Courtesy of USATF

LOS ANGELES - The Visa men's 100 meters served up instant excitement, and Sanya Richards established herself as gold-medal threat for the world championships in a record-setting Visa women's 400m Saturday at the 2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, presented by Visa.

The concluding event of USA Track & Field's 2005 Visa Championship Series, the meet hosts more than 1,000 athletes as they compete for the right to represent Team USA at the 2005 World Outdoor Track & Field Championships August 6-14 in Helsinki, Finland.

In addition, the Visa Championship is for grabs. The male and female athlete with the top overall single performances in the 2005 Visa Championship Series will be named Visa Champion and each receive a $25,000 bonus, plus other prizes, to assist them on their journey to achieve their athletic goals.

Gatlin wins battle of titans in Visa men's 100

The Visa men's 100 meters continued to provide drama after being the center of attention during first-round heats on Friday. Saturday afternoon's nine-man final was a much-anticipated affair pitting 2004 Olympic gold medalist Justin Gatlin against 2000 gold medalist and three-time world champion Maurice Greene, as well as Olympic 200m gold medalist Shawn Crawford, who had been the class of the first two rounds.

As the gun went off in the final, Leonard Scott burst from the blocks in lane 4, clear of the field, with Greene getting out well in lane 6 while Crawford got left flat-footed in lane 5. At 30 meters, Greene, Gatlin (in lane 7) and Crawford began moving on Scott. Greene began surging but then pulled up and crumpled to the track, grabbing what appeared to be his left hamstring, 70 meters into the race.

In the meantime, Gatlin put on a stunning burst of speed in the final third in the race. Looking as if he were launched from a slingshot despite a 2.3mps headwind, the 23-year-old Jesse Owens Award winner won easily in 10.08, with Crawford showing great composure to move up to second in 10.17, and Scott finishing third in 10.18.

In the semifinal round earlier Saturday afternoon, Crawford ran a U.S.-leading time of 9.99 in heat 1, followed by Gatlin in 10.00. Greene won heat 3 in 10.01.

Richards leads remarkable Visa women's 400m
The Visa women's 400 meters rewrote several record books and many personal-record ledgers, marking the first time in history three Americans have broken 50 seconds in the same race. Olympic relay gold medalist Sanya Richards, now training with Clyde Hart - the coach of Jeremy Wariner, Darrold Williamson and Michael Johnson, among others - was the class of an impressive field, winning in 49.28 seconds.

The time is a huge personal best for the 2003 USA and NCAA champion, the top time in the world in 2005, a USA Championships record, and it makes the 20-year-old the third-fastest American of all time. The old meet record of 49.40 was set by Jearl Miles-Clark in 1997, the previous world leader was 49.85 by Olympic gold medalist Tonique Darling of Bahamas, and Richards' old personal best was 49.89.

But Richards' was not the only remarkable performance in the race. Her Olympic relay teammates and fellow gold medalists, Dee Dee Trotter (49.88) and Monique Henderson (49.96) also broke the 50-second mark. Both women charted personal bests with their efforts, and Henderson, recently of UCLA, broke her own collegiate record.

Hot race in Nike men's 400 meters
The only thing that was certain entering the Nike men's 400m final was that it featured the youngest, most talented corps of quarter milers in at least a generation. Olympic gold medalist Jeremy Wariner, 21, entered the race as an underdog on paper, with Darrold Williamson, 22, owning the 2005 world leader and 18-year-old LaShawn Merritt turning heads. Also in the field were Olympic bronze medalist Derrick Brew and Olympic relay gold medalist Andrew Rock.

Brew set the early pace, with Merritt also out well. But coming around the final turn, Wariner displayed the speed and composure that made him the toast of the track world in 2004, winning comfortably in a world-leading time of 44.20. His former Baylor teammate and Athens relay teammate, the NCAA champion Williamson, was second in 44.62, with former NCAA Division III champion Rock, 23, passing Merritt a foot from the finish line, to place third in 44.70. Merritt was fourth in 44.73.

AR, WL for Gilreath in hammer; AR for Vaill in walk
Erin Gilreath already had her second straight USA outdoor title in the women's hammer throw wrapped up when, on the final throw of the competition, she unleashed a throw of 73.87m/242-4 to break her own American record and post the top mark in the world so far in 2005. The mark was an improvement on her previous AR of 72.12m/236-7 from 2004 and is nearly a meter better than Russian YekaterinaKhoroshikh's previous 2005 world leader of 73.08m/239-9. Bethany Hart placed second with 69.15m/226-10, and Amber Campbell was third with 68.95m/226-2.

Teresa Vaill, the 42-year-old, 2004 Olympian, broke the American record in the 20,000m race walk with her time of 1:33:28.15. The time is believed to be a world masters record as well. Amber Antonia was second in 1:36:03.23, followed by Joanne Dow 1:37:14.81. Vaill's time easily topped Danielle Kirk's American record of 1:38:19.1, set in 2000, and it also is a USA Championships record.

Barber scalps Hershey's women's 100m field
The surprise of the sprinting world in 2005, Lisa Barber continued her eye-opening season with a convincing win in the Hershey's women's 100 meters. Barber got out well and displayed control and smooth form as she breezed to a win in 11.10, running into a headwind of 1.6 meters per second. Muna Lee, an Olympian at 200m, was second in 11.28 with Olympic silver medalist Lauryn Williams third in 11.29. Barber ran the fastest time in the world in any conditions of 2005 with her wind-aided (+3.0mps) semifinal clocking of 10.87.

U.S. track titles for Demus, Lincoln, Webb, Clement, Davis
World junior record holder and 2004 Olympian Lashinda Demus, a Long Beach native, moved powerfully on the final turn and easily won the women's 400-meter hurdles. Her personal-best time of 53.35 is a U.S. leader and the second-fastest in the world so far this year. Shauna Smith was second in 54.21, with Sandra Glover third in 54.62.

2004 Olympic Trials champion Daniel Lincoln broke away from Olympic Trials runner-up Anthony Famiglietti in the men's 3,000-meter steeplechase with 500 meters to go. Surging away easily, Lincoln went on to win in a 2005 U.S.-leading and stadium-record time of 8:17.27. Famiglietti was second in 8:20.49, with Steve Slattery third in 8:25.52.

The Nike men's 1,500m was a tactical affair as the pack came through 800 meters in just 2:04.1. The pace then picked up marginally, with Olympian Charlie Gruber taking the lead, followed by Olympic Trials champion Alan Webb. With 275 meters to go, the pack quickened its pace as one, with Webb on the rail. The American 2-mile record holder successfully held off Chris Lukezic of Georgetown, 6 th at the NCAA Championships and Webb's training partner, to win in 3:41.97. Lukezic was second in 3:42.06, and 2004 U.S. indoor champ Rob Myers was third in 3:42.27.

Georgetown alum Treniere Clement ran a personal best and the fastest time by an American this year in the women's 1,500m, winning in 4:06.73. Two-time U.S. indoor champion Jen Toomey was second in 4:07.39, and Amy Mortimer was second in 4:07.59.

Dragila, Davis win in the field
Continuing her climb back from Achilles tendon injuries, Stacy Dragila won her ninth U.S. outdoor and 17 th overall national title in the women's pole vault. Dragila successfully negotiated 4.45m/14-7.25 for the win. U.S. leader Tracy O'Hara was second at 4.40m/14-5.25, with Olympian Jillian Schwartz third at the same height.

Two-time Olympian Walter Davis won the men's triple jump with a mark of 17.15m/56-3.25. Fellow Olympian Kenta Bell was second with 16.82m/55-2.25, and Aarik Wilson was third with 16.73m/54-10.75.

Perry rolls in rounds
Posting top marks in the rounds on Sunday were Michelle Perry in the women's 100m hurdles (12.52, third fastest in world in 2005), Kenneth Ferguson in the men's 400m hurdles semifinals (48.65), Rachelle Boone-Smith in the women's 200 first round (22.53), and Tyson Gay in the men's 200m first round (20.38).

GiGi Miller led after day 1 of the women's heptathlon with 3,705 points, posting marks of 13.03 in the 100m hurdles (1,120 points), 1.69m/5-6.5 in the high jump (842), 13.05m/42-9.75 in the shot put (731) and 23.68 in the 200 (1,012).

For complete results, athlete quotes and start lists from the 2005 USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, visit www.usatf.org