Moses Sees Greene All The Way

Ed Moses says he sees no reason world 400m hurdles champion Dai Greene cannot win Olympic gold in London if he is not distracted from his preparations.

But double Olympic champion Moses added that Greene, who won world gold in September, needs to gain "more power" if he is to break 48 seconds regularly.

"People will put the medal around your neck before you even finish training," the American told BBC Radio 5 live.

"My advice is just to say 'look we'll wait and see'."

Moses, who won the second of his two Olympic 400m hurdle golds in his hometown Games in Los Angeles in 1984, was speaking to Greene in a BBC Radio 5 live special, which will air on New Year's Day.

He added: "You have got to keep your head calm. That's what I did throughout my whole career, I didn't think about winning.

"You will decide on race day what the outcome will be. Talking about the race is what blows athletes' minds.

"[Avoiding distractions] will make it a lot easier on you."

Greene, 25, ran a brilliant race to win Britain's first gold of the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in a time of 48.26 seconds, adding the world crown to his European and Commonwealth titles.

However, the race was one of the slowest in World Championship history and Moses warned Welshman Greene, who has a personal best of 47.88 seconds, that conditions will be very different in London next summer.

"Dai ran a good race and burned everybody out, but in the Olympics it's going to be a much faster race," said the 56-year-old, who at one time during his career went unbeaten for 122 races, spanning an incredible nine years, nine months and nine days.Moses set world records four times and won two World Championships in addition to his two Olympic titles

"The start is going to be key. Once you get the momentum coming out of the blocks, you keep that going.

"If you don't have it out of the blocks, you'll never have the opportunity to capitalise."

Moses, whose best time of 47.02 seconds means he is still the second fastest 400m hurdler of all time, added that Greene also needs to refine his hurdling technique.

"You need to clean up your hurdling in the turn," he told Greene. "You need to figure out how you can stay as close to the line as possible.

"Measure it at eight inches - if you run outside, you're running further.

"You also need to find a way to really get some power in order to be able to run 47 seconds multiple times if necessary. You might have to do that in the semi-final if you get in the wrong heat."

Greene Wants No 2012 Football

Dai Greene insists there should not be a British football side at the London 2012 Games as it will "overshadow" traditional Olympic sports.

The British Olympic Association wants a football team to play in London but the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish football associations are against it.

They fear a British team threatens their independence and Greene feels the Olympics has "no place" for football.

"I don't think the football team should be there in the first place," he said.

"I hope that those big names don't overshadow those people who have trained for four years to be there for that one moment.

"These guys have four to five weeks off in the summer then become an Olympian. It does seem a little bit out of place.

"These guys want to win Premierships, Champions League trophies and World Cup medals.

"They don't grow up wanting to be an Olympic champion, they want to be the best in football.

"The crowning glory in football isn't being Olympic champion so I don't think their sport should necessarily be involved - or at least at a professional level."

World, Commonwealth and European 400m hurdles champion Greene is one of Great Britain's best hopes for a home gold at the London Games.

Should he win in London, Greene would become just the fourth British athlete alongside Linford Christie, Daley Thompson and Sally Gunnell to win all athletics' major medals.

Greene is also bidding to become the first Welsh Olympic champion in track and field since long-jumper Lynn Davies won gold at the Tokyo Games in 1964.

The 25-year-old is a football fan and played for Swansea City's youth team but he feels his view that football should not be played at the Olympics represents the consensus among athletes.

"Most athletes would agree with what I'm saying," said Greene.

"There's no place for it at the Olympics.

"When some guy wins a gold medal in badminton or swimming, they want it to be about them and their hard work and their story to get there.

"But sadly, in some of the papers, that might be overshadowed with what David Beckham had for breakfast maybe - and that is not a great story from our point of view."

Football teams at the Olympics are for under-23 players but Games organisers do allow three 'over age' players in each squad.

Wales stars Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey have stated their intention to play for Team GB at the 2012 Olympics despite the Football Association of Wales being against Welsh players competing for fears it threatens their sovereignty.

"I'm all for players representing Team GB," said Greene. "But I wish there wasn't a Team GB in the first place."