Olympic Collision: The Story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd

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.

 
 
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Olympic Collision: The Story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd

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.

 
 
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Olympic Collision: The Story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd

Olympic Collision: The Story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd

by Kyle Keiderling
Olympic Collision: The Story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd

Olympic Collision: The Story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd

by Kyle Keiderling

Hardcover

$27.95 
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Overview


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.

 
 

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9780803290846
Publisher: Nebraska
Publication date: 11/01/2016
Pages: 368
Product dimensions: 6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author


Kyle Keiderling is the author of five books, including Heart of a Lion: The Life, Death, and Legacy of Hank Gathers.

Table of Contents


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    
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