When Maurice Greene came to renew his licence as the fastest man on earth in Edmonton on Sunday night, there was only one question being asked, and it wasn't who could beat him, but rather would he beat himself.
The well-documented left knee injury that had caused grimaces of pain throughout the summer was still a concern, and the strapping was there to remind us. But even with further physical problems, Greene once again left the rest of the world in his wake, defending his title in 9.82 seconds.
He later confirmed he will not be running in the 100m or 200m relays here for the US.
Sunday's victory salute was less ostentatious than usual, but 20 metres from the end, Greene felt very real pain: "I felt my left quad pop and I said 'no, I'm not going to let that stop me'.
"Then I felt something in my hamstring too. And I said 'that's not going to stop me either'. When you want something so bad, you have to fight through these things to get it. You'd have to kill me not to finish."
What Greene wanted wasn't just his world title, or the $60,000 prize, but his untarnished championship record going back to 1997, when he won his first of the now three-successive titles. Only one other man, the great Carl Lewis, has done the same.
"Well, Carl Lewis was a great athlete," said Greene. "A great competitor. So for me to equal something he has done well, I've always wanted to be known as the greatest 100 metre sprinter ever."
His credentials to back that up are gathering. He now holds the three fastest times ever, and is only the second man ever to hold the world record, the world title and the Olympic title at the same time (Canada's Donovan Bailey being the other).
Most of the talk around Edmonton yesterday was how easily the world record would have fallen if Greene had been 100 per cent fit. Trinidad's Ato Boldon, fourth on Sunday in 9.98, spoke for the rest of the world's fast men: "You media guys have been talking about Carl Lewis for a long time, but Maurice is the greatest 100 metre guy ever. I'm not chasing any records but I know the sprint well enough to say, he's the best ever."
