Harris puts an End to Moses’ 10-Year Streak in Hurdles

MADRID â€”  Edwin Moses’ 107-race winning streak ended Thursday when Danny Harris beat him in the 400-meter hurdles.

Moses, the world record-holder with a time of 47.02 seconds, last lost on Aug. 26, 1977, at West Berlin, when he was beaten by West Germany’s Harald Schmid.

Harris, 21, won Thursday in 47.56. Moses finished second in 47.69, followed by a third American, Nate Page, in 50.12.

“I ran a good race, and the guy that beat me is 10 years younger and ran the race of his life,� Moses said. “It’s very early in the season for me to be running in Europe. I’m not as sharp as I would be normally. This is one of my best times for so early in the season. I’m not disappointed at all with the race I ran.�

Moses led over the first two hurdles, but Harris took the lead at the fifth hurdle and stayed in front the rest of the way.

Moses encountered trouble at the 10th, and last, hurdle.

“I hit the 10th hurdle, and that really cost me the race,� Moses said. “I expect to do much better. He was very lucky to win the race. He built up an early lead. There’s probably no other person in the world who could run this time.�

Moses tried to recover after hitting the 10th hurdle but couldn’t.

“He moved out slightly,� Moses said of Harris. “I came back toward the end, but there was not enough time.�

Moses said he would return to his home in Newport Beach and next run in the TAC national championships at San Jose June 23-27.

“I’m pretty sure I’m looking for a world record,� Moses said. “If I run as well as I can, I don’t think he’ll be able to beat me in the future.�

It was the first meeting between Moses and Harris since the 1984 Olympic Games, when they ran 1-2.

The 31-year-old Moses won 107 consecutive finals (and 15 preliminary heats) since losing to Schmid. He won all three of his previous races this year, at Columbus, Ohio; Princeton, N.J., and Turin, Italy.

Other results in the international meet here included victories by Carl Lewis, who had outstanding times of 10.12 and 19.92 in the 100 and 200 meters, respectively.

Harris, born in Torrance, Calif., was a three-time NCAA champion at Iowa State. He won the 400-meter hurdles titles at the NCAA championships in 1984, 1985 and 1986 and was rated third behind Moses and Andre Phillips in the world rankings.

Harris, who went to high school in Perris, Calif., set the national prep record in the 300-meter low hurdles in 1983, then broke the world junior record in the 400-meter hurdles five times, including a best of 48.02.

During three years at Iowa State, training under assistant coach Steve Lynn, Harris competed in 17 finals and won them all.

Though he still attends Iowa State, Harris is not competing for the Cyclones this season. Lynn, discussing the decision earlier this year, said “it was a move that it was time to make. Danny is going great now. He is much stronger than he has ever been.�

Harris said in April at the Sun Angel meet in Tempe, Ariz., that “I feel much stronger than last year, and not having to run a collegiate schedule is going to help in the long run.

“In college, I hadn’t lost and I felt a lot of pressure to win every race. Now, I still feel that pressure--more an expectation within myself--but I’m free to pick my own schedule, and that’s the big plus.�

Harris’ time was the best of his career. Only Moses, Schmid and Phillips have run faster.

Moses has the 11 fastest times in the 400-meter hurdles. He set the world record Aug. 31, 1983, at a meet in Koblenz, West Germany.

In all, Moses has 14 of the top 16 times, 17 of the top 20 and 23 of the top 30 in the event.

Schmid’s best time was 47.48 in 1982, while Phillips was timed in 47.51 last year.

Moses’ streak was the longest for a track event, but not for a field event.

Iolanda Balas of Romania had 180 straight victories in the women’s high jump in the 1950s and 1960s; Parry O’Brien of the United States won the men’s shotput 120 straight times during the same era.