Online Encyclopedia
Maurice Greene
For the 18th century English composer, see Maurice Greene (composer)
Maurice Greene (born July 23, 1974) is an American athlete.
Born in Kansas City, Kansas, Greene participated in his youth in both American football and athletics, but eventually proved to be best in the latter.
In 1995, Greene took part in his first major international tournament at the World Championships in Gothenburg, but was eliminated in the 100 m quarter-finals. His next season was disappointing, as he failed to make the American team for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
However, the following season would mean his breakthrough. At the World Championships in Athens, Greene won the 100 m title. This marked the beginning of a dominance of especially the 100 m by Greene, successfully defending his title in 1999 and 2001, winning the Olympic championships in Sydney 2000 and setting the world record at 9.79 (beating the July 1996 record of Donovan Bailey at 9.84). At the 1999 World Championships, he also won the 200 m title, the first to win both events at a World Championships.
In 2002, Greene lost his World Record to fellow American Tim Montgomery, who beat his time by 0.01, while Greene himself was injured and watched the race from the stands.
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greene added to his medal tally with the bronze after finishing third in his attempt to defend his 100 m title, and a silver as the anchor leg runner on the United States 4x100 m relay team, narrowly denied another Olympic Gold by the British team, who won by 0.01 seconds.
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| Olympic medalists in athletics (men) | Olympic Champions in Men's 100 m |
| Tom Burke | Frank Jarvis | Archie Hahn | Reggie Walker | Ralph Craig | Charlie Paddock | Harold Abrahams | Percy Williams | Eddie Tolan | Jesse Owens | Harrison Dillard | Lindy Remigino | Bobby Joe Morrow | Armin Hary | Bob Hayes | Jim Hines | Valeri Borzov | Hasely Crawford | Allan Wells | Carl Lewis | Linford Christie | Donovan Bailey | Maurice Greene | Justin Gatlin |
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Olympic medalists in athletics (men) | Olympic Champions in Men's 4x100 m relay
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1912 Great Britain David Jacobs, Henry Macintosh, Victor d'Arcy & William Applegarth 1920 United States Charlie Paddock, Jackson Scholz, Loren Murchison & Morris Kirksey 1924 United States Loren Murchison, Louis Clarke, Frank Hussey & Alfred LeConey 1928 United States Frank Wykoff, James Quinn, Charles Borah & Henry Russell 1932 United States Robert Kiesel, Emmett Toppino, Hector Dyer & Frank Wykoff 1936 United States Jesse Owens, Ralph Metcalfe, Foy Draper & Frank Wykoff 1948 United States Barney Ewell, Lorenzo Wright, Harrison Dillard & Mel Patton 1952 United States Dean Smith, Harrison Dillard, Lindy Remigino & Andy Stanfield 1956 United States Ira Murchison , Leamon King, Thane Baker & Bobby Joe Morrow 1960 United team of Germany Bernd Cullmann , Armin Hary, Walter Mahlendorf & Martin Lauer 1964 United States Otis Drayton , Gerald Ashworth , Richard Stebbins & Bob Hayes 1968 United States Charles Greene , Melvin Pender , Ronnie Ray Smith & Jim Hines 1972 United States Larry Black , Robert Taylor , Gerald Tinker & Edward Hart 1976 United States Harvey Glance , John Wesley Jones , Millard Hampton & Steven Riddick 1980 Soviet Union Vladimir Muravyov , Nikolay Sidorov , Aleksandr Aksinin & Andrey Prokofyev 1984 United States Sam Graddy , Ron Brown , Calvin Smith & Carl Lewis 1988 Soviet Union Viktor Bryzgin , Vladimir Krylov , Vladimir Muravyov & Vitaly Savin 1992 United States Mike Marsh, Leroy Burrell, Dennis Mitchell & Carl Lewis 1996 Canada Robert Esmie, Glenroy Gilbert, Bruny Surin & Donovan Bailey 2000 United States Jon Drummond , Bernard Williams , Brian Lewis & Maurice Greene 2004 Great Britain Jason Gardener, Darren Campbell, Marlon Devonish & Mark Lewis-Francis |
Greene has been widely acclaimed for his activism for gay rights, and has become something of an icon to the unknown number of closted gay athletes throughout the world. After himself coming out the closet in 1999, Greene disclosed that his long time was HIV positive.