André Lamar Phillips (born September 5, 1959) is a retired American Track and Field athlete….who is best known for winning the 400 meters hurdles gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games….as Phillips spent most of his career in the shadow of his idol….Edwin Moses….frequently as runner up during Moses’ unequaled winning streak of 122 consecutive races…..as Phillips managed to beat him once….at the 1988 Seoul Games. In 1983, Phillips finished fifth in the 400 m hurdles at the inaugural World Athletics Championships….then In 1985 in absence of Moses….Andre Phillips won his only US National Championship title….plus winning the IAAF World Cup. In 1988, Phillips lost to Moses at the Olympic trials….but showed a good pace at Olympics while winning the finals….after, Phillips ran his personal best 47.19 to win a gold medal….and beating second-place Amadou Dia Ba from Senegal by 0.04 seconds. The two times currently still rank them as the #6 and #7 performers of all time. Although Moses ran his fastest Olympic final, he finished only third in a time of 47.56….at the ripe young age of 34….which is old for the 400m hurdles.
Phillips is a former teacher at Stagg High School….a former Assistant Principal at Franklin High School…. and is now the current Principal at Stagg High School in Stockton, California. In 2009, Phillips was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame.
