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ATTLEBORO - He is down to his last race for Beijing.

"That's the problem, getting that time, that's always the big issue," said Hafiz Greigre, the former Attleboro High School and Bryant University track great.

Greigre is hoping to represent Liberia at the Olympic Games in China in the 400 meter run and is about a half-second away from meeting the world qualifying mark of 45.54 seconds.

Greigre, who won the New England Intercollegiate 400 meter title last year as a Bryant senior, clocking a 46.32 seconds time, will be heading to Kansas for the USA National Club Championship Meet July 17-20 as a member of the Boston Track Club.

"If I meet the time, that's it, I call the Liberian Track Association and I'm off - but, I need to put a good race together," said the 23-year old Greigre, a 2003 graduate from AHS. "It's been a rough year for me, transition wise, going from a college runner to trying to become a world-class amateur runner." Greigre failed to meet the Olympic Meet standard in his latest outing, that at the USA Track Northeast Regional Meet at Bentley College, finishing at 48 seconds. "My body, my physical strength was there, but I knew exactly why I didn't do it, I came out too slow."

Greigre has been training on the track at Attleboro High's Tozier-Cassidy Field ("once a Bombardier, always a Bombardier") four days a week with weight training sessions on two days, all under the gaze for Bryant's sprint coach Chris Phung, a former AHS runner himself.

"I've been working on my race strategy," said Greigre, who completed his degree requirements at Bryant in December of 2007. "Training on your own, going from college running to professional running, going against world class guys is different.

"Everything takes a toll."

Greigre is also thinking that if his 2008 Olympic Games get scratched, he will still be in prime running conditioning for the 2012 Games. But, maintaining a regular workout routine, competing at national meets is a time and money-consuming process.

"The big thing is to get to the Olympics and get a sponsor," said Greigre. "If I can't get to the Olympics this year, I can still compete in the World Championships next year and try to make the standard."

Greigre ran as a member of Liberia's 4x400 relay team at the 2008 World Indoor Championship Games in March in Valencia, Spain. Because Greigre has Liberian heritage, he registered with the country's governing athletic body.

Greigre, the holder of 13 Bryant indoor and outdoor records, is the two-time defending Northeast-10 Conference champion in the outdoor 100m and 200m and has twice qualified for the NCAA Championships. He won the New England 400 meter championship last year at the New England Championships in Hanover, NH, posting the nation's fourth-fastest time in the event.

He twice qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in the 200 meters, earning all-America honors. An outstanding student in the classroom, Greigre was honored as an Academic All-American by the USTFCCCA last spring with a perfect 4.0 GPA while taking seven classes, all while competing during the outdoor season. He currently works for a management recruiting firm in Providence.

With the American field so flooded in the 400 meter run with contenders, Greigre knew that his best chance for a world stage would be as a Liberian. "Running in Spain was a good experience for me, but we didn't do great as a team," said Greigre. "My leg was okay, I wasn't nervous at all.

"The pressure in track is to be at a specific time, that's where the pressure comes from - that's where most track athletes beat themselves. You have to just go out and run your own race.

"In track, every athlete out there is out to prove that he is faster than the next guy. That's the same for me, whether I'm racing a five-year old or a 50-year old man. It's running the race and meeting a time."

For Greigre, though, time for a trip to the Olympic Games in Beijing is running out.