200m. I came here to give both the sprints a shot. This is all I could muscle in the 100m because I think Maurice ran a superior race but I'm looking for gold in the 200m."

Men's 100m Final:

1. Maurice Greene (USA) 9.87
2. Ato Boldon (TRI) 9.99
3. Obadele Thompson (BAR) 10.04
4. Dwain Chambers (GB) 10.08
5. Jon Drummond (USA) 10.09
6. Darren Campbell (GB) 10.13
7. Kim Collins (KNA) 10.17
Dnf: A Zakari (GHA)