Olympic Champion
Gold medalist, physicist and drug testing pioneer
It was apparent from an early age that when Edwin C. Moses puts his mind to anything — from academics to athletics — he excels. Really excels.
Moses won gold medals in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1976 and 1984 Olympics. From 1977-1987, Moses collected 122 straight victories, 107 of which were finals; this winning streak remains unbeaten and is in the Guinness Book of Records. He received a Congressional Gold Medal after the 1980 U.S. Olympic Team was forced to boycott the Moscow Olympics.
In addition to his running, Moses also was an innovative reformer in the areas of Olympic eligibility and drug testing, and the rights of amateur athletes. In 2000, he was elected the first chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, an international service organization of world-class athletes, and he still holds the position.
Born the son of two educators, Moses attended Dayton Schools’ Fairview High School. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in physics and engineering from Morehouse College in Georgia, and later a master's degree in business administration from Pepperdine University in California. He was elected into both the U.S. and international track and field hall of fames and is president of the International Amateur Athletic Association.
Moses is known for utilizing applied sciences to perfect the technical aspects of his athletic performance. This knowledge also enabled him to create, implement and administer the world’s most stringent random and out-of-competition testing systems for performance-enhancing drugs in sports.
Currently, Moses is a financial consultant for a division of Salomon Smith Barney. He also is a registered securities agent, licensed private airplane pilot and scuba diver.
Educational Inspiration
Guided by his parents’ influence as educators, he accepted an academic scholarship in engineering from Morehouse College rather than an athletic scholarship elsewhere.
Giving Back
Determined to find a method through which U.S. athletes could generate financial support to offset training expenses, Moses helped persuade The Athletics Congress to begin the Athletes Trust Fund program. The trust fund enables athletes to create accounts administered by their respective sport bodies, within which government or privately supplied stipends, direct payments and monies derived from commercial endorsements could be deposited and withdrawn by the athlete for training and other expenses, without jeopardizing Olympic eligibility.
The trust fund is currently the basis of many Olympic athlete subsistence, stipend and corporate support programs. Moses also has worked with the Special Olympics, Goodwill Games and Montana’s Big Sky State Games. He was a founding partner in the Platinum Group, a management partnership that represents world-class athletes in their business endeavours.
He’s chairman of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency’s board of directors. The International Fair Play Committee and International Sports Journalists Association awarded Moses with “The World Fair Play award.”
In 2011 Moses, alongside former president of the U.S.S.R. Mikhail Gorbachev, received the “Pyramide con Marni” award for social work and activities around the world for children in need.
Current as of 4/24/2024 5:57 pm