"I never struggled with injury problems because of my preparation - in particular my stretching"
About this Quote
Moses is selling a myth athletes love: injuries are optional if your habits are elite enough. Coming from a man who built a near-scientific aura around dominance in the 400-meter hurdles, the line reads less like a throwaway wellness tip and more like a statement of control. Track is a sport where chaos is always lurking - clipped hurdles, overtraining, a hamstring that tightens at the wrong moment - so the promise embedded here is seductive: prepare correctly and the body will obey.
The specific intent is practical and reputational. On its face, he is advocating stretching as a concrete, repeatable behavior. Underneath, he is protecting the Moses brand: not just talented, but meticulous; not just fast, but responsible. The subtext carries an athlete’s moral logic that preparation equals virtue, and virtue should be rewarded with durability. That framing can motivate younger runners, but it also quietly implies that injury is, at least partly, a personal failure.
Context matters: Moses competed in an era when “prehab” wasn’t a buzzword, sports medicine wasn’t as integrated, and athletes often had to become their own performance labs. His emphasis on stretching signals self-reliance and routine as competitive edges. Still, the line also reveals the era’s simplification. Stretching can help readiness and range of motion, but modern sports science is more cautious about claiming it as a shield against injury. The quote works because it’s aspirational, not because it’s airtight: it offers a clean narrative in a messy, probabilistic reality.
The specific intent is practical and reputational. On its face, he is advocating stretching as a concrete, repeatable behavior. Underneath, he is protecting the Moses brand: not just talented, but meticulous; not just fast, but responsible. The subtext carries an athlete’s moral logic that preparation equals virtue, and virtue should be rewarded with durability. That framing can motivate younger runners, but it also quietly implies that injury is, at least partly, a personal failure.
Context matters: Moses competed in an era when “prehab” wasn’t a buzzword, sports medicine wasn’t as integrated, and athletes often had to become their own performance labs. His emphasis on stretching signals self-reliance and routine as competitive edges. Still, the line also reveals the era’s simplification. Stretching can help readiness and range of motion, but modern sports science is more cautious about claiming it as a shield against injury. The quote works because it’s aspirational, not because it’s airtight: it offers a clean narrative in a messy, probabilistic reality.
Quote Details
| Topic | Training & Practice |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
More Quotes by Edwin
Add to List




