Edwin Moses

Edwin Moses dominated the intermediate hurdles to an extent that no man has ever achieved in this or any other event. Though little known before the 1976 season, he set a world record of 47.64 in winning the Olympic title and improved the record in 1977 before setting his final world record of 47.13 in 1980. Moses, a Morehouse College ‘77 grad, won the U.S. Title in 1977, 1979, 1981, and 1983 and the World Cup race in 1977, 1979, and 1981 and was the first World Champion in the 400 hurdles in 1983.

The 1980 boycott deprived him of an almost certain second gold medal. Moses was unbeaten for 10 years, winning 122 consecutive races (107 finals) between 1977 and 1987. Known for his intelligence, he was a physics and industrial engineering major at Morehouse, and later earned an MBA from Pepperdine. He won the Sullivan Award in 1983 and was voted “Sports Illustrated”’s co-“Sportsman of the Year” in 1984 (with Mary Lou Retton).

In 1984, he was selected to recite the Olympic Oath at the Opening Ceremony of the Los Angeles Olympics. In 2000, Moses became chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, which seeks “to promote and increase participation in sport at every level, and also to promote the use of sport as a tool for social change around the world“. He seldom ran other races, but did clock 45.60 for 400 m (44.1 in a relay) in 1977 and 13.64 for the 110 m hurdles in 1978.

Personal Best: 400H – 47.02 (1983).