SACRAMENTO, CALIF. ? What a way for Maurice Greene to pull off his latest triumph.

Just two years ago, the former 100-meter world record-holder endured chants of “Slow Mo.” Some thought he was washed up. No one thought he would return to the form that took him to the gold medal in 2000.

But the sprinter who grew up in Kansas City, Kan., kept the faith, fought through several injuries and started winning races again. Earlier this year, he got a tattoo of a lion with the initials “G.O.A.T.” — greatest of all time.

He served notice he was ready to reclaim his spot atop the 100 standings. He certainly did that Sunday, winning the 100 at the U.S. track and field trials Sunday in 9.91 seconds, beating back younger competitors and rival Tim Montgomery.

Justin Gatlin was second in 9.92 and Shawn Crawford third in 9.93 to complete the Athens lineup in one of the fastest 100 trials races of all time.

Only in 1972, when Eddie Hart and Rey Robinson went 1-2 in a hand-timed, world-record 9.9 seconds, had more than one man run under 10 seconds in wind-legal conditions at the Olympic trials.

Greene set a new trials record time, beating Dennis Mitchell’s mark of 9.92 in 1996. Gatlin, the 2003 world indoor 60-meter champion, set a new personal best with his time, while Crawford, the 2004 world indoor 60-meter runner-up, earned his first Olympic berth.

“Greatest of all time, what can I say?” said Greene, who turns 30 later this month.

It must have been sweet redemption for Greene, especially the way Montgomery finished his race. Over the last four years, the two have been bitter rivals. Greene has called Montgomery “the luckiest man in the world” because his two fastest times, including his world record of 9.78, came with a 2.0 meters-per-second wind, the highest allowable for record purposes.

Sprinter Maurice Greene celebrates after winning the 100-meter final in 9.91 seconds during the Olympic Track and Field Trials. Greene won the title Sunday in Sacramento, Calif.

Montgomery was a distant seventh in 10.13 after barely qualifying for the final. Afterward, Greene tried to downplay his relationship with the disgraced runner, one of four sprinters charged by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency with steroid use.

“I never really considered it a rivalry,” Greene said. “I just know when I step on the track I have to run fast.” He then added he wants the world record back, saying, “The world record will come to me. I just want to keep trying to perfect my race.”

Greene also equaled Jamaica’s Asafa Powell for the second-fastest time in the world this year, still behind the 9.88 Crawford, 26, ran at the Prefontaine meet last month.

With all three sprinters running such fast times, the United States could sweep the medals in the 100.

“We’re the best in the world out there,” the 22-year-old Gatlin. When asked who would win the gold in Athens, he said, “I don’t know. It’s a coin toss.”

Someone will have to take the gold from Greene, who won the last of his three world championships in the 100 in 2001. The following year, Greene crashed his motorcycle on a Los Angeles freeway and broke his leg, an injury he first disclosed earlier this year.

Just last year, he finished eighth in the semifinals of the world championships. The start to his 2004 season also got off to a dubious start when he pulled out of the 60 at the U.S. indoor championships with a bad hamstring. But he has completely recovered and now appears to be back to his old self.

“I’ve had a tough time coming back from everything I’ve been through,” Greene said. “I knew it was going to be a tough race, it was going to take everything I had. I ran a pretty decent race. When you get to the final, anything is possible.”

All modesty aside, Greene flashed some of his signature confidence when he pointed to his tattoo after winning the race.

“Not taking anything away from the sprinters before me, but it takes an athlete like me to surpass them,” Greene said. “There is going to be someone to come after me — I wish that person the best.”