Streak Had to End : Danny Harris Quietly Celebrates His Victory; Saturday, He Figures to Be Facing Moses Again

The streak is over. Edwin Moses savored it for more than nine years. Danny Harris, who ended it, quietly celebrated for a week and then went back to work.

The reference is, of course, to Moses’ incredible string of 107 victories in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles that began in September of 1977. Moses also won 15 qualifying heats without a loss during that time.

Harris stopped the streak June 4 in Madrid, and he had to run the fastest race of his life, 47.56 seconds to do it.

When Harris returned to Ames, Iowa, where he trains, he wasn’t accorded a ticker-tape parade, nor did crowds gather to watch him work out on the Iowa State track.

“When I beat Edwin, I rejoiced,” Harris said. “I went back to the hotel and felt great. Everybody was happy for me. But nothing much has changed now.

“The phone rings a little more and I’ve made a few more contacts, but that’s about it.”

Many people feel that Moses will be even harder to beat now that his streak has ended.

“Before, he was running not to lose,” said Steve Lynn, Harris’ personal coach and an assistant at Iowa State. “Now he’ll be more focused.”

It also has been conjectured that Harris’ confidence is soaring, knowing that he is capable of beating Moses, who has the world record at 47.02, 11 of the fastest times in the event and is a two-time Olympic champion.

Moses and Harris are on a collision course. Barring any mishaps, they will be finalists in the 400-meter hurdles Saturday at San Jose City College, site of the USA-Mobil outdoor track and field championships.

The race would have even more impact if Andre Phillips was in the field. But Phillips, who was top ranked in the 400-meter hurdles the last two years, is suffering from a stress fracture in his right shin and won’t be able to compete.

“I think Edwin is going to come back strong,” Harris said. “After losing, he has extra incentive. I felt like that the three years we didn’t race. I wanted to run well whenever I raced him.

“I wouldn’t change anything the way it happened. I know he’ll run real hard and my eyes are wide open to that. Hopefully, I can do the same.”

Until Harris caught up with Moses in Madrid, they hadn’t raced against each other since the 1984 Olympic Games. Harris, only 18 then, was the silver medalist behind Moses.

Even when Harris got to Madrid a few weeks ago, he wasn’t sure that Moses would be there.

“A guy contacted me earlier and said he was supposed to be there. I had heard that a lot of times before, and he didn’t show up. So I wasn’t sure whether he was going to be there or not.

“I felt I was ready to run in the middle 47s. The 47.56 time is an indication to me of things to come. I think I can run even faster than that.”

Harris added that he will have to run faster in order to beat Moses at San Jose. It wouldn’t be surprising, Lynn said, if the winner goes under 47 seconds.

Moses, at 31, is the champion. Harris, at 21, is the challenger. If it were a fight, it would sell out in Las Vegas.

Although Harris has gained celebrity status by ending Moses’ streak, he isn’t dwelling on it.

“He is the same kid that he was in 1984,” Lynn said. “He handles pressure real well and he’s not caught up with himself. And he’s a tremendous competitor.”

Harris, like Moses, has his own credentials. He’s a three-time NCAA champion, who gave up his final year of eligibility at Iowa State to concentrate on the big summer meets ahead such as the World Championships Aug. 29-Sept. 6 in Rome.

He came to Iowa State on a combined football-track scholarship and was a defensive back as a freshman until a knee injury influenced him to concentrate on track.

“Danny respects Edwin, but he has no big deal with him,” Lynn said. “As a football player growing up, he didn’t have any idols in track and field.

“We were talking the other day, and he said he probably would only be intimidated if Eric Dickerson was coming around the corner at him.”

Harris was born in Torrance. His father died when he was 3 and his mother died when he was 14. He was then raised by his grandmother in Perris, Calif.

He said he went to Iowa State because it was one of the few schools that would allow him to compete in both football and track. USC and UCLA, for instance, were only interested in him as a track athlete.

At 6 feet and 170 pounds, Harris doesn’t have the same stride pattern as Moses and Phillips, who are taller. Moses is known for taking a smooth 13 strides between hurdles. In beating Moses, Harris went 13 strides through the first seven hurdles, 14 for the next two and then 15 over the 10th, and last, hurdle.

“Danny is very difficult to beat at the end of a race,” Lynn said.

And what did Moses have to say to Harris after the streak expired?

“He congratulated me, but he didn’t have much to say and I can understand that,” Harris said. “Beating Edwin made everything a lot nicer. But the meet in San Jose was always the most important one all along.”