"I really feel the world record will be broken next year," said Montgomery on Tuesday during a teleconference announcing him as the winner of the Jesse Owens Award, which is presented annually to USA Track & Field's top male and female athletes.

"I can see the improvement from what I have done and where I have been at this time last year," added the American, who claimed compatriot Maurice Greene's 100 metres world record by clocking 9.78 seconds at the IAAF grand prix final in Paris on September 14.

His new world record and other outstanding displays during the season have given him new confidence, Montgomery said.

"It wasn't just the record," the boyfriend and training partner of Marion Jones said. "I ran eight times under 10 seconds."

"I'm ready to put everything I learned in 2002 together and see what we get in 2003...it's going to be great."

The world record changed "everything about me", Montgomery said, "because everyone is looking at me."

"It took a 9.78 for me to be noticed, and it's going to take something faster for me to move into where I consider myself one of the best to ever run it."

MUCH BETTER

He believes that accolade still belongs to Olympic and triple world champion Greene because of his consistency over the years.

"I've been waiting for the day when I could show I was the fastest," Montgomery said. "Now, I've got to come back out and do it much better."

That includes beating Greene, who was absent from the world record race because of injury, at his best.

"(Last year) I kept telling myself that I had to beat him and I was beating myself," said Montgomery, who is now confident he can win any outdoor showdown with Greene. Whether they will meet indoors is uncertain.

Montgomery knows the 60 metres is world record holder Greene's strength and whether they race indoors in 2003 "just depends on how strong I look this winter".

On and off the track, Montgomery believes he is getting stronger as a person because of his relationship with Jones.

"You know that I am a hot head and can go off the deep end sometimes but she keeps me stable," he said. "And she keeps telling me not to lay down, to not think that 9.78 cannot be broken.

"Having that support is like going to a race when you are a kid and you look up and don't expect your mother to be there, and when you see her, it's like extra power."

Training with Jones and then watching her do well in competition just before he races has the same effect, Montgomery said. "It pushes me along."

Jones also won the Jesse Owens Award on Tuesday as USA Track & Field's top female athlete after becoming the first American sprinter in seven years to complete an undefeated season. She had 16 victories over 100 metres, four at 200 and one at 400.

Also read: Jones, Montgomery win Jesse Owens Awards