Irv “Moon” Mondschein was a champion decathlete who holds the distinction of coaching track teams in two different Olympics for two different countries. In 1951 and 1952, he was the national and Olympic coach for the State of Israel and in 1988 was the decathlon coach for the United States Olympic Team. At New York University, he was the national decathlon champion in 1944 and 1946-47, winning runner-up honors in 1948 and 1949.

He was National Collegiate Athletic Association high jump champion in 1947 and 1948 and the Penn Relays long jump champion in 1947. He represented the United States at the 1948 Olympic games. He also played end on the NYU football team.

Following his graduation from NYU, he was the athletic director and the track, basketball and football coach for Lincoln University. He coached the United States track team in the World Maccabiah Games in 1950 and again in 1981 and 1985.

In his career, he attained the following world rankings: third in the outdoor high jump and tenth in the decathlon, 1947; sixth in the indoor high jump and eighth in the decathlon, 1948; third in the outdoor high jump and sixth in the decathlon, 1949.