Charles Moses (sprinter)

Charles Moses

Personal information
Nationality	Ghanaian
Born	(1954-03-12) 12 March 1954
Sport
Sport	Sprinting
Event	400 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal bests	48.2 (1980, confirmed) 45.71 (1984, questionable) 45.28 (1979, claimed)

Charles Moses (born 12 March 1954) is a Ghanaian sprinter. He competed in the men's 400 metres at the 1984 Summer Olympics.

Moses first attended Iowa State University, where he competed as a walk-on for the Iowa State Cyclones track and field team during his time there in the winter and spring from 1978 to 1979.

Beginning in 1980, he transferred to and ran for the Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minnesota, a transfer which Moses said was borne out of necessity due to ISU classes conflicting with his training schedule. While there, he won the state junior college championships and qualified for the rounds of the NJCAA national track and field championships in the 400 m. He was described as one of their most prominent freshman sprinters and a "Ghana Olympian" by the Post-Bulletin in April 1980, and he received service club and church donations in the lead-up to the 1980 Olympics. He was coached by Liz McBlain, who was described as "like his mother". He told the Post-Bulletin in February 1980 and the Mankato Free Press in July that he had run 45.28 seconds for 400 m at a California meet in 1979, though his fastest confirmed time was 48.2 seconds during the spring 1980 season for Rochester CC while he claimed to have an ankle injury.

In an interview with the Post-Bulletin in August 1980, Moses claimed to have competed in the 400 metres at the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, competing for Ghana as the United States team boycotted the Games and as the first Olympian from Rochester Community College. He claimed to have run 45.3 seconds in the quarter-finals and 45.9 seconds his semi-final to place sixth, failing to qualify for the finals by two places. He also claimed to have run with Alberto Juantorena and eventual gold medalist Viktor Markin in his rounds.

On 16 September 1980, Moses told the Post-Bulletin that due to visa problems, he had run at the Games as under the name Dele Udo which explained his name not being present in the results. The following day, he admitted to the newspaper that he had fabricated his claims, and that he did not run in the 1980 Olympics at all.

He attempted to enroll at Mankato State University in 1980, where he claimed to have also received a scholarship offer to run cross country and track for the Minnesota State Mavericks track and field team. However, his enrollment was blocked due to failure to provide immigration forms and unpaid fees at Rochester Community College. Moses claimed his money and belongings were stolen on an airplane, but the Rochester CC foreign student advisor claimed he was an undocumented immigrant who was mistakenly granted admission. Because Moses was in the U.S. on a student visa, he faced deportation if he could not enroll.

Moses claimed to have already had international experience before the 1984 Olympics, having been invited to an international meet in Moscow in 1977. He did run at the 1984 Olympics for Ghana, where he split 50.39 seconds to place 7th in his Olympic 400 m heat and failed to advance. According to Bill Mallon, Moses set his personal best of 45.71 seconds in 1984.

See also

• Moli Yeski Yusef
• Rosie Ruiz