Zola Budd fears her running career will be defined by one of the Olympic Games' most controversial moments, one that may unfairly detract from an incredible talent who still holds records unbeaten for almost four decades.
- Zola Budd fears her running career will be defined by one of the Olympic Games’ most controversial moments, one that may unfairly detract from an incredible talent who still holds records unbeaten for almost four decades.
Those ghosts have long been laid to rest for Budd, who now resides in Myrtle Beach in the United States and until last year was the head cross country coach at the Coastal Carolina University. Budd’s story made her a target for the tabloids, but when she clashed with home favourite Decker in the 3,000-metres at the 1984 Games and the American tumbled to the floor, the youngster became a household name around the world.
“At that time there was nothing else happening with the Russians not competing at those Olympics, so the American media had to find something to hype up the Games,” Budd says.“I felt then that even if I had won the gold medal, it wouldn’t have mattered because I would still be branded an outcast. I couldn’t win either way, so for me the 1984 Games were a lose-lose situation.”“People think my career ended after 1984, but I then won the World Cross Country Championships twice.
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