biography
| name: |
Budd, Zola
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married name Pieterse
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| sex:
| female
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| lived:
| (1966– )
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| biography:
| Athlete, born in Bloemfontein, EC South Africa. Dogged by controversy, she set a world record time of 15 min 1·83 sec for the 5000 m while still a South African citizen. In 1984 she was accorded British citizenship on the strength of her parental background, and became eligible to participate in the 1984 Olympic Games. Her presence was not universally welcomed, and her disappointing performance was best remembered for the incident in which she accidentally tripped the American Mary Decker during the 3000 m. She set further world records for the 5000 m (1984, 1985), but was not allowed to compete in the Commonwealth Games. She dropped out of international running until South Africa was re-admitted to international sports in 1992. A hip injury and public attitudes caused her to retire in 1988, she returned to take part in the 1992 Olympic Games. |
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