Q AND A WITH EDWIN MOSES : No Hurdle Is Too High : Edwin Moses, Track’s No. 1 Fan, Says He Isn’t Ready to Retire

Four-time Olympian Edwin Moses has come a long way since the days when he felt “totally unrecognized” as an athlete. Nowadays, Moses, 33, and the world-record holder in the 400-meter intermediate hurdles at 47.02 seconds, is one of the most popular and widely recognized sports figures in the world.

A gold medalist in the 400 hurdles in the 1976 and 1984 Olympics--he was the overwhelming favorite in 1980, but the U.S. boycott kept him home--Moses ran up a 107-race winning streak that lasted nine years, nine months and nine days, from Aug. 26, 1977 to June 4, 1987.

Last September, in the Olympic Games at Seoul, South Korea, Moses was seeking his third Olympic gold medal, but finished third. He has not competed since, choosing instead to spend time working on a Master’s degree in business administration as well as chairing the U.S. Olympic Committee’s substance abuse research panel.

But Moses, who lives in Newport Beach with his wife, Myrella, says he’s not ready to retire from competition yet.

Question: After more than 20 years, two gold medals and a world record, you’ve decided to continue competing. What’s the motivation?

Answer: Well, I still know I can run, and the sport has been so good to me and I enjoy it so much, I don’t see any reason to stop at this point. I still feel that I have some races to run.

Q: I take it you’re asked that question a lot.

A: People figure it’s about time to stop. But why, if you enjoy doing something.

Q: How about your peers?

A: Yeah . . . some of them are waiting for me to retire. (laughs)

Q: You set the world record six years ago, but you’ve said you think you can break it. What’s it going to take to run under 47 seconds?

A: Just a good race. I think the competition level is to the point now where it’s more possible than ever before. I saw that in Korea. I should have been way out in front, at least by three or four meters. I just had a bad day. I had one of my best training years last year, so there’s really no reason for me not to continue at this point. In fact, it’s more of a reason to continue. I don’t think age has really been a factor because I’ve been in condition for all these years. I think it’s been more of a factor in the other competitors’ minds because, when they see someone with a lot of experience, they know he’s going to put up a hard, tough race every time.

Q: You’re considered the world’s expert in your event. Are you still learning?

A: You always learn. You always have to make adjustments and adapt to what’s going on in the race all the time. And I think my experience is greater than anybody’s.

Q: Are there other aspects of your race--physical, mental, whatever--that you can pinpoint exactly where you need to improve?

A: A little bit of technique. I worked on that for the last two years, in fact I cleaned up a lot of things last year that previously I hadn’t had a lot of time to work on. And physically, it’s always a challenge because every year it’s a whole different ballgame. You’ve got to start all over and get in shape.

I think now my main concern is to keep from having the kind of injuries that an athlete has at the later stages of their career. That’s probably my biggest concern. I have a great physical therapist in Ken Yoshino (of Irvine) and a masseur, Rod Law. And I know enough about training not to go out and damage myself. I know when to stop and when to work harder.

Q: Are you still coaching yourself?

A: Yeah, there’s no one else. I never had anyone teach me how to run hurdles. I probably did pretty well considering. Q: Many people make a big deal about age. Ever think of trying to be the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of track? Race for 10 more years?

A: Not 10 more years. It’s a little bit different in track. You’re in an individual sport and no one’s going to hold up any mistakes you make. If you lose a time, you lose a time. If you make mistakes, you’re the only one out there. It’s a very high-performance sport; it’s measured in hundredths of seconds. When you lose, there’s no help coming. There’s no one to back you up on defense (laughs).

Q: So you don’t see yourself competing beyond 1992?

A: Well, Evelyn (Ashford, also a three-time Olympian) said she might go till ’93. I don’t know. It just depends what kind of condition I stay in. Hopefully, I’ll be able to go for a longer time.

Q: At one time, you said you wanted to make the U.S. bobsledding team. Is that still a goal for you?

A: Yes. In fact, I was up in Iowa the week before last and talked to the people from bobsledding and now the plan has escalated to going to drivers’ school in Austria.

Q: Seriously?

A: Seriously.

Q: How’d that idea come about?

A: Just from talking to Willie (Gault, ex-sprinter and Chicago Bears’ wide receiver who made the 1988 U.S. bobsledding team as an alternate). And knowing people in the Federation (the International Amateur Athletic Federation, the governing body for track and field) and so forth. I think they’ve always tried to get a different type of athlete in there, more competitive. We’re very competitive, more explosive and so forth. And I think it’s getting to the point where they’re willing to make some changes.

Q: Have you tried bobsledding yet?

A: No. Not yet.

Q: Any other interests you’re pursuing?

A: Right now, I’m working on my commercial (pilot’s license) and my multi-engine (license) at the same time. It takes a lot of time. I’m just getting it for experience, learning it to be a safer pilot, learn more about aviation and things like that . . .

Q: What’s next? Rockets? The Space Shuttle?

A: I’ve thought about that. In fact, at one time, I was going to apply for the (Space Shuttle) program. No kidding, in the late ‘70s; ‘77, ‘78, coming out of college.

Q: What happened?

A: Just never did it. Track and field. . . .

Q: Tell us about your track meet promotions.

A: There’s a big move in TAC to really improve track and field right now. Like the American Plan . . . where the meets will be televised on Turner (Broadcasting System). What we’re trying to do is make track and field a palatable sport. Irrespective of what’s going on with the drug situation and our association with that, we still feel we have a marketable sport and an exciting sport that people should want to watch and probably do want to watch. But we just haven’t found the right equation to get them to tune in.

Q: As big as pro basketball, football . . . ?

A: It (would be) produced very much like tennis is in Europe . . . you have the meets that travel around in a circuit. In Europe, you can be in any country and watch almost all the major meets on television.

When I was growing up, CBS Sports Spectacular had track meets on every Sunday. That’s when I really got into track and field because I saw these guys who ran in the late ‘60s, early ‘70s on television weekly . . . So that’s how I remember track and field being, and in my career we never had anything like that from ’76 until now. I always thought it was a mistake, and I’ve always said that we would never be a big sport until we get on television and get major sponsors. . . .

Q: Many consider you to be the leader in track and field professionalism. Do you feel the other athletes don’t know how to market themselves? Or they just don’t have a business sense or what?

A: I think it’s a matter of business sense and posturing. I think most athletes feel that because you’re great on the track, that’s going to attract sponsors. I never really felt that way because I was always great on the track and I was wondering why I didn’t attract sponsors. You have to make yourself appealing to them, you have to have more than a great performance. There has to be something more. Unfortunately, a lot of track athletes believe ‘If I run a world record . . .’

Myrella: Or, ‘If I beat Moses . . .

Moses: Yeah, ‘If I beat Moses.’ It doesn’t work like that at all. . . . So that’s the naivete of the track and field athlete. I probably was one of the first athletes to start the trend toward professionalism, with having business managers, setting up accountants, becoming incorporated (Edwin Moses Enterprises), and having trust funds, and pushing the limits on (appearance fees) with the meets in Europe. And attracting sponsors and everything. . . .

Q: OK, what about the Ben Johnson situation?

A: Well . . . the only way that Ben could ever look at in a positive light is to do what he did (Tuesday). That is to say that it was his responsibility, and sure those other people were around him but it was his responsibility, his body, and that he was sorry and to tell people not to do it and that’s what he did. So I felt he did the right thing, and I think that’s the only thing he could’ve done to save himself and to save face, and to have respectability, and to do something positive for the sport and himself. They probably will let him compete again anyway, Canada I mean.

Q: Are we doing enough in the U.S. to halt drug use?

A: We can do more. There’s still pockets of resistence, people who don’t want to publicly announce the names of athletes that have tested positive, have gone through the appeals process, and are proven guilty. There are still people that don’t want to let that information leak out. And I think that would have a deterrent effect.

Q: So people should just come out and say, yes he passed, or no he didn’t?

A: Yes.

Q: What do you say to those who say that you can’t compete at a world-class level without drugs?

A: I think that’s a cop-out. That’s from athletes who don’t have hope, who don’t have confidence in themselves from the beginning. And that’s the type of athlete that we’re trying to discourage from using drugs because they feel they can’t win in any event. It’s simply not true. Myself and several other athletes have proven it: You don’t have to take drugs to win. I don’t think I’m a superman, I don’t think I’m that much more talented than the other athletes, but I do spend four to eight hours a day training all the time versus going out two or three days a week using steroids and lifting weights . . . My approach is to work harder than anyone else. That’s what’s always gotten me to the finish line first.

It’s a cop-out, short and simple. And the coaches are beginning to tell athletes that you can’t compete at this level because other athletes are using drugs, and if you want to compete then you have to do that too. I think they should just stay out of the sport if they have that attitude because that’s not true. You may have to work harder than you want and harder than you thought, but it’s very possible to do it (without drugs).

Q: Do you think there are other avenues--legal avenues--for athletes looking for an edge? For example, it’s said that most people, because of psychological barriers or whatever, don’t know how to tap into their potential.

A: We have to fight to get psychologists on our Olympic teams still. Because the psychological people are battling with the medical people, and they’re all battling with the chiropractors and the podiatrists. It’s really strange. . . . They gave us these little cassettes and so forth, to listen to waves and shooting stars and stuff like that, but it didn’t work all that well (laughs).

Q: Are there any other ways an athlete can gain an edge, legally?

A: I think I’ve probably pioneered the use of physical therapy in track and field by working with Ken (Yoshino). I’ve been working with him for five years now and we’re doing some very interesting things.

Q: Can you be specific?

A: Oh, a lot of the stretching programs we do, and a lot of preventive types of physical therapy, muscle stretching, muscle balancing and so forth. We have been able to keep me from having these typical major injuries that athletes do get when they’ve been in the sport for a long time. I’ve been able to spend--I’ve had to spend--four to six hours, sometimes eight hours a day, all day long training. I start at 9 in the morning and get home at 6 in the evening. . . . That’s what it takes for me to stay on top, that’s why I do that. I use all my resources to do anything short of taking drugs to win.

Q: What do you think about the current state of coaching here in the U.S.?

A: I think the coaches, a lot of those guys, are giving athletes workouts that are extinct. I mean workouts from 15-20 years ago that don’t even work and (can) injure the athletes.

Q: You’re talking coaches of what? High school and college?

A: And world class. We need to upgrade and become state-of-the-art again. I listen to coaches, to the kind of workouts they give their athletes and lots of times it’s the same stuff I grew up with in high school and grade school . . . the same kinds of theories. It’s just not the most effective thing any more.

Q: If you do decide to compete this year, when or where do you think that might be?

A: August, maybe. A big meet in Europe, if anything at all. . . . But I’ve been doing it for 22 years. With two years off, 1982 and ’85. That’s a long time. . . . That’s the thing, that intensity every day. Intensity. Keeping your mind prepared to go out the next day and do it again. And the pain, all the time . . .

Q: There’s got to be times when you think about hanging it up.

A: (Pause) I’ve done it all. And I could probably retire. But I don’t want to because I know I can still run and I still enjoy training. If I can enjoy the training, then I don’t have any problems with the running. When the training gets bad, the running is worse. So it’s a function of staying mentally ready for training.