ST. GEORGE, Utah — Edwin Moses likes the number 13. The legendary Olympic champion revealed why in a recent visit to St. George for the West Coast debut of a documentary about his career.
"I like being interviewed by Channel 13. There's not a lot of them in the country," Moses said with a smile.
Olympic champion Edwin Moses came to St. George for the DocUtah International Documentary Film Festival to showcase the film "Moses: 13 Steps."
"I went to school on an academic scholarship," Moses explained.
The documentary showed how Moses used his physics and engineering studies at Morehouse College to determine the optimal number of steps between hurdles in the 400-meter hurdles.
"Trying to get from point A to point B, while jumping over D, F and G," Moses narrated in the film.
"That was it in a nutshell. I was in the right place at the right time," he later told FOX 13 News.
The film, executive produced by Morgan Freeman, features testimonials from fellow Morehouse graduates Samuel L. Jackson and Spike Lee, as well as renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson discussing the science behind Moses' success.
Moses took gold medals in the 1976 Montreal Olympics and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, with a boycott holding him back in 1980. His record of 122 consecutive wins in the 400-meter hurdles is one that many believe will never be broken.
But Moses wants people to know he had to lose first to become a champion.
"If you're not willing to lose in track and field, you don't need to be out there because your heart will be broken," he said. "So, you know, I had the specter of losing. I ran 187 races in my career and won 179. Four of those I lost in 1976... I was never afraid to lose because I had to fight to win all the time."
The film also touches on Moses' pioneering role in anti-doping efforts in the Olympics. When asked about the controversy over who should lead anti-doping efforts in Utah for the 2032 Winter Games, Moses was diplomatic.
"I took it very personal when athletes wanted to cheat," he said. "It was the right thing to do for everybody. It didn't feel like it at the time, but it was. Everybody's happy that now we have very strong anti-doping systems around the world."
