Zola needs go-ahead to contest Comrades

30 May 2013 - 03:50 By DAVID ISAACSON
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Zola Budd (151) during the women's 3000m final at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She remains the best middle-distance female athlete South Africa has ever produced. Today she will find out whether she will be able to compete at the Comrades Marathon on Sunday
Zola Budd (151) during the women's 3000m final at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. She remains the best middle-distance female athlete South Africa has ever produced. Today she will find out whether she will be able to compete at the Comrades Marathon on Sunday
Image: BOB THOMAS/GETTY IMAGES

Legendary Zola Budd, who still holds the South African women's 1500m record after 29 years, will learn today if she is well enough to run the Comrades Marathon after coming down with flu.

US-based Budd, who flew over at the weekend, will visit a doctor this morning for a final decision on Sunday's Durban-Pietermaritzburg classic.

Barefoot on the track, she was at her peak in the 1980s when she broke world records in the 5000m, 2000m and indoor 3000m. She also won two world cross-country titles.

Minibus taxis were dubbed Zola Budds after her, and local pop diva Brenda Fassie recorded a hit song called Zola Budd.

But Budd, 47, laughs now at how the younger generation doesn't know her.

"I was doing a radio interview the other day and a caller phoned in and asked: 'Is Zola Budd a real person?' ''

Budd still holds the SA 1500m (from 1984) and one mile (1991) records, and, if she had not taken British citizenship to compete at the 1984 Olympics, she would also own the 3000m mark.

Her world junior 1500m record from 1985 still stands, too. Asked why South Africa had stopped producing top middle-distance runners, Budd told The Times that the local athletics competition system, once vibrant and busy, had changed.

"In the 1980s if you were a good runner, you got invites to run at all the permit meetings at sea level, which is good for middle-distance runners," she said.

"We probably ran five or six really good meets at sea level, which were well organised and [had] big crowds. It was conducive to good middle-distance running."

In those days, SA fans flocked to watch world-class contests involving stars like Johan Fourie and Matthews Temane.

"Even in Bloemfontein we got crowds of 15000 people and it was amazing. You need to have that competitive atmosphere to run fast, like the grand prix meets in Europe.

"That's what is missing in South Africa. Athletes are training hard but they don't have the exposure at meets like that," she explained.

The Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, resident frequently visits SA, having acquired the distribution rights for Newton shoes, a US brand, which, she says, are flatter and, therefore, give runners a more natural feel. Almost like running barefoot.

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