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It remains one of the most memorable moments in modern Olympic history. At the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles, a raucous crowd of ninety thousand saw their favorite in the women's 3,000-meter race, Mary Decker, go down. An audience of two billion around the world witnessed the mishap and listened to the instantaneous accusations against the suspected culprit, Zola Budd.
Just seventeen, the South African Budd had already been the target of a vicious and vocal campaign by the antiapartheid lobby after she transferred to the British team in order to compete at the games. Decker, at twenty-six, was America's golden girl, ready to overcome years of bad luck and injuries to rightfully take the Olympic gold for which she had waited so long. With three laps to go, Decker and Budd's feet became tangled. Decker went down and didn't get up, wailing in primal agony as her gold medal hopes vanished. Decker's stumbles continued in the race's aftermath when she refused Budd's apology and race officials found her, not Budd, at fault for the collision. Although both women found success after the Olympics, neither could escape the long shadow of the infamous event that forever changed both of their lives and defines them in popular culture to this day.
Olympic Collision follows Decker and Budd through their lives and careers, telling the story behind the controversy; the account that emerges is certain to revise the view Americans, in particular, have held since that fateful day in Los Angeles more than thirty years ago. Olympic Collision relives one of the most famous incidents in Olympic history, its legacy, and what has happened to both athletes since.
It remains one of the most memorable moments in modern Olympic history. At the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles, a raucous crowd of ninety thousand saw their favorite in the women's 3,000-meter race, Mary Decker, go down. An audience of two billion around the world witnessed the mishap and listened to the instantaneous accusations against the suspected culprit, Zola Budd.
Just seventeen, the South African Budd had already been the target of a vicious and vocal campaign by the antiapartheid lobby after she transferred to the British team in order to compete at the games. Decker, at twenty-six, was America's golden girl, ready to overcome years of bad luck and injuries to rightfully take the Olympic gold for which she had waited so long. With three laps to go, Decker and Budd's feet became tangled. Decker went down and didn't get up, wailing in primal agony as her gold medal hopes vanished. Decker's stumbles continued in the race's aftermath when she refused Budd's apology and race officials found her, not Budd, at fault for the collision. Although both women found success after the Olympics, neither could escape the long shadow of the infamous event that forever changed both of their lives and defines them in popular culture to this day.
Olympic Collision follows Decker and Budd through their lives and careers, telling the story behind the controversy; the account that emerges is certain to revise the view Americans, in particular, have held since that fateful day in Los Angeles more than thirty years ago. Olympic Collision relives one of the most famous incidents in Olympic history, its legacy, and what has happened to both athletes since.
Acknowledgments Abbreviations 1. Starting Line 2. First Steps 3. Off with the Gun 4. Healing the Body 5. Dirty Little Secret 6. Running for Jenny 7. The Kid Comes Back with a Swoosh 8. Out of Africa 9. Gathering Storms 10. Rings of Fire 11. Dream Chasers 12. A Split Second That Will Live Forever 13. Coming and Going 14. The Phoenix Rises 15. World Champ 16. Rematch 17. World Champ Again 18. Mother Mary 19. Banned 20. Heart and Seoul 21. Marriage and Murder 22. Promoting L'eggs on Bad Legs 23. Budd Blooms 24. New Faces, Old Story 25. Seems Like Old Times 26. Trials and Tribulations 27. War and Peace Epilogue Notes Bibliography Index
Kyle Keiderling is the author of five books, including Heart of a Lion: The Life, Death, and Legacy of Hank Gathers.
“A fascinating look behind-the-scenes at one of sport’s most
shocking incidents. A tale of greed, human nature, and how it
affected two amazingly talented runners.”—Marty Liquori, ABC
analyst for the 1984 Olympics and former number one in the world in
mile and five-thousand-meter races
“Kyle Keiderling’s Olympic Collision brings together the incredible
backstory, the race-day tension, and the post-event fallout in a
compelling narrative.”—Amby Burfoot, Boston Marathon winner (1968),
contributing editor to Runner’s World, and author of First Ladies
of Running
“Kyle Keiderling has a style of writing that will leave you
captivated. His book provides incredible depth beyond one
historical Olympic moment.”—Joan Hansen,
three-thousand-meter finalist in the 1984 Olympics
“An immensely readable and elegantly written account of the lives
and careers of two iconic women distance runners who will always be
remembered for their dramatic collision at the Los Angeles
Olympics. The penetrating insights it provides into the murky world
of politics, illegal drug use, and money in track and field in the
1980s will be of interest well beyond just the running
community.”—Richard Mayer, South African athletics writer and
historian
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