“13 Steps,” a documentary about Edwin Moses (USA), the two-time Olympic champion in the 400-meter hurdles, is currently showing in German cinemas. ZEIT ONLINE spoke to him via video call about the film and his career.
TIME ONLINE: Mr. Moses, the film’s production company (Broadview TV) comes from Cologne. Was that your wish because you associate beautiful experiences with Germany? You set your last world record (47.02 seconds) on August 31, 1983 in Koblenz, on the day of your 28th birthday.
Edwin Moses: There were many factors. A colleague who works at the Laureus Sports Foundation gave me the idea. It’s true, I’m known in Germany because I often competed against the top runner Harald Schmid from Gelnhausen in Hesse.
TIME ONLINE: Athletics is a core Olympic sport. Years ago, the Golden League meetings were big events. Today, the focus is not only on other sports in Germany.
Moses: When I was running, track and field was one of the most respected sports in the world. The stadiums were full. I really don’t know what happened. Because there have been many important athletes over the years: Evelyn Ashford, Michael Johnson, Usain Bolt. In any case, I’m happy that I ran in the golden age.
TIME ONLINE: They became Olympic champions in 1976 and 1984. If you had run in Moscow in 1980 when the US boycotted the Games, you probably would have won gold there too. The GDR runner Volker Beck from Erfurt became the winner in 48.70 seconds. Beck never ran below 48 in his career. How did you feel when you saw the race?
Moses: I didn’t see it on TV, it wasn’t broadcast in the US. It was bad not being there. It was a total loss. Just before the Moscow Games I set a new world record with 47.13 in Milan ran, i.e. 1.57 seconds faster than the Olympic champion. But that’s life. There are a lot of things in the story that don’t make sense.
TIME ONLINE: Have you spoken to Volker Beck about this?
Moses: Yeah, he said, Hey, everyone knows you probably would have won. I competed against him several times and he was never close to me.
TIME ONLINE: They lived in West Berlin in the 1980s. Have you ever been to East Berlin?
Moses: Many times, over the Checkpoint Charlie border crossing. With my wife from West Berlin at the time, we occasionally went to a bar in East Berlin. She was an artist and knew things well. Our apartment in Berlin-Rudow was about 300 meters from the Wall. I always walked along the west side. Many boys in the neighborhood knew who I was and were calling my name.
TIME ONLINE: They often started in the Eastern Bloc. Why?
Moses: Americans hardly competed there. But I thought it was important to walk in places behind the Iron Curtain where people wouldn’t have expected me.
TIME ONLINE: You never started in East Berlin. Why?
Moses: I was never invited. They didn’t have any really big meetings in East Berlin either. But there were a few American shot putters and discus throwers who competed in the eastern part.
TIME ONLINE: Martin Luther King visited East Berlin in September 1964 and spoke in two churches. This was an important event for the people of East Germany three years after the Wall was built. Did you know that?
Moses: I should know, but I seem to have forgotten. All I can remember is that he traveled to Europe at the time.
TIME ONLINE: It was an opportunity to fight against racism and show the world what people with African-American roots can do. In sports you, Muhammad Ali and many others were the protagonists. What does racism look like in the USA today?
Moses: Racism is very difficult to get to grips with in everyday life. There is a lot of this in our country, many people believe that they are allowed to treat others differently who do not look like them, who are not the same gender, nationality or from a different ethnic group. There are people who believe they have the power to treat other people like shit. That can never be accepted.