(100m/200m/4x100m relay)

Officially the fastest man in the world, Maurice Greene is aiming to win his third consecutive World Championship gold in Edmonton.

The Kansas Cannonball's career has been characterised by feats of extraordinary achievement and he has left a trail of records and reputations in tatters.

His first world title came in Athens, where he blasted past reigning champion Donovan Bailey to establish himself firmly on the athletics map.

Greene completed his rise to prominence in June 1999 when he took the biggest chunk off the world record in three decades, clocking an amazing 9.79 seconds in Athens.

Two months later he retained his world title in Seville and wrote himself into championship history by becoming the first man ever to claim both the 200m and 100m titles.

It completed an amazing rise to fame for Greene.

After watching rival Bailey dominate world sprinting, Greene left Kansas and hitch-hiked across America to California to join up with legendary sprint coach John Smith to prove he had what it takes.

The rest is history.

As well as defending both of those crowns in Edmonton, Greene will also form part of a formidable relay team, which includes his closest sprint competitor Tim Montgomery.

He has taken a fairly relaxed approach to preparation for these championships, taking a break from the sport to recover from a bad knee injury.

The sabbatical does not appear to have sedated his desire to win and he sent a pointed reminder to his rivals with a 9.98-second victory dash in the British Grand Prix at Crystal Palace just prior to the championships.