Fast talking which is fuelling a bitter feud

13 April 2012

Even in the trash-talking world of sprinters, where big boasts are annual events, this is turning out to be something of an entertaining year.

Most of the rhetoric is being whipped up by Tim Montgomery, who is telling anyone who will listen that he is going to take Maurice Greene's crown as the world's fastest man, but Dwain Chambers has also not been slow to put in his two pennies' worth.

"If Greene thinks he's going to be able to poke his tongue out at me as he did last summer then he's going to be in trouble," said the Londoner. "I'm ready for him this year and he'd better be ready for me."

Chambers, fresh from winning the 100 metres in the European Cup last weekend and captaining Britain to overall victory in the competition in Annecy, will get his chance in Oslo when he meets the American in the Bislett Golden League meeting tomorrow.

But almost as big a threat as the world-record holder and Olympic champion is Montgomery. The world silver medallist ran 9.84 seconds in Oslo last year, making him the second-fastest man ever behind Greene, and then only narrowly lost to the 'Kansas Cannonball' in the United States championships last Saturday.

Whenever the fast men settle into the starting blocks, the stakes usually are high and the margin of error small. It makes for a volatile and entertaining mix, but is usually good natured. Yet in the case of Montgomery and Greene there is real antipathy. When Chambers says he is going to kick Greene's butt, he smiles, but when Montgomery says it, he crushes a paper cup in his fist.

"All I do is turn on my computer and read some of the things Maurice Greene said about me," said Montgomery. "Maurice and his group have separated themselves. They never include the rest of us. Maurice says: 'There's no one else to race against. No one can beat me.' He just plays with us like it's nothing."

What really riled Montgomery was when Greene teased him about his number plate. It reads '975' which is four hundredths of a second better than Greene's world record. "I don't see why he has a licence plate '975' because he hasn't run it," said Greene. "It's getting very intense in the 100m, very intense," said Montgomery. "It's like no one likes each other. It's not going against the British or the Russians. The American sprinters are going against each other. We're declaring war on each other."

Chambers clearly needs to remind Greene and Montgomery that the British are still around.

At 24, he knows he is approaching a crossroads in his career. He appeared set for a major impact when he won a bronze medal in the 1999 World Championships in 9.97 secs but has since failed to make the progress expected.

He finished fourth in the Sydney Olympics and fifth in the Edmonton World Championships and claims he considered quitting before he beat Montgomery in Brisbane last September.

He said: "I was wondering where I was going. If I hadn't won in Brisbane I might not have wanted to go on. I want to do it again in the Commonwealth Games and European Championships, but for now I have to show I can mix it successfully with the big boys.

"Taking on the American sprinters and beating them is what counts."

Chambers spent the winter training in California and added: "It's opened my eyes. You think you know the Americans but you don't really. I have got into their mentality, got inside some of their secrets, and now I'm going to test it out."

Is Greene scared? He doesn't appear to be. He listened to what Montgomery and Chambers have been saying about him, smiled ever so slightly and rolled his eyes.

"I am the Olympic champion," he said. "I am the world champion. So everyone is coming after me like they should. Can they catch me? I don't think so."

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Fast talking which is fuelling a bitter feud

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