![]() ![]() But once he started with the event, he made unbelievable advancement with his huge and economical 9-foot-9 stride and qualified for the Olympics.Īs a 20-year-old, unknown scholar-athlete from a renowned black college, he burst upon the international scene at the Montreal Olympics. Just once before late March 1976 did he enter a 400-hurdles race. Mostly, Moses competed in the 110-meter high hurdles, 400 meters, and 4 x 100 relays. Though the school had a track team, it didn't have a track. Rather than seeking an athletic scholarship, Moses accepted an academic scholarship to Morehouse College in Atlanta, majoring in physics and engineering. ![]() In track, it's basically the same thing." Back in the old days only one guy would walk out of the arena. "Any individual sport is basically a gladiator sport. It's just a matter of getting to the finish line first. ![]() "Everything is cut and dry nothing is arbitrary. "I found that I enjoyed individual sports much more," he said. When his high school basketball coach cut him from the team and the football coach kicked him out for fighting, Moses turned to track and gymnastics. With both his parents being educators, Moses took academics more seriously than most youngsters, though he also competed in sports. We're in the rarefied presence of an immortal here. Olympic track and field coach in 1976: "In an art gallery, do we stand around talking about Van Gogh? Extraordinary talent is obvious. Or, as pointed out by Leroy Walker, the U.S. "People either think that I'm a freak or that the other guys aren't any good." "It just happens that my slow is faster than most athletes' fast," he said. Not until years later would he be viewed as a respected statesman. Bounding over the 10 three-foot hurdles, taking an unprecedented 13 steps between hurdles instead of the usual 14, he was a remarkable combination of speed, grace and stamina.įor much of his career, Moses was not appreciated by sports fans, who viewed him, especially in his early years of success, as sullen and self-contained, a hurdling automaton. Neither his competitors nor his dreams could keep up with his performances. This athletic marvel enjoyed a run of nine years, nine months and nine days between losses. "I had no ambitions to be an Olympic track star or any kind of athlete," he said.īut that's what happened to the analytical and practical Edwin Moses, the possessor of one bachelor's of science degree in physics, one master's in business administration, two Olympic gold medals and 107 consecutive victories in 400-meter hurdles finals. Who ever thought that the kid in grade school who built volcanoes, dissected frogs, collected fossils and launched homemade rockets would become one of the most distinguished track athletes in history?Įdwin Moses wants to be remembered as the "guy nobody could beat."Įven in high school, the serious youngster himself had no illusions of grandeur. ![]()
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