Maurice Greene (sprinter) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Maurice Greene

Greene after winning the 100 m event at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney
Personal information
Nationality	American
Born	(1974-07-23) July 23, 1974 (age 50) Kansas City, Kansas, United States
Height	5 feet 9 inches (1.76 m)
Weight	180 lb
Sport
Sport	Sprinting
Event(s)	100 meters, 200 meters
College team	Kansas
Medal record Men's athletics Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2000 Sydney 100 m Gold 2000 Sydney 4×100 m relay Silver 2004 Athens 4×100 m relay Bronze 2004 Athens 100 m World Championships Gold 1997 Athens 100 m Gold 1999 Seville 100 m Gold 1999 Seville 200 m Gold 1999 Seville 4×100 m relay Gold 2001 Edmonton 100 m World Indoor Championships Gold 1999 Maebashi 60 m Goodwill Games Gold 1998 New York City 100 m Gold 1998 New York City 4×100 m relay

Maurice Greene is an American former track and field sprinter. He was born on July 23, 1974. He competed in short-distance races like the 60 meters, 100 meters, and 200 meters.

Maurice Greene was once the world record holder for the 100-meter dash, running it in an amazing 9.79 seconds. During his best years, from 1997 to 2004, he won four Olympic medals. He also became a World Champion five times. At the 1999 World Championships, he won three gold medals. Only a few other sprinters like Carl Lewis and Michael Johnson had done this before him.

Later in his career, Maurice Greene faced some injuries. Even so, he won a bronze medal in the 100 meters at the 2004 Summer Olympics. He also earned a silver medal in the sprint relay at those same Olympics. He was also very good at indoor races. He was the 1999 Indoor World Champion. He held the world record for the 60-meter dash for almost 20 years. He is still one of the fastest men over 50 meters.

Maurice Greene officially retired from racing in 2008. He had made 52 runs under 10 seconds in the 100-meter race. This was a record at the time, now shared with Usain Bolt. Only Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin have more sub-10-second runs.

After his running career, he became an ambassador for the IAAF. He also appeared on TV shows like Identity and Dancing with the Stars. He even volunteered as a track coach at University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) for a season. More recently, he became a physical education teacher in Arizona.

Early Life and School

Maurice Greene grew up in Kansas City, Kansas. He went to F.L. Schlagle High School. When he was young and in high school, he played both American football and ran track. After high school, he received a scholarship to run track at the University of Kansas. He also studied at Park University and Kansas City Kansas Community College.

Maurice Greene's Amazing Sports Career

Starting His Journey in Sprinting

In 1995, Maurice Greene took part in his first big international event. This was the World Championships in Gothenburg. He didn't make it past the quarter-finals in the 100 meters. The next year was tough because he didn't make the U.S. team for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. After watching the Olympics from the stands, Greene decided to seek new coaching. He moved to Los Angeles to train with John Smith. He joined a new training group called HSI. He quickly became the most famous member of this group.

Becoming a World Champion

The year after, in 1997, was his big breakthrough. At the World Championships in Athens, Greene won the 100-meter title. This was the start of his amazing success in the 100 meters. He won the title again in 1999 and 2001. He also won the Olympic gold medal in the 2000 Olympics.

He was also very good at the 200 m race. At the 1999 World Championships, he won the 200-meter title too. This made him the first person to win both sprint events at a World Championships. However, he couldn't run the 200 meters at the 2000 Olympics because of an injury.

Setting World Records

In 1999, Maurice Greene set a new world record in the 100 meters. He ran it in 9.79 seconds. This was faster than Donovan Bailey's old record of 9.84 seconds. He also tied the 50-meter indoor world record, but it was not officially recognized. He set the 60-meter indoor world record twice. His 60-meter indoor record is 6.39 seconds. Maurice Greene was the only sprinter to hold both the 60-meter and 100-meter world records at the same time. The old IAAF logo was even designed to look like him!

In 2002, another American sprinter, Tim Montgomery, broke Greene's 100-meter world record by a tiny bit (9.78 seconds). Greene was injured and watched from the stands. Later, Montgomery's record was taken away. The record was truly broken by Asafa Powell in 2005, who ran 9.77 seconds.

Olympic Medals in Athens

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greene added more medals to his collection. He won a bronze medal in the 100 meters, finishing third behind Justin Gatlin. He also won a silver medal as part of the United States 4 × 100-meter relay team. The British team won the gold by just 0.01 seconds.

Maurice Greene ran 52 races under 10 seconds in the 100 meters during his career. At that time, this was more than any other sprinter. Now, Asafa Powell and Justin Gatlin have more, and Usain Bolt has the same number. Greene also held the record for the most legal sub-10-second 100-meter runs in one season (9 in 1999). This record was later broken by Asafa Powell.

Life After Running

On February 4, 2008, Maurice Greene announced he was retiring from track and field. He said he had ongoing injuries and wanted to see new athletes succeed. Greene shared that he hoped to become a coach and work in business.

Greene was a contestant on Dancing with the Stars in Season 7. He danced with Cheryl Burke, a two-time champion. He was eliminated in Week 8, finishing in 5th place. He even helped out in a later professional dancer competition. Greene also appeared on the TV show Blind Date.

He has a tattoo that says "GOAT." This stands for "Greatest of All Time," showing his confidence in his achievements.

Maurice Greene in Media

Maurice Greene has appeared in different media. He was featured in the book "Andy Roddick Beat Me With a Frying Pan." In the book, he raced against the editor in a 100-meter race. The editor had a head start and a moving sidewalk, and Greene lost by a tiny bit!

Maurice Greene also hosted a monthly show called "Greene Light" on Eurosport. On this show, he interviewed other famous athletes like Blanka Vlašić and Allyson Felix.

He was also the athlete shown on the cover of the video game International Track & Field 2000.

Maurice Greene's Best Times

Maurice Greene achieved some incredible personal best times in his career:

• 50 m: 5.56 seconds (February 13, 1999, Los Angeles, California) - This tied the world record.
• 60 m: 6.39 seconds (March 2, 1998, Madrid, Spain) - This was a former world record.
• 100 m: 9.79 seconds (June 16, 1999, Athens, Greece) - This was a former world record.
• 200 m: 19.86 seconds (July 7, 1997, Stockholm, Sweden)

Images for kids

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  Learn more about Maurice Greene for kids in Spanish!