King of 400m hurdles dethroned by compatriot

Press, 26 September 1988, Page 22

King of 400m hurdles dethroned by compatriot

NZPA-Reuter Seoul Ed Moses, the king of the 400 metres hurdles, was dethroned by fellow American, Andre Phillips, yesterday. Phillips had the edge on Moses throughout and took a decisive lead at the eighth hurdle when his veteran rival seemed to fade. Senegal’s Dia Ba

made a valiant attempt to steal the gold in the last 10 metres but Phillips just held on. Moses was a well-beaten third. Phillips clocked 47.195, well inside the Olympic record 47.63 s set by Moses at the 1976 Montreal Games. It was easily the fastest time in the world this year. Dia Ba

set an African record 47.23 s and Moses managed 47.565. The race was only Moses’ third defeat since 1977. The 33-year-old American won the Olympic gold in 1976 and 1984 and the 1983 and 1987 world titles. He also holds the world record of 47.025.

Phillips’ elation was unrestrained. He grabbed an American flag from a spectator and made a triumphant victory circuit, stopping at one point to throw his vest into the crowd. Finland’s Tapio Korjus had a splendid win in the men’s javelin. Korjus took the lead from Czecho-

Slovakia’s world record holder, Jan Zelezny, in the fourth round, then made certain of the title with a great effort of 84.28 m in the sixth and final round. Gennady Avdeyenko, of the Soviet Union, won the men’s high jump with a leap of 2.38 metres. Tatiana Samolenko

made it a great day for the Russians when she powered to victory in the women’s 3000 metres final. Samolenko overhauled the Romanian, Paula Ivan, on the final bend to add the Olympic title to her world gold. The 27-year-old Russian clocked 8:26.535.