Edwin Moses, who was considered the king of the 400-meter hurdles, will be one of the distinguished guests at the 86th Congress of the International Sports Press Association (AIPS), to be held in Santa Susanna (Barcelona) from April 28 to May 2. The former American athlete, born in Dayton, Ohio in 1955, is a legend in track and field. For 9 years, 9 months, and 9 days (1977-1987) and in 122 consecutive races, no one could defeat him. He won the gold medal at the Olympic Games in Montreal (1976) and Los Angeles (1984), and the bronze in Seoul (1988); he was also world champion in Helsinki (1983) and Rome (1987). His world record stood until the Barcelona Games in 1992.
Edwin Moses will be in Santa Susanna on Sunday, April 28th to present his autobiographical film, “Moses 13 Steps”. It tells the story of how an athlete becomes the king of the 400-meter hurdles. The title of the film, “Moses 13 Steps”, refers to the number of steps he took between each hurdle, one less than the other athletes of the time. The movie will soon be available on digital platforms.
Currently, Moses is the president of the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the chairman of the Laureus Academy. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Morehouse College and an MBA from Pepperdine University.
In addition to Moses, a long list of international sports personalities have confirmed their presence in Santa Susanna at the AIPS Congress. Among them are Sébastien Griesmar, director of the Lausanne Olympic Capital Foundation; Joan Antoni Samaranch, vice president of the International Olympic Committee; Morinari Watanabe, president of the International Gymnastics Federation; Leonz Eder, president of the International University Sports Federation (FISU); Thomas Giordano, Public Relations Manager of UEFA; Guy Sanan, director of the Laureus Academy; and Patrice Motsepe, president of the African Football Confederation.
With the celebration of the AIPS Congress, Santa Susanna will once again become the capital of the elite sports world for a few days. For five days, the crème de la crème of sports journalism and the main leaders of the sports world, along with current athletes, will pass through the municipality. More than 300 people from 110 countries, at times exceeding 400, will share concerns, experiences, and projects related to professional sports. This event will help spread the image of Santa Susanna to every corner of the globe.
The AIPS Congress will be held at the Atzavara Hotel. The international sports journalism elite will discuss the future of the profession and how the rise of content creators and influencers is affecting it. One of the topics they will address is the impact of Artificial Intelligence in sports. Journalists, presidents, and high-ranking sports officials from international federations, as well as experts from organizations such as UNESCO, have confirmed their participation in the debate.
The debate on sports journalism from a gender perspective is also part of the Congress agenda, which will feature presentations from the International Olympic Committee, FIFA, UEFA, IFBB, Special Olympics, European Athletics, FISU, Erasmus, among others.
On April 29th, the Sports Media Awards ceremony will take place at the Sports Pavilion. These are the highest international awards in sports journalism. The awards recognize the best storytellers of sports stories across all platforms, from photography to video, from print journalism to digital, from sports podcasts to blogs, print media, radio, television, and more. The ceremony is broadcast via streaming worldwide.
This AIPS Congress is very special and symbolic because this year marks the centenary of the organization, which was founded in Paris on July 2, 1924. The International Sports Press Association brings together over 15,000 members from 161 countries worldwide. It is presided over by the Italian journalist Gianni Merlo.
