Athletics: You could bet your house on this ever-Greene

To judge by Maurice Greene's bullish behaviour, F. Scott Fitzgerald got it wrong about there being no second acts in American lives.

At the age of 30, the man who will retain the Olympic 100m title in Athens next month - that is, in his own boundless estimation - has returned from the twilight into which even the best eventually journey.

Having recovered fully from the motorbike accident that effectively undermined his last two seasons, Greene has won the US trials and is so sure he will run under 10 seconds at today's Norwich Union Grand Prix at Crystal Palace in London that he announced, in the swaggering manner of old: "You can bet your house on it. And if you do, I want half ... "

Greene has already shown he enjoys running at Crystal Palace, which has been renovated this year. On the old track five years ago, he set the present British All Comers' record of 9.97s, and ran only one-hundredth of a second slower there the following year.

That Greene is back to sub-10s form was bad news for today's field of Olympic 100m rivals, who include the British trio of Jason Gardener, Darren Campbell and Mark Lewis-Francis, as well as the world champion, Kim Collins, of St Kitts and Nevis.

Yet such is Greene's momentum on the approach run to the Greek city that he scarcely acknowledges any of his likely opposition there.

Asked which of his rivals might trouble him next month, he responded: "That Maurice Greene character. If he doesn't run his race, he's going to lose. If he does, he'll be fine."

As he sat, smiling and relaxed, in front of the press, his new tattoo - incorporating the acronym Goat, standing for Greatest Of All Time - exposed by his cap-sleeve T-shirt, it was as if we had all been transported back four years to the time when he had just become Olympic champion.

But as Greene went on to reveal, there have been occasions in the past couple of years when his habitual ebullience has been replaced by something perilously close to introspection.

After four global titles, the first of which came in Athens at the 1997 World Championships, Greene's career took a tumble in February 2002 when he broke his left leg in a motorbike accident.

The break was high on the fibula, the best place in terms of being able to recover swiftly.

Greene mended quickly enough to win that year's US championships, but later suffered back, knee and ankle problems.

The next year he set out to defend his world title in Paris, but pulled a quad muscle in the semifinal.

After taking a two-month break, he returned to defend the title he won in Sydney.

Nothing appears capable of diminishing the brash persona this privately quiet character has reclaimed in recent months.

"If you win a second gold medal ... " someone began.

"If?" Greene queried, with a twinkle.

"When you win a second gold medal ... " the questioner continued.

We shall see soon enough whether his confidence is well-founded.

- INDEPENDENT