USAIN Bolt's dominance of the sprint scene caused many track and field events to go unnoticed, according to former hurdles star Edwin Moses.
The Jamaican sprinter won 19 major titles, including eight Olympic gold medals and 11 World Championship titles before he ended his career in 2017, including setting a record time in the men’s 100 metres and 200m at three successive Olympics.
But while Bolt changed the sporting landscape, Moses added that it was good to see other disciplines take centre stage at the Tokyo Olympics.
"I think the sports somewhat suffered when Usain was always winning," he said. "A lot of the meets wouldn't even get television coverage unless he was coming into the race.
"That started happening back in the 80s where TV kind of got addicted. They wouldn't cover the sport unless they had someone going for a world record.
He went on to say that he “was really impressed with the shot put this year and the women's triple jump”.
"I was very pleased to see the 400 metres hurdles really be the marquee event of the Olympic Games, the men's and the women's. When I was running, it was a marquee event.
"There was a lot of focus on the 100 metres with Ben Johnson and Carl Lewis back then, but finally the 400 metres hurdles is at the peak of its history."
Moses added: "I just think you have to have about 15 good stars, well-known stars that hopefully become household names.
"When I was running we had Jackie Joyner, Willie Bags. We had just a tonne of athletes from all over the world that were doing really great; they won all the time.
"The field events are just as important as the running events that men's shot put was outstanding. The women's discus was outstanding, as was the women's triple jump.
"We need to have all these athletes getting massive backing from the federation to have a really good sport because it's a worldwide sport.
"No one wants to just watch the 100 metres and the 200 metres and then tune out on everything else and switch the channel – you have to be able to keep people's attention."
Moses, who set the world record four times in the 400m hurdles, believes Bolt's record can one day be broken.
"It's possible. It's possible. The men's 100 metres this year didn't come anywhere close to what we expected," he said. "I think people were expecting like a 9.65 or something.
"The time wasn't actually that great but then you have the heat and humidity and all the rounds that they have to run; it's a crapshoot as you never really know." – Agencies, August 17, 2021
