Dr. Edwin Moses Goes to Washington!
Graduated from Dayton [OH] Fairview H.S. in 1973.
Covering Dayton, Ohio, the Miami Valley of Ohio had at least 59 Olympians and one Paralympian — people born here, raised here, went to school here, or lived here afterward — who have gone to 30 different Summer and Winter Games. Twenty-nine made it onto the podium. They won 46 medals, including 22 gold, 13 silver, and 11 bronze, according to the 2021 Dayton Daily News article.
Leading, of course, is Dr. Edwin Moses, the most dominant athlete ever in the 400-meter hurdles, winning 122 consecutive races and two Olympic gold medals (1976 & 1984) over a nearly 10-year span.
Dr. Edwin Moses Goes to Washington!
Appointed by Frank Pallone, chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives, Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee chair Jan Schakowsky, and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee chair Diana DeGette, Dr. Edwin Moses is to serve as one of 14 Commissioners of the Commission on the State of U.S. Olympics and Paralympics.
In its sole public hearing this Wednesday, Sept. 6, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, the Commission will listen to the testimonies of 18 experts on youth-sports-participation data and trends, representatives of athletes with disabilities, and athletes’ rights advocates. The C-SPAN will cover the hearing.
The Empowering Olympic, Paralympic and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020 became law on October 30, 2020, and created this Commission with 14 members that was supposed to complete a thorough review of the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee by Sept. 30. The Commission will deliver its final report to Congress by spring 2024.
Whoa, did the above article mention any Deaflympians?
Nope. The reason is that the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) has yet to recognize the Deaflympics, despite the International Olympic Committee authorizing the change of name from the World Games for the Deaf to the Deaflympic in 2001 (22 years ago.)
Does the Miami Valley have any Deaflympians? At least the one - Howard L. Gorrell (yeah, that is me-!) Oddly, this newspaper ran several articles about me and my athletic activities. Below is one of my favorite ones.
Do I know Edwin Moses?
Yeah, this Wednesday’s hearing will be my third meeting with him. Because of his super Olympic performances? No! Because he graduated from my Fairview High School in Dayton, Ohio!!! Moses is in the Class of 1973, while Philadelphia Phillies legend Mike Schmidt graduated in 1967. I am with the Class of 1964.
My first meeting was at the 1980 Athletics Congress (TAC) convention. (It was renamed to the USA Track & Field [USATF] in 1992.) The second was a “Salute to Area Olympians,” at the Carillon Historical Park in Dayton 2004.
Of course, I will be excited to reunite with Moses this Wednesday. I whisper to myself, "Will Moses break his loyalty to his USOPC brasses by supporting the inclusion of the Deaflympics in the USOPC's program?"
I hope Moses will seriously listen to one witness named Jeff Mansfield, President of the U.S.A. Deaf Sports Federation. Mansfield will deliver his top priority.
“Deaf and hard-of-hearing athletes deserve more. Today, we are seeing widening disparities between the Olympics and Paralympics on one side and Deaflympics on the other. The time to build a broad movement to invest in Deaf sports is now. Such a movement is necessary to champion the rights, justice, and dignity of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people everywhere.” (July 12, 2022)