PALO ALTO, California, 2 June 2004 — Three time world champion Maurice Greene is back in Olympic form after winning the 100 meters at the Payton Jordan athletics meet here on Monday.

With a strong breeze behind him, the reigning Sydney Olympic gold medalist clocked a wind-aided 9.78 seconds, equaling the second fastest time in history under any conditions.

Greene also tied the world record but he benefited from a favorable wind of 3.7 meters per second which means he won’t share the fastest man in the world title with fellow American Tim Montgomery.

Montgomery ran a 9.78secs in September 2002 in Paris with a legal wind of two meters per second. Two weeks ago in Los Angeles, Greene raced to a 9.86 in a wind-aided race in front of his hometown fans.

On Monday, Greene exploded out of the starting blocks and easily beat out countrymen Justin Gatlin (9.91) and John Capel (10.07).

He also had a tailwind of 4.6 meters per second at the Home Depot meet in Los Angeles.

Greene’s time was lightning quick but it was still well off the wind-aided 9.69 posted by Obadele Thompson, of the Barbados, in 1996.

Stacy Dragila dominated the women’s pole vault, clearing 4.70 meters and sending a message to her Russians rivals that, like Greene, she is working her way into podium shape.

In men’s pole vault, the helmeted Toby Stevenson soared 5.85 meters and American Latasha Colander won the 200 meters in 22.37. Allen Johnson cruised to victory in the men’s 110m hurdles, clocking a 13.12.

Bekele Breaks World 5,000 Meters Record

In Hengelo Netherlands, Ethiopia’s Kenenisa Bekele added to his growing claim to being the world’s greatest long distance runner by setting a men’s 5,000 meters world record of 12 minutes 37.35 seconds on Monday.

On the track that has scene scores of long distance running world records in the last decade, Bekele took more than two seconds off the mark set six years ago by his fellow Ethiopian, and boyhood hero, Haile Gebrselassie.

Bekele will now try to strip Gebrselassie of his 10,000 world record when he runs in the Ostrava Super Grand Prix meeting on June 8.

Gebrselassie had one last try to improve his own mark over the longer distance of 10,000 but found himself upstaged on the night not only by Bekele but another Ethiopian Sileshi Sihine.

Sihine beat Gebrselassie, sprinting away on the last lap of 25, to win in 26:39.69, the fastest time in the world for six years.

Gebrselassie came home second in 26:41.58, nearly 20 seconds adrift of his world record set on the same track in 1998.

Kenya’s Eliud Kipchoge, the world 5,000 meters champion who beat Bekele into third at the world championships last summer, won the men’s 1,500 in 3:33.20.

Kenya’s Isabelle Ochichi won the women’s 5,000 in 14.46:42, which was also a personal best for the 24-year-old police constable who finished sixth in the 2003 World Championships.

Brimin Kipruto became the latest model off the Kenyan production line of steeplechasers when he set 8:05.52, the third fastest junior time ever.

Canada’s Carmen Douma-Hussar, the world indoor silver medalist over the metric mile in March, added to her growing reputation by taking the women’s 1,500 in a personal best 4:04.85.

Mozambique’s Maria Mutola, the reigning Olympic and world 800 meters champion, won her specialist event in 1:58.49 while Bram Son gave the ecstatic Dutch crowd a home success to cheer by winning the men’s 800 in 1:45.01.