Durban – The late Brenda Fassie had a hit song named after Zola Budd Pieterse, one that piped out on every radio in townships. Even today, certain taxis are dubbed “Zola Budds”, because of their speed and efficiency.
It is ironic, then, that the inspiration behind the song, the barefoot and brilliant runner, Budd was subjected to such abuse when she went to the UK to try and further a career that was being stunted by apartheid.
“I never wanted to get involved in the politics. All I wanted to do was run and be the best that I could be,” she maintained.
“It’s an old cliché, but I never believed that sport and politics should mix. So I chose to focus on my sport, and didn’t try to really engage in any discussion around it.”
On the track, or on the cross-country trail, Budd found her peace, away from the burdens of suddenly being cast as the symbol of white elitism in South Africa.
“When you are young, you don’t have all the tools to deal with all that is going on around you. Because I was Afrikaans and also so small compared to everyone else, I think I was an easy target, and it was very hard to deal with at 17, 18.
“It was really bad in some races, and in London and other places demonstrators would really say personal things, spit at you and swear at you.”
Several incidents, however, made life difficult for Budd, and she even had to pull out of some races because of demonstrations by people who labelled her as the face of the South African government.
The harshness of the spotlight, for someone still in her teens, may have broken others, but for the girl born and bred in Bloemfontein, Budd simply wanted to run and enjoy the simple thrill of it.
She says it was never a goal for her to be an athlete, but something that just happened.
“I never made that decision to make running my career – it just kind of happened from school, where I was running well, and things developed from there,” she explained.
Even her heroes from her childhood had nothing to do with athletics.
“It might sound weird,” she started, “but one of my big heroes growing up was John McEnroe! My father was a keen tennis player and I always watched. I don’t know why, but I always enjoyed watching McEnroe play. Maybe it was because he was always shouting and swearing,” she added with a giggle.
Like the loud American, Budd was also making headlines at a young age as she shattered the 5 000m women’s world record at the age of 17. But, because the record had been broken in South Africa, the IAAF refused to recognise it.
Undeterred, Budd went on to become a double world cross-country champion (1985/86), running under the British flag, having got a passport because of her British grandfather.
“All I wanted to do was run, and once that was sorted, I had some really good form in those two years. I broke the world record again and had some really good races with Mary Decker and Maricica Puica.”
Decker and Budd had already gone down in Olympic folklore in 1984, when they collided during the 3 000m final in Los Angeles. Decker, one of the favourites, was left sprawled on the sidelines, while Budd limped home in seventh.
To this day, Budd insists she has never seen a replay of the incident and it is not something that she likes to talk about.
“I think the 1984 Games was probably my biggest regret, because I wasn’t ready for international competition. I had just arrived in the UK, and I had no experience of that kind of competition,” she said.
But she grew from those experiences, going on to break British and Commonwealth records, as well as world records in the 3 000m and 5 000m. To this day, she still holds two junior world records (the mile and the 3 000m) as well as host of British and South African marks.
These days, Budd lives in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with husband Mike, daughter Lisa, and the twins, Michael and Azelle.
“You know, I am still the smallest person in the house,” she complained.
“We started the family here in South Africa and we decided to move to America after I turned 40 (2006). But I still spend about four months a year in South Africa.
“We [along with Comrades legend Shaun Meiklejohn] have the South African licence for Newton shoes, which is a new brand that was launched last year in America,” she said.
The pair have been travelling throughout the country, holding clinics for development athletes, as well as advertising the Newton brand. They will also be running a long-term development project.
“South Africa has so much talent in running and I would love to be a part of that process that helps realise more world champions,” she enthused. “I think we need to encourage more runners to stay in the sport and become the next Willie Mtolo. The sport needs role models.”
And despite juggling a few different balls, she wouldn’t mind getting into coaching one day.
“I also do a bit of voluntary coaching in America and I would love to coach properly one day. But at the moment, my focus is on my young family,” she added.
Budd also took part in her first Comrades Marathon this year, and is a regular competitor in the Masters races in the US.
“Ja, Comrades was quite an experience, hey. These days it is about enjoyment more than competing for me, but I really am loving my running again. I feel like I am a kid again,” she beamed.