His command of the 400 hurdles over a 12-year international career remains unmatched 35 years after his retirement. From 1976 through ’88 Edwin Moses set a standard Karsten Warholm, Rai Benjamin and Alison dos Santos will need to labor over many future seasons to match.
It seems unlikely they can. Moses in his era that spanned the sport’s transition from an amateur pursuit to professionalism — with the star hurdler active on the front lines of pushing for that change — World Ranked No. 1 for 8 straight years ’76–84, scored a ninth No. 1 in ’87 and rated No. 2 globally in ’86 and ’88.
Tabbed easily as T&FN’s 400 hurdler of the 20th century as well as our first 75 years, Moses’ competitive record included “The Streak,” an unparalleled skein of wins without a loss. Our March 2000 issue included this brief summation of his achievements:
“Nine years, nine months, nine days: over that span, the master of the 400H won 107 consecutive finals [122 races overall] 1977-87. The ‘76 and ‘84 Olympic champion counted among his string of wins world titles in ‘83 and ‘87. He set a total of four WRs in his career and was boycotted out of the ‘80 Games when he was a virtual certainty to defend his title.”
Possessing physics and industrial engineering degrees from Morehouse College and also an MBA, Moses in his post-athletic career has served in important roles including Chair of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Chair of the philanthropic Laureus World Sports Academy and member of the International Olympic Committee in different roles including on the IOC Athletes and Ethics commissions.
He is an Ambassador for Italy’s Fair Play Menarini Awards. Organized since 1997 by pharmaceuticals/medical diagnostics company the Menarini Group, this annual gala aims “to make young sportsmen and women aware of the importance of becoming champions fairly, counting on one’s own strengths, adopting a sense of sacrifice, and respecting the rules.”
This, the 68-year-old Moses’ third T&FN Interview, discussion began with a focus on the Fair Play Menarini Awards and, of course, also included plenty of fodder for track fans.
Moses: You better put on your seat belt [laughs].
T&FN: I’m ready. I’ll be honest. Living on this side of the Atlantic, the…
CLICK HERE to Read the Full Original Article at Track & Field News…