http://espn.go.com/oly/news/2003/0831/1606652.html Moses' goal is to qualify for Olympic trials PARIS -- Hurdling great Edwin Moses is returning to the track --14 years after his retirement -- with the goal of qualifying for next year's U.S. Olympic Trials. The two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 400-meter hurdles, winner of 122 consecutive races over almost a decade, made the announcement on Sunday, his 48th birthday and the 20th anniversary of his last world-record run -- 47.02 seconds in Koblenz, Germany. It still is the second-best mark ever. Moses called it "a limited comeback" and expressed no illusions of returning to world-class form to challenge Felix Sanchez, the New York-born world champion who competes for the Dominican Republic. "He would make me look the way I used to make other people look," Moses said. "I'll probably become a world record-holder for the 46-to-50 age group, which will be fun. But I don't expect to be running against young boys who are young enough to be my son. That's totally unrealistic and that's not what it's about.'' He also discounted his chances of making the U.S. team for next year's Athens Olympics. "My goal is the Olympic Trials standard. I'm totally realistic about what I think I can do," Moses said. "Athens to me is something that is not even realistic to think about. I'm not going to sit here and say I'm trying to go to Athens and look like a jerk. To run 48 or 49 seconds at my age would be very, very difficult, to be honest with you. Fifty seconds to me is reasonable." The announcement was made with great fanfare, on the final day of the World Championships, at one of the finest hotels in Paris, the Hotel George V Four Seasons, just off the Champs-Elysees. He wants to reach 50.5 seconds, the "B'' qualifying standard for the 400 hurdles in the United States. To do so, he plans to run mainly in age-group races and exhibitions. "I will be running against seniors, people in my age group," he said. "But I just think I will be better than the average 48-year-old and I'll be able to beat some 18- and 19-year-olds without a doubt. ... Even if I don't do it, I will be one of the most physically fit people my age on the planet." Moses said back pain forced his retirement at age 34 in 1988, following his bronze medal finish at the Seoul Olympics. But he said through therapy and chiropractic care the pain has vanished. Moses has been a major influence in sports since his retirement as a runner. He is a member of the International Olympic Committee's ethics commission and is a past member of the IOC athletes commission and medical commission, where he helped pioneer drug testing. He is chairman of the Laureus World Sports Academy, which works to help underprivileged children around the world. Moses said he was returning to racing as a challenge and as motivation to others. "In my country, in a lot of the Western countries, 60 percent of the kids are overweight. They do no physical activity because gymnasiums in the school systems have been shut down. Sixty percent of the adults in the United States are overweight." "I think I have the power mentally," he said. "The question is going to be physically will it be able to happen. The mind drives the body in athletic. You can be the strongest guy in the 100 meters and come in dead last."
