Zola Budd
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Zola Pieterse, still better known by her maiden name of Zola Budd (born May 26, 1966 in Bloemfontein, Orange Free State in South Africa) is a former Olympic track and field competitor who, within a period of less than three years, twice broke the world record in the women's 5,000 meters, and twice was the women's winner at the World Cross Country Championships. Budd's career as a pioneer in women's distance running was as meteoric as it was unusual, in that she trained and raced barefoot. However her achievements on the track were often overshadowed by the political controversy she aroused during her short stay in Great Britain.
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Women's 5,000 meter world record
Budd shot to international fame in 1984, at the age of 17, when she broke the women's 5,000 meter world record, posting a sensational time of 15:01.83, while running barefoot [1] (http://www.evaa.nu/DOCUMENT/dunton/2004/trainin24.html). Since her performance took place in apartheid South Africa, the world track and field establishment refused to recognize the record.
Budd was later to claim the world record officially, while representing Great Britain in 1985, clocking 14:48.07.
Arrival in Britain
The Daily Mail, a British newspaper, persuaded Budd's father to get her to apply for British citizenship, on the grounds that her grandfather was British, so she could compete in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. With a strong push from the Daily Mail, British citizenship was granted in short order, despite the no small amount of controversy the matter generated, and so she moved to Guildford. Her actual arrival from South Africa sparked an even greater political storm, reflected in part by the strong opposition of anti-apartheid demonstrations that materialized when she competed in Britain.
In retrospect, this support was something of a poisoned chalice. While she would probably have faced some controversy and opposition anyway, the high-profile support given to her by a strongly right-wing paper like the Daily Mail virtually guaranteed strong opposition from anti-apartheid protesters.
1984 Olympic 3,000 meter
The British promptly selected Budd for the 1984 3,000 meter Olympic event. During the race she was clipped twice from behind by her childhood heroine, and race favorite, Los Angeles runner Mary Decker. Decker fell after clipping Budd for the second time, and did not finish the race after collapsing onto the infield. Budd was booed mercilessly by the crowd, despite the fact that Decker may have been most responsible for her own fall. Although Budd continued to lead for a while, she lost her heart for the race and faded, finishing 7th amid the resounding chorus of boos, in what immediately became one of the most controversial events in Olympic history.
When the pace slowed just past the midway point, Budd took the lead on the straightaway, and generously ran wide of the pack through the turn. By all appearances, she had assumed control of the race coming out of the turn on the track at 1700 meters. But that control was not at all clear to Decker, who seemed to take Budd's jockeying for position as an affront to her heretofore dominance. Decker was quite unused to running from behind, much less in a pack, after several years of thoroughly dominating her competition in the US. Rather than giving ground and respecting Budd's command of the race, Decker bumped Budd's left foot with her right thigh as Budd glided into the next straightaway. After knocking Budd slightly off balance, Decker continued to press for the lead, clipping Budd, striking the leader's calf with her right shoe several strides later. Budd had slowed down, but by then she was the clear leader, meaning the second contact was essentially Decker's faux pas. Decker then stumbled and crashed dramatically onto the infield. Budd said she went to apologize to her heroine after the race, but Decker shot back, “Don’t bother!”
In general, it is the trailing athlete's responsibility to avoid contact with the runner ahead; whether or not Budd had sufficient control of the race, to have pulled into the curve as she naturally did, was hotly disputed. "This doesn't mean," track journalist Kenny Moore wrote in the aftermath, "that a leader can swerve in with impunity, but that in the give and take of pack running, athletes learn to make allowances" [2] (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/cover/2002/then_now/flashbacks/budd_082084/). The ensuing media coverage largely took pity on the disconsolate Decker, paying little heed to the fact that Budd very well could have won the gold - if she had not been clipped twice, and then become unnerved by the crowd's reaction to Decker's collapse.
Barefoot champion
Budd went on to win the World Cross Country Championships, twice, in 1985 and 1986, and in both events she ran barefoot. In 1985 Budd set a new 5,000 meter world record. She was also crowned European 3,000 meter champion that year.
In 1988, she returned to her native South Africa, and retired from international competition for several years. In some people's opinion, her decision to return to South Africa confirmed that her move to Britain and granting her a British passport had been a sham all along, South Africa was really her country.
Marriage and beyond
In 1989 Budd married Mike Pieterse and became Zola Pieterse. She competed for South Africa in the 5000 meters at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, but did not qualify for the final.
Budd remains the holder of numerous British and South African records, both at junior and senior levels. Budd still holds 2 junior world records, in the mile and 3000 meters.
Budd currently lives on her parents' farm in Bloemfontein, with her mother, husband and three children (Mikey, Azelle and Lisa). She runs primarily for pleasure now, 10-15 miles a day, but has only run competitively on occasion in recent years.
Reference
- IAAF.org (http://www.iaaf.org/theSport/whatisathletics/TrackandField/disc=5k_10k/index,newsId=9413.html) - International Association of Athletics Federations: 5000m world record progression
External links
- SAfrica.info (http://www.safrica.info/ess_info/sa_glance/sports/zola.htm) - Sporting Greats, Athletics: Zola Budd
- SportsIllustrated.com (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/features/galleries/2002/then_and_now/budd/850729.html) - SI cover: Back on Track - Mary Decker-Slaney beats Zola Budd in London
- RunningBarefoot.org (http://www.runningbarefoot.org/?name=ZolaBuddPieterse) - Zola Budd-Pietersede:Zola Budd