ATHLETICS: Barefoot South African Olympian runs again
ATHLETICS: Barefoot South African Olympian runs again
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa?s barefoot Olympic runner Zola Budd is taking on her country?s 90-kilometer (56-mile) Comrades marathon, nearly 30 years after colliding with American Mary Decker at the Los Angeles Olympics. ?A lot has changed, but I?m still the Zola I was then,? the petite 45-year-old told journalists in Johannesburg after accepting an award Friday. Budd shot to international fame in 1984 when she broke the women?s 5,000-metre world record as a 17-year-old schoolgirl running barefoot. The record was disallowed following apartheid South Africa?s exclusion from international athletics. Budd then took on British citizenship and broke the record again in 1985 with a time of 14:48:07. She famously crashed into the favourite Decker at the 1,700-mark during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. Decker was injured and forfeited the race, while Budd finished seventh. She went on to become World Cross Country Champion twice. Having competed in several US events since she moved there with her family in 2008, Budd now feels ready for the South African marathon. ?I?ve always wanted to run the Comrades but I always was too scared because it?s far,? she told AFP. Thousands of athletes take part yearly in the race between Pietermaritzburg and Durban in the east of the country, which was started 91 years ago to commemorate World War I veterans. She said she will be running for the pleasure. ?I don?t consider myself a professional athlete anymore,? she said. Budd has become a local legend, with South Africa?s ubiquitous minibus taxis named ?Zola Budds? because of their speeding. ?One showed up at my house once and I had to sign it,? she tells. And though Budd has not set a goal for the Comrades marathon yet, at least she won?t run barefoot ? the athlete has developed sports footwear that mimics running without shoes. afp
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