Olympics 2008

Time for another sporting legend and no beating about the bush today.

Let me introduce Ed Moses, 400m hurdler, twice Olympic champion, twice world champion, world record holder for 16 years, unbeaten during a nine year, nine month, nine day spell and drug-testing pioneer.

In fact, just about the only thing the American didn't achieve in his astonishing career was to break the 47 second barrier - his best time was 47.02.

Moses shot to fame when he became the only American track athlete to win individual gold at the 1976 Montreal Games, his first international event and only four months after his first race, in a world record time of 47.64 seconds.

One year later, he was beaten by German rival Harald Schmid, his fourth defeat in the event, but it was to be his last for nearly a decade.

From 26 August, 1977, to 4 June, 1987, Moses dominated the 400m hurdles like no athlete has ever dominated an event before, or since.

He revolutionised the race with his trademark 13 strides between each hurdle, when the norm was to take 14.

He won 122 consecutive races - read that again - 122 consecutive races. Astonishing.

Unfortunately, he was not allowed to defend his Olympic title in 1980 as the United States boycotted the Moscow Games, but there is little doubt that he would have won gold as he had underlined his presence as the world's best by lowering his own world record in July of that year.

And four years later in Los Angeles, he stormed to a second gold medal, beating team-mate Danny Harris by nearly half a second.

Three years later, Harris gained some revenge by doing the impossible and ending Moses' winning streak - it was only his fifth career defeat.

But Moses bounced back to win the world championship later that year, edging out Harris and Schmid, the last man to beat him before the run started, by 0.02 seconds.

His sixth and final loss came at the 1988 Seoul Games, despite posting his quickest time in an Olympic final.

Compatriot Andre Phillips won gold, with a certain Kevin Young just finishing outside of the medals in fourth.

I say a certain Kevin Young because four years later in Barcelona, Young, became the only man to run faster than Moses in the event and in doing so, broke the 47-second barrier for the first time.

Young used 12 strides between each hurdle, switching to 13 late in the race to stop the clock at 46.78 - a time that is all the more remarkable when you consider he hit the last hurdle and visibly eased up towards the finish line.

His world record has stood for 16 years and is currently the longest-standing for a track race.

But back to Moses - will anyone ever come close to matching his dominance in an event?