(adds Gatlin quotes)
By Gene Cherry
CARSON, California, June 26 - Injured three-time
100 metres world champion Maurice Greene said on Sunday he
would run on the U.S. 4x100 metres relay team at the Helsinki
world championships in August if asked.
Greene crashed out of the 100 metres final at U.S.
championships on Saturday after injuring his left hamstring 70
metres into the race.
That made the former world record holder ineligible for the
100 metres team for Helsinki, but because he ran in the U.S
championships, he could compete on the 4x100 metres relay.
"If Justin (Gatlin) and Shawn (Crawford) ask me, I will run
the relay," Greene told Reuters in an interview at the
championships.
Olympic 100 metres champion Gatlin won both sprints at the
U.S. championships while Crawford, the 200 metres gold
medallist in Athens, finished second in the shorter race and
third in the 200.
Gatlin said later he would welcome Greene on the relay
team.
"It would not be a great relay without Maurice," Gatlin
said. "He's a great runner, he has a lot of heart and I know he
would get the job done."
Greene said he was told by officials he "was eligible to
run the relay."
"My hamstring is still tight, still painful, but I will be
OK," Greene added. "I hope to be ready to run in three weeks."
The 30-year-old Greene was in tears after the injury on
Saturday.
"I felt like I could have won it (the U.S. title)," Greene
told reporters. "I wanted to go and get my world title back."
Greene won the last of his three world titles in 2001. He
was the Olympic bronze medallist in the 100 metres at Athens
and anchored the U.S. 4x100 metres relay team to a silver
medal.