Derrick Redman finished the race.... Mary Dekker disgraced herself with her bad behaviour and bad sportsmanship. Zola Budd rose above the incident by being professional and respectful in all her comments and responses. Zola was a true ambassador to South Africa, well raised and bred, awesome person.
I am a very proud American but this wasn’t a proud moment. Zola was just eighteen years old and the American crowd booed her so vociferously that she says slowed down during the race. She tried to apologize after the race but Mary rebuffed her. I didn’t think right from the start that Zola had done anything wrong. Olympic officials finally did the right thing and reversed Zola’s disqualification. Mary and the American press blasted this poor kid. Now Mary has completely come off her stance that Zola was at fault. I feel bad for Zola. She was just a kid. She deserved better.
From the fall, Decker broke no bone, tore nothing, sprained nothing. Not even flesh wounds, she fell on grass. Yet she didn’t get up and get back in the race.
@@angelaparker4373 yes. Plus at press conference some 45? min post race, w no sprains/fractures/cuts/muscle tears she leaves that conf being carried away in the arms of her burly boyfriend. Leaving the false impression to all attending that she had been so badly injured she cd not walk or take care of herself, but had to be carried, cd bear no weight on her own legs.
Maybe Mary fell and injured her hip muscle(which she claimed afterwards) but I didn't like the fact that in her post-race interview she said that Zola was in the wrong and that she didn't push Zola. Now in this video Mary claims that it was the media that made up the bad feelings between them but Mary did directly blame Zola back in 1984.
Yeah, it was wild. I remember it well. Heat of the moment, competition, etc. It happens. The media just blew it way out of proportion. You watch it now and it looks soooo incidental. She was demonized due to apartheid.
There are some really IGNORANT comments on here !! I'm a very proud American, and I ALWAYS pull for American Athletes! I remember this race vividly and the controversy that followed it . The young Zola was in front , and Mary got her legs tangled up with Zola's calf. That's what I saw. With these Athletes running full out trying to win, I really do not see how someone running in FRONT ( Zola) , could, in full stride, kick a leg around to trip someone running behind her ! It's called an ACCIDENT The comments about her running barefooted really have nothing to do with the incident !
'I really do not see how someone running in FRONT ( Zola) , could, in full stride, kick a leg around to trip someone running behind her ' Well, watch the video again, b/c that's what happened. She clearly stuck her left leg out sideways to trip Mary.
@@RS54321You clearly didn’t watch the race carefully..it was Decker that clipped Bud from behind…you are clearly an American and totally biased…even the officials said it was an accident.
@@RS54321 I thought this at first as well, but when you watch and re-watch those seconds in very slow motion, you can clearly see that Zola is clipped from behind, causing her to lose balance - at which point her left leg kicks out. The exact same thing had happened to a lesser degree, five strides earlier between Decker and Budd.
Yes good point. It is quite incredible that major world changing events have taken place in the decades since, but even the layperson seems to remember this trip/fall in a running race.
Decker had such a long and great career. I remember seeing her live at the Portland, Oregon Twighlite meet where she won the 1 mile, then jogged a victory lap clockwise. Also saw her set the then USA 5,000 meter record at Pre's Classic in 1982. Zola Budd? She won the world XC title in 1992, beating Lynn Jennings (and everyone else) in the muddiest conditions IN BARE FEET! One can only imagine if the accident with Mary and Zola had never happened, what a great finish it might have been.
I have found a better opinion of Mary after watching this interview.... I have read many of the comments and it seems that some side on way or the other... However, the most important thing is that both of these athletes have moved on, talk to each other and are somewhat friends.... winning a race means very little... living a Life means so much more! These two ladies have figured this out.... so should everyone else
+Robert Best comment yet thank you; unless any of these posters have been an elite athlete they have no idea what it was like, the enormous pressure from everyone on these 2 ladies was incredible, pitting one against the other and to have that happen was tragic, the media and Olympic committee owe an apology to both of them, politics has no business in sports but it occurs all the time.
@@mstrunn Politics has no business in sports unless the Britistani Government decides to take a shit on those suffering apartheid by importing an athlete n granting her citizenship in the hope she can win a Gold Medal for the not so sporting "glory" of 💩Britistan.💩
@@SPIDERM0OSE The USA allowed Sydney Maree to compete for them when the ban on South Africa was there. Is it wrong for white athletes to switch allegiance to another country but right to black athletes to do so?
My overall opinion of Zola had changed after watching the documentary. At the time (in 1984) I (wrongly) disliked Zola and was glad to see all the criticism she'd received after the infamous race. However, since watching the Fall, Zola comes across as an innocent, humble and decent human being. Mary Decker on the other hand.............the less said!
Public opinion then likewise social media today is like the witch hunting from the middles ages. It was/is never objective and full of bias and cultural/self-interest. Back then Budd was racially profiled (as a white South African in an age when black South Africans were living under Apartheid (which was of course the elephant in the room and irony of note)) but these things had nothing to do with the race itself or the incident. Budd was entirely innocent and was scapegoated for all those other wrongs. So the world treated her as if she were a witch. Slaney behaved like an entitled white American by blaming Budd, but who's loss of glory from falling in the race she so desperately wanted to win could surely lead anyone to be tearful in such a defeat. I suppose the documentary was made to expand on all these subtelties. I hope in it Zola expresses how she was a privileged white South African (at the time despite her youth and naivety for being so young back then) and Slaney that she admits she behaved like a prima dona and entitled white American. Of course we all grow up and look back at our mistakes. It makes us wise while shivering at the thought.
I hate to say it but Mary Decker initially made contact with Budd coming off the turn on to the stretch and made contact a second time with Budd where she went down abandoning the race. I can’t blame Budd since she was hit from behind by Decker. It was Decker’s responsibility to maintain a safe distance as not to interfere with Buddy’s back kick. Budd was vilified due to her country of origin, South Africa a nation that practiced apartheid, and the UK granting her citizenship four months before the 84 LA Olympics thus allowing her to compete.
True or not this was one the 1984 LA Olympics greatest news; I still remember seen white young kids in South Africa going everywhere except school bare foot!!! Not because they did not have shoes but because they just love it!!! How could I possibly forget this incident that marked one page in Olympic History !!!!
I was running a shortcut to catch up with a taxi because I left my ID inside as I was taking a right turn I fell. I got up and caught up to the taxi and found my ID. I injured my knee, we had our elections last week so that's why my ID was in the taxi. My mom retold the story and had to add her spice to it. She said I was out running the taxi like Zola Budd. I ask who is she, she said a barefoot runner back in the day that was running faster than the taxi. So I Google her and now I wanna know all the history about her. I was born in 1990's in South Africa and today is the first time I heard about her.
@@gary1961 no😊 I took a sort cut because I know the taxi had to take a wide turn because of route it had to take. To be honest I didn't think I'll make it because I was tipsy and that's part of the reason I fell, the other reason is that I'm unfit 😅
@@randomlady5315 Ah, okay. Well I hope when you learn all about Zola Budd, it inspires you to take up running. It is a great way to get fit, especially if you don't go to a gym. During my school days in the 1970s, I was a top runner and represented my county schools AAA at national level, running at meets against other counties up and down the country. While being a very fast sprinter and a good 1500 metre runner, my speciality was 400 metres. My best time aged 15 was a shade under 52 seconds. With a good coach and correct training regime, I could easily have broken the 50 seconds barrier and maybe gone on to represent Great Britain. Even today, aged 62, I can run a lap in 65 seconds so I'm happy with that. Good luck in your venture towards fitness, and keep chasing those taxis!
Mary Decker was a gifted runner and had the most likable, most down-to-earth personality you could ask for in a woman. I saw her in San Jose, and I saw a sweet, modest American girl, who I will never forget.
Zola comes across well in this documentary. She is clearly an innocent, well meaning heroine. Sam Ramsamy however comes across as the evil troll who scuttles out from the gutter in order to steal some of her reflected glory by destroying her. Horrible.
As a very young kid I had a crush on Zola. I thought her name was cool sounding and she was such a slight figure, it amazed me that she was such an amazing athlete.
The medias certainly had an impact on their rivalry.... But by blaming and accusing Budd for an unfortunate incident, Decker decided to ruin the reputation and the honesty of a fellow athlete. I've nothing else than just disgust for this horrible woman and the us journalists who supported her.
Made up? They were never adversarial. The media made it all up. Try to find any interview of either of them where they ever said anything negative about each other. You won't.
@@jumperguy9867 There was an interview from 1992 where you could see the anger from Decker. She's putting on a brave face here, because she still seems to blame Budd in the documentary.
@@jumperguy9867 I guess you've never seen the press conference where Mary Decker insisted that Zola Budd should be disqualified. Watch the _30 for 30,_ and you'll see that she clearly blames Zola Budd.
Zola Budd was in front, therefore it's the responsibility of the athlete behind to watch where you're going. Mary Decker actually caught Budd's foot just before the main incident, but she kept getting too close on the inside and the next time they contacted, the race was over for Decker. It's all water under the bridge now, but the incident was 100% Decker's fault!!!
women's running was just emerging ,but they ran up to par with what it is now,men develope bigger hearts after running a lot,,I started to roll about 1984,,with a change of diet from vegetarian to meat products,,raised weight gave me more speed,,as this female transition occurred a new heart generated so it is a new game,and expectations cannot be the same, ripping out times ,,sometimes take it easy,,you are not what you were before
It looked to me like Mary cut in a bit too close and spiked Zola. In fact, Zola came out of the race with spike marks visible on her heel. When she threw her leg out to try to regain her footing Mary tripped.
@Magister Ludi seriously, Zola Budd was NOT in the same league as the front runners .. her in her bare feet, inviting mayheim, and her horrible running mechanics (bobbing up and and down, arms flailing about, lol.. (was like watching the Jamaican Bobsled Team, they get there, but don't belong). Budd certainly crowded Decker, and got her bare stupid foot got spiked, imagine that, LOL. That was Deckers race to win.
Decker was a crybaby during those Olympics, but I'm glad to see that she has a better perspective now and that she gets along with Budd who didn't deserve any of the criticism she got, especially being only 18 years old in 1984. At least Decker can always look back on her dominance of the entire world of middle distance runners including the Eastern Bloc cheaters at the Worlds in Helsinki in 1983 where she won both the 1500 and the 3000 from the front. As for Budd, she was always the quieter of the two but she was the greatest child prodigy ever in running. Watch how she dominated at World Cross Country and you see how great she really was.
@@oshawaxpress How do we know she never did? If someone starts using it to extend their stay at the top, how do we know they didn't use it to get there in the first place? I loved Kiprop, but sometimes things you find out change everything.
Decker was a real prodigy. She ran 3 hrs 9 minutes over a hilly Marathon course at the age of 12. And set age group world records in her early teens over various distances. You might be a 'crybaby' too if you'd missed two previous Olympics, because of injury and a boycott and then found yourself in a heap in your first Olympic Final.
@@oshawaxpress What does anything I wrote here have to do about her response to falling? My argument was that someone who got convicted of doping cannot be seen as a clean athlete who took on dirty commies.
Mary Decker never learned to use the back of her forearms (against the hips of runners bearing in too close) to protect her legs. International running is more physical than what Americans are accustomed to. Decker, with her long stride, was never comfortable in a pack. Early in her career, she could always run from the front. When the world caught up with her pace and she was forced to run in a pack, she crumbled. In the race of "the fall", Budd was running on her shoulder and bearing in as is natural on the curves. Because Zola was somewhat knock-kneed, her ankles splayed outward when she ran. Dekker needed to protect her legs from getting tangled but had evidently never been coached to do so. When she fell, she landed on her knee, which jammed her hip so hard she was unable to finish. It was most unfortunate for both runners but the real fault lies with the American attitude that won't learn or accept the nature of international racing. It was the same with Alan Webb. When his coach was asked if his young protege would race in Europe, where he could have learned about international racing and tactics without the pressure of high expectations, his coach responded, "Who needs Europe?" Webb had a short career.
i think so.i watched The Fall.i was a serious runner myself..i was 14 when this happened.+it was MEGA😳 my mum watched The Fall same time as me+we spoke after+she said how Decker seemed to have got over the whole😭😭😭thing! i said ARE YOU JOKING? ? she is bitter AF. Seriously.she STILL hung up about it+it WASNT zolas fault.all Decker has done is REALISE that the press ended up dissing her for being a😭 +she regrets that.so she puts a front on now.but she is seriously eaten up. zola is cool.🏃♀️🐝
Mary acted like such a baby in 1984. At least she grew up and recognizes now that she should have just run from the front like she always did and now takes some responsibility for what happened by putting herself in a more difficult position. In 1983 she beat all the Eastern European druggies by just front running and outrunning all of them and she probably could have done the same in this race but it never happened. Zola went on to completely dominate cross country for the next few years and smash the 5000m WR but neither of them ever got to be the Olympic champion which is too bad as they were too all-time greats. It is good to see that they didn't maintain any personal animosity toward each other in the long term. You can tell that Zola is the less comfortable one in an interview situation, although she is intelligent and well spoken.
I knew a man while in the Army who was a naturalized American citizen. He was born in South Africa. He was referred to on his basic info sheet as African-American, and yes he was Caucasian. Got a lot of funny looks.
Vydio ..that means he wasn't steeped in American PC or someone was making light of American PC..much the same as someone, anyone born and living in America calling himself a Native American..I know a foreign born naturalized Asian woman can't understand that one..after pointing out my own ancestry she insists its the same lol..which it is..now back to the soldier..did this go on during or after the 1990's Bill Clinton (and Hillary) years when PC really took hold.??
If anyone was to blame it was Mary Decker. But as both said, they were both used to running ahead and not in a pack. We will never know, and what a pity it is, because two top athletes, both wanting the win, in their best form.
I'm talking of my thoughts at the time, the first thing that crossed my mind Mary's fall was nothing to do with Zola, and made something out of it that wasn't there, and wanted someone to blame and Zola was the fall guy and scapegoat...
Whatever happened it's become one of the most famous moments in olympic history - if nothing had happened who would have remembered the race or who won,?
Crazy work…. Mark decker…. Salute for the individual, grit, the being a mother and handling all that business…. Still a stain. Had a mid / mild like Taco Bell sauce career….after the situation. Found out about Mary decker lying about getting tripped up after hearing about the sick lie the lady told on the duke players…. Crazy work. Salute for the sit down.
Mary overreacted the fall she caused the fall and before that Zola already had it extremely hard from the ongoing apartheid in the background and how much she was judged. Mary made Zola lose that 3000 race because of the amount of booing Zola got from that fall, Zola didn't want to be on podium because she didn't want the booing to continue. Mary is still bitter about it however Zola has gone on with life.
Mary didn't make ANYone lose that race. If Zola Budd lost the race because of booing, then she simply didn't have the character strong enough for such competition. Zola Budd lost the race because someone ELSE was better than here. Period.
Джек Ричардсон yea Zola and Decker booing incident was just ONE thing she had to overcome.The British were spitting on her in X country races well before this.
She didn't cause the fall. Don't know where you pulled that one out, but she definitely overreacted. That's what turned me off. She's still bitter??? Really??? that didn't come thru in THIS interview, but... Ehh... maybe. Obviously, you never excelled competitively; or you might have an idea why...
To say Mary overreacted is completely unfair, her dream was shattered by the mishap, taken from her; and she had no control. So her reaction to being knocked out of the race is her reaction...no one knows what that race meant to her. One could only imagine...and it would be far more difficult for Mary to be this behind her. Doesn't seem that she is "still bitter"...but it does seems that you are still bitter at her, yourself.
Maricica Puica won the at particular race after Decker and Zola clashed and Puica was in fact the fastest woman across that distance that year ... Neither Zola nor Mary stood a chance in that race. FACT!
Really, it's the opposite. When Budd talks, Decker pays attention and looks at Budd. When Decker speaks, Budd won't look at Decker or acknowledge Decker.
The male host body language needs to be put in check. Why does he keep scooting closer and closer to his CO host. Like dirt married or something. If I was his producer I would tell him to respect the space of his coworker, and if he cannot, then to pack his shit and and hit the road!
Not true. Decker was one of the greatest 'natural' runners of all time. She was a prodigy, breaking age records way before she was a member of the US national team. She was quicker than Budd at every distance except the 5000 metres.
Zola invented a Recipe for a Cheescake an Mary claimed it was hers - Zola tossed the Cheescake at her and in the process Mary slipped and fell with her Ass in Cheescake - thus "The Fall" - it was all a tragic misunderstanding !!
@@oshawaxpress If someone doped later in their career, _everything_ becomes suspect. I remember watching _9.79*,_ the 30 for 30 about the 1988 Olympic 100m finals, and one of the chief testers of both 1984 and 1988 said that he was stunned by the number of positive tests when he tested a batch of samples that still existed with testing abilities of 20 years later. The fact that she didn't get caught until 1996 doesn't mean that she only started doping at that time. My general point in my initial comment was that her positive test result was _not_ overturned, so the comment that I responded to was false.
Watched it and Zola tripped Mary Look at ua-cam.com/video/5HRal7snecw/v-deo.html Her head is pointing down and left to look before executing a trip move. Twice. First attempt at 0:33 when the left foot breaks normal stride, Second attempt at 0:37. More evident at freeze frame of 0:47.
@@crxdelsolsir In the documentary, the 2nd time they show what happens in slow motion you can see Mary's right leg hits Zola's left left (from behind). Zola's left leg, hits her own right leg and then bounces out to the left for her to regain balance - THEN Mary's left leg hits it (again from behind) and this is what causes her to fall. Think about it, how do you trip someone who is behind you? Many left spike marks on Zola's leg from behind - she was at fault.
Which in turn was named after a novel by Albert Camus... imagine my disappointment when, much to my chagrin, I went out expecting an evening of French existentialist literature and instead faced a drug addelled drunken Mancunian singing chaotically in a post-punk band !
@@WH-hi5ew ..... that's nothing. I thought the documentary was about that season in North America encompassing the months of September through to early November. I was expecting to see lovely coloured autumnal leaves swaying in a cool breeze and slowly fluttering to the ground while retired fat old Americans take billions of photos of the spectacle. Instead, all I saw was some vaguely attractive American woman trying to stamp on the bare foot of some poor young white South African bint who obviously couldn't afford a pair of running shoes. In the end, the yank missed, tripped over her own feet, and fell over. We live and learn, hey.
What a great vid! I remember watching it live in 1984 and all the controversy. Mary Decker would prob got gold and Zola Budd maybe a medal. It looked like a "racing incident" to me, but Zola had those sticky-out elbows and no shoes and prob shouldn't have even been there.
How silly a comment. Zola deserved to be there as much as Decker and she didn't' initiate the contact. Decker tried to force an inside pass without any track to run on. Zola did nothing but wrong and instead of wining Decker should have apologized.
@@philrogers4535 Should have been there. Plenty of athletes represent other counties. She went through the process and was selected because she could win and Decker screwed up. Decker shouldn't have been there trying to run over another competitor.
when Decker said she recently watched the race for the first time....Zolas face was like, "OH SHIT! What is she about to say next???" She straight tripped her ass, no doubt about it.
Rolling my naked eyes😳👁👁. EVERYONE knows Puica won it. It's the misfortunes of Zola & Mary that made Puica famous, not her own win. In MY naked eyes👀, Puica is a rather uninteresting athlete, whereas Zola & Mary are more fun. LOL! As a Canadian😇, however, I'm glad Lynn Williams medaled!
Mary Decker is the best American woman's distance runner. Ever. There is no one else even close worth a mention. Idiots that only know her for this one race could not even give out a name of another runner to compare her to.
Yes, and I am sure in retrospect Mary would look back and wonder why she only ran one race at these games. Double world champion the year before, and with the boycott from the most all the eastern bloc nations (execpt Romania), No Russians, East German or Bulgarians she really had a great opportunity to double in LA. Having all her eggs in one basket and running in front of her home crowd - her pre-race reaction was a knee-jerk one to the disappointed of what was lost. The partisan crowd booing Zola, and blaming her; all made for a over dramatic storm of total misguided machinations by the media.
Ben Leese: I think the original poster is talking about American female distance runners, so Jess Ennis is not comparable. Since Decker was a two-time World champion, and at one time held every American record from 800 metres to 10,000 metres (her mile, 2k & 3k records still stand) I think the OP is right to describe her as the best American woman distance runner ever.
![The Fall: Zola Budd vs Mary Decker 1984 Olympics [Compilation]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/5HRal7snecw/mqdefault.jpg)
Derrick Redman finished the race.... Mary Dekker disgraced herself with her bad behaviour and bad sportsmanship. Zola Budd rose above the incident by being professional and respectful in all her comments and responses. Zola was a true ambassador to South Africa, well raised and bred, awesome person.
I am a very proud American but this wasn’t a proud moment. Zola was just eighteen years old and the American crowd booed her so vociferously that she says slowed down during the race. She tried to apologize after the race but Mary rebuffed her. I didn’t think right from the start that Zola had done anything wrong. Olympic officials finally did the right thing and reversed Zola’s disqualification. Mary and the American press blasted this poor kid. Now Mary has completely come off her stance that Zola was at fault. I feel bad for Zola. She was just a kid. She deserved better.
You should write her a letter to make her feel better.
@@jeffwads 😂
Zola was only 17
From the fall, Decker broke no bone, tore nothing, sprained nothing. Not even flesh wounds, she fell on grass.
Yet she didn’t get up and get back in the race.
She behaved like a spoiled child.
@@angelaparker4373 yes.
Plus at press conference some 45? min post race, w no sprains/fractures/cuts/muscle tears she leaves that conf being carried away in the arms of her burly boyfriend. Leaving the false impression to all attending that she had been so badly injured she cd not walk or take care of herself, but had to be carried, cd bear no weight on her own legs.
Maybe Mary fell and injured her hip muscle(which she claimed afterwards) but I didn't like the fact that in her post-race interview she said that Zola was in the wrong and that she didn't push Zola. Now in this video Mary claims that it was the media that made up the bad feelings between them but Mary did directly blame Zola back in 1984.
@@abner2193 decker in the wrong, then compounds that wrong w dishonesty
disappointment can make one do strange things.
Zola was treated like shit by the media and the American crowd in the race, they should be ashamed of themselves.
I was not born then but I still apologise, I felt shame watching that
It's time to send the bull terrier and sort that Americans out. 😊 look I agree shame on them
Yeah, it was wild. I remember it well. Heat of the moment, competition, etc. It happens. The media just blew it way out of proportion. You watch it now and it looks soooo incidental. She was demonized due to apartheid.
There are some really IGNORANT comments on here !! I'm a very proud American, and I ALWAYS pull for American Athletes! I remember this race vividly and the controversy that followed it . The young Zola was in front , and Mary got her legs tangled up with Zola's calf. That's what I saw. With these Athletes running full out trying to win, I really do not see how someone running in FRONT ( Zola) , could, in full stride, kick a leg around to trip someone running behind her ! It's called an ACCIDENT
The comments about her running barefooted really have nothing to do with the incident !
What has america to be proud of? A third world dump
'I really do not see how someone running in FRONT ( Zola) , could, in full stride, kick a leg around to trip someone running behind her ' Well, watch the video again, b/c that's what happened. She clearly stuck her left leg out sideways to trip Mary.
@@RS54321You clearly didn’t watch the race carefully..it was Decker that clipped Bud from behind…you are clearly an American and totally biased…even the officials said it was an accident.
@@gerardhiggins4827 Yes, nope, nope. I see you've jumped on the assumption train!
@@RS54321 I thought this at first as well, but when you watch and re-watch those seconds in very slow motion, you can clearly see that Zola is clipped from behind, causing her to lose balance - at which point her left leg kicks out. The exact same thing had happened to a lesser degree, five strides earlier between Decker and Budd.
weird how these 2 are still connected in the public mind decades later. both of them did a lot besides run in that 1 race.
Yes good point. It is quite incredible that major world changing events have taken place in the decades since, but even the layperson seems to remember this trip/fall in a running race.
Decker had such a long and great career. I remember seeing her live at the Portland, Oregon Twighlite meet where she won the 1 mile, then jogged a victory lap clockwise. Also saw her set the then USA 5,000 meter record at Pre's Classic in 1982.
Zola Budd? She won the world XC title in 1992, beating Lynn Jennings (and everyone else) in the muddiest conditions IN BARE FEET!
One can only imagine if the accident with Mary and Zola had never happened, what a great finish it might have been.
Zola is a lovely person.
Two fierce competitors. Amazed no one tripped the other leaving the studio.😮
I find it very hard to believe that Mary has never watched the race until recently. She can be heard at the time saying 'there better be a protest".
I have found a better opinion of Mary after watching this interview.... I have read many of the comments and it seems that some side on way or the other... However, the most important thing is that both of these athletes have moved on, talk to each other and are somewhat friends.... winning a race means very little... living a Life means so much more! These two ladies have figured this out.... so should everyone else
+Robert Best comment yet thank you; unless any of these posters have been an elite athlete they have no idea what it was like, the enormous pressure from everyone on these 2 ladies was incredible, pitting one against the other and to have that happen was tragic, the media and Olympic committee owe an apology to both of them, politics has no business in sports but it occurs all the time.
@@mstrunn apology what are you talking about LOL
Totally agree, except it was a low life move of Zola Budd to constantly attack Mary Decker until she got her outa the race.
@@mstrunn
Politics has no business in sports unless the Britistani Government decides to take a shit on those suffering apartheid by importing an athlete n granting her citizenship in the hope she can win a Gold Medal for the not so sporting "glory" of 💩Britistan.💩
@@SPIDERM0OSE The USA allowed Sydney Maree to compete for them when the ban on South Africa was there. Is it wrong for white athletes to switch allegiance to another country but right to black athletes to do so?
Two class acts. With age comes wisdom.
My overall opinion of Zola had changed after watching the documentary. At the time (in 1984) I (wrongly) disliked Zola and was glad to see all the criticism she'd received after the infamous race. However, since watching the Fall, Zola comes across as an innocent, humble and decent human being. Mary Decker on the other hand.............the less said!
Agree
Public opinion then likewise social media today is like the witch hunting from the middles ages. It was/is never objective and full of bias and cultural/self-interest. Back then Budd was racially profiled (as a white South African in an age when black South Africans were living under Apartheid (which was of course the elephant in the room and irony of note)) but these things had nothing to do with the race itself or the incident. Budd was entirely innocent and was scapegoated for all those other wrongs. So the world treated her as if she were a witch. Slaney behaved like an entitled white American by blaming Budd, but who's loss of glory from falling in the race she so desperately wanted to win could surely lead anyone to be tearful in such a defeat. I suppose the documentary was made to expand on all these subtelties. I hope in it Zola expresses how she was a privileged white South African (at the time despite her youth and naivety for being so young back then) and Slaney that she admits she behaved like a prima dona and entitled white American. Of course we all grow up and look back at our mistakes. It makes us wise while shivering at the thought.
Two great athletes in their generation. Case is closed.
I hate to say it but Mary Decker initially made contact with Budd coming off the turn on to the stretch and made contact a second time with Budd where she went down abandoning the race.
I can’t blame Budd since she was hit from behind by Decker. It was Decker’s responsibility to maintain a safe distance as not to interfere with Buddy’s back kick.
Budd was vilified due to her country of origin, South Africa a nation that practiced apartheid, and the UK granting her citizenship four months before the 84 LA Olympics thus allowing her to compete.
True or not this was one the 1984 LA Olympics greatest news; I still remember seen white young kids in South Africa going everywhere except school bare foot!!! Not because they did not have shoes but because they just love it!!! How could I possibly forget this incident that marked one page in Olympic History !!!!
I was running a shortcut to catch up with a taxi because I left my ID inside as I was taking a right turn I fell. I got up and caught up to the taxi and found my ID. I injured my knee, we had our elections last week so that's why my ID was in the taxi. My mom retold the story and had to add her spice to it. She said I was out running the taxi like Zola Budd. I ask who is she, she said a barefoot runner back in the day that was running faster than the taxi. So I Google her and now I wanna know all the history about her.
I was born in 1990's in South Africa and today is the first time I heard about her.
You must be a good runner if you can outrun a taxi.
@@gary1961 no😊 I took a sort cut because I know the taxi had to take a wide turn because of route it had to take. To be honest I didn't think I'll make it because I was tipsy and that's part of the reason I fell, the other reason is that I'm unfit 😅
@@randomlady5315 Ah, okay. Well I hope when you learn all about Zola Budd, it inspires you to take up running. It is a great way to get fit, especially if you don't go to a gym. During my school days in the 1970s, I was a top runner and represented my county schools AAA at national level, running at meets against other counties up and down the country. While being a very fast sprinter and a good 1500 metre runner, my speciality was 400 metres. My best time aged 15 was a shade under 52 seconds. With a good coach and correct training regime, I could easily have broken the 50 seconds barrier and maybe gone on to represent Great Britain. Even today, aged 62, I can run a lap in 65 seconds so I'm happy with that. Good luck in your venture towards fitness, and keep chasing those taxis!
Mary Decker was a gifted runner and had the most likable, most down-to-earth personality you could ask for in a woman. I saw her in San Jose, and I saw a sweet, modest American girl, who I will never forget.
Zola comes across well in this documentary. She is clearly an innocent, well meaning heroine. Sam Ramsamy however comes across as the evil troll who scuttles out from the gutter in order to steal some of her reflected glory by destroying her. Horrible.
I wanted to punch that Sam guy in the face, what an utter asshole
As a very young kid I had a crush on Zola. I thought her name was cool sounding and she was such a slight figure, it amazed me that she was such an amazing athlete.
She was the role model for the coming generations of entitled americans..
Mary Decker looks like Sheryl Crow.
The medias certainly had an impact on their rivalry.... But by blaming and accusing Budd for an unfortunate incident, Decker decided to ruin the reputation and the honesty of a fellow athlete. I've nothing else than just disgust for this horrible woman and the us journalists who supported her.
Joke from the 80's:
What does the A-team and Zola Budd have in common?
They both have Decker going after them!
Next interview Tanya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan.............
Jman: No comparison.
Probably rather less likely.
Great documentary really happy they made up
Made up? They were never adversarial. The media made it all up. Try to find any interview of either of them where they ever said anything negative about each other. You won't.
Ok
@@jumperguy9867 There was an interview from 1992 where you could see the anger from Decker. She's putting on a brave face here, because she still seems to blame Budd in the documentary.
@@wvu05 - Like I said...find an interview where EITHER of them blamed the other. When you do, let me know before ANOTHER three years pass by.
@@jumperguy9867 I guess you've never seen the press conference where Mary Decker insisted that Zola Budd should be disqualified. Watch the _30 for 30,_ and you'll see that she clearly blames Zola Budd.
Zola Budd was in front, therefore it's the responsibility of the athlete behind to watch where you're going. Mary Decker actually caught Budd's foot just before the main incident, but she kept getting too close on the inside and the next time they contacted, the race was over for Decker. It's all water under the bridge now, but the incident was 100% Decker's fault!!!
women's running was just emerging ,but they ran up to par with what it is now,men develope bigger hearts after running a lot,,I started to roll about 1984,,with a change of diet from vegetarian to meat products,,raised weight gave me more speed,,as this female transition occurred a new heart generated so it is a new game,and expectations cannot be the same, ripping out times ,,sometimes take it easy,,you are not what you were before
Its shows the character of Zola that she threw the chance of gold. But if it were Decker she would have went for it.
1984 olympics destroyed both their lives.
Zola didn't cheat it was an accident
It looked to me like Mary cut in a bit too close and spiked Zola. In fact, Zola came out of the race with spike marks visible on her heel. When she threw her leg out to try to regain her footing Mary tripped.
Magister Ludi : Trying to spike? Aren't you just full of it.
Yip bro, it certainly was. Just an accident.
She finished dead last. Far far back. She never should've been on the track.
@Magister Ludi seriously, Zola Budd was NOT in the same league as the front runners .. her in her bare feet, inviting mayheim, and her horrible running mechanics (bobbing up and and down, arms flailing about, lol.. (was like watching the Jamaican Bobsled Team, they get there, but don't belong). Budd certainly crowded Decker, and got her bare stupid foot got spiked, imagine that, LOL. That was Deckers race to win.
Decker was a crybaby during those Olympics, but I'm glad to see that she has a better perspective now and that she gets along with Budd who didn't deserve any of the criticism she got, especially being only 18 years old in 1984. At least Decker can always look back on her dominance of the entire world of middle distance runners including the Eastern Bloc cheaters at the Worlds in Helsinki in 1983 where she won both the 1500 and the 3000 from the front. As for Budd, she was always the quieter of the two but she was the greatest child prodigy ever in running. Watch how she dominated at World Cross Country and you see how great she really was.
Decker was also a doper. Perhaps you didn't hear that she was stripped of her national silver from 1996. She was no innocent.
@@wvu05 The test result was and still is debatable, and there was never any suggestion of drug use when she was in her prime.
@@oshawaxpress How do we know she never did? If someone starts using it to extend their stay at the top, how do we know they didn't use it to get there in the first place? I loved Kiprop, but sometimes things you find out change everything.
Decker was a real prodigy. She ran 3 hrs 9 minutes over a hilly Marathon course at the age of 12. And set age group world records in her early teens over various distances. You might be a 'crybaby' too if you'd missed two previous Olympics, because of injury and a boycott and then found yourself in a heap in your first Olympic Final.
@@oshawaxpress What does anything I wrote here have to do about her response to falling? My argument was that someone who got convicted of doping cannot be seen as a clean athlete who took on dirty commies.
Mary Decker never learned to use the back of her forearms (against the hips of runners bearing in too close) to protect her legs. International running is more physical than what Americans are accustomed to. Decker, with her long stride, was never comfortable in a pack. Early in her career, she could always run from the front. When the world caught up with her pace and she was forced to run in a pack, she crumbled. In the race of "the fall", Budd was running on her shoulder and bearing in as is natural on the curves. Because Zola was somewhat knock-kneed, her ankles splayed outward when she ran. Dekker needed to protect her legs from getting tangled but had evidently never been coached to do so. When she fell, she landed on her knee, which jammed her hip so hard she was unable to finish. It was most unfortunate for both runners but the real fault lies with the American attitude that won't learn or accept the nature of international racing. It was the same with Alan Webb. When his coach was asked if his young protege would race in Europe, where he could have learned about international racing and tactics without the pressure of high expectations, his coach responded, "Who needs Europe?" Webb had a short career.
"We weren't on bad footing"....."After the fall".
It was definately Decker's fault
Decker is still pissed....Go on Zola...do it again...
i think so.i watched The Fall.i was a serious runner myself..i was 14 when this happened.+it was MEGA😳
my mum watched The Fall same time as me+we spoke after+she said how Decker seemed to have got over the whole😭😭😭thing!
i said ARE YOU JOKING? ?
she is bitter AF.
Seriously.she STILL hung up about it+it WASNT zolas fault.all Decker has done is REALISE that the press ended up dissing her for being a😭
+she regrets that.so she puts a front on now.but she is seriously eaten up.
zola is cool.🏃♀️🐝
Zola tripped her in the dressing room.
🦅⚪✴️ from MJK Wales July 2024 age 62, hi if you're reading this in 50yrs time.
I want to watch the documentary but I can't find it anywhere even for purchase. Looked all over!
I watched the documentary last night on TLCgo.
@@ilovegoodsax THANK YOU! I found it on itunes and watched tonight. I guess TLC changed the name.
@@octoberscamp Glad to hear you found it. It gives a whole different perspective on these two women. I feel sorry for both, especially Zola.
Mary acted like such a baby in 1984. At least she grew up and recognizes now that she should have just run from the front like she always did and now takes some responsibility for what happened by putting herself in a more difficult position. In 1983 she beat all the Eastern European druggies by just front running and outrunning all of them and she probably could have done the same in this race but it never happened. Zola went on to completely dominate cross country for the next few years and smash the 5000m WR but neither of them ever got to be the Olympic champion which is too bad as they were too all-time greats. It is good to see that they didn't maintain any personal animosity toward each other in the long term. You can tell that Zola is the less comfortable one in an interview situation, although she is intelligent and well spoken.
'Eastern European druggies' what Eastern European country did Flo Jo come from.
? Here is Zola originally from Bloemfontein South Africa..Zola now lives in South Carolina. So by rights we can refer to her as an African American.??
I knew a man while in the Army who was a naturalized American citizen. He was born in South Africa. He was referred to on his basic info sheet as African-American, and yes he was Caucasian. Got a lot of funny looks.
Vydio ..that means he wasn't steeped in American PC or someone was making light of American PC..much the same as someone, anyone born and living in America calling himself a Native American..I know a foreign born naturalized Asian woman can't understand that one..after pointing out my own ancestry she insists its the same lol..which it is..now back to the soldier..did this go on during or after the 1990's Bill Clinton (and Hillary) years when PC really took hold.??
Lol
This is one of the most idiotic statements I’ve ever read on YT, congrats?
Decker behaved disgracefully
If anyone was to blame it was Mary Decker. But as both said, they were both used to running ahead and not in a pack. We will never know, and what a pity it is, because two top athletes, both wanting the win, in their best form.
It was Zola who tripped Mary. How is that Mary's fault?
@@rosemarykriegel3226 Yes, one can clearly see she deliberately stuck her left leg out to trip Mary. I don't get the flak Mary gets from people.
Do anyone know where you could watch or get a hold of this documentary?
+Joakim TLC Channel; it's terrific, much respect for both ladies!
Anyone stil, here in 1985?
This reminded me of Dan and Dave and how Reebok bet all their chips on nothing
These four people have escaped from a mental hospital and have found a television studio to talk about their problems.
I'm talking of my thoughts at the time, the first thing that crossed my mind Mary's fall was nothing to do with Zola, and made something out of it that wasn't there, and wanted someone to blame and Zola was the fall guy and scapegoat...
It was all Mary that was at fault, we all new it at the time.
Brilliant programme. A nations darling and an unhappy 17 year old. Huge expectations on Mary and a young girl who just loved to run in Zola.
Whatever happened it's become one of the most famous moments in olympic history - if nothing had happened who would have remembered the race or who won,?
Why the edit at 4:28??
Great they are now mates
Why all the HATE here?
Mary had a beautiful running form and stride.
Hey; you know how it is. Everybody's got to hate about something,
Who are the 2 hosting this interview? Does anyone know?
Mary caught the back of Zola's leg, anyhow when you compare this to the Spain womens world cup final kiss situation it is bizarre
We were never on bad footing.
"We were never on bad footing"
Crazy work…. Mark decker…. Salute for the individual, grit, the being a mother and handling all that business…. Still a stain. Had a mid / mild like Taco Bell sauce career….after the situation. Found out about Mary decker lying about getting tripped up after hearing about the sick lie the lady told on the duke players…. Crazy work. Salute for the sit down.
I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT BECAME OF HER ZOLA
Is Mary Decker a dual passport holder?
Mary overreacted the fall she caused the fall and before that Zola already had it extremely hard from the ongoing apartheid in the background and how much she was judged. Mary made Zola lose that 3000 race because of the amount of booing Zola got from that fall, Zola didn't want to be on podium because she didn't want the booing to continue. Mary is still bitter about it however Zola has gone on with life.
Mary didn't make ANYone lose that race. If Zola Budd lost the race because of booing, then she simply didn't have the character strong enough for such competition. Zola Budd lost the race because someone ELSE was better than here. Period.
Zola would never have won the race regardless. She couldnt ever outkick Puica. The best she might have done is maybe silver.
Джек Ричардсон yea Zola and Decker booing incident was just ONE thing she had to overcome.The British were spitting on her in X country races well before this.
She didn't cause the fall. Don't know where you pulled that one out, but she definitely overreacted. That's what turned me off.
She's still bitter??? Really??? that didn't come thru in THIS interview, but... Ehh... maybe. Obviously, you never excelled competitively; or you might have an idea why...
To say Mary overreacted is completely unfair, her dream was shattered by the mishap, taken from her; and she had no control. So her reaction to being knocked out of the race is her reaction...no one knows what that race meant to her. One could only imagine...and it would be far more difficult for Mary to be this behind her. Doesn't seem that she is "still bitter"...but it does seems that you are still bitter at her, yourself.
it's the interview here that's more painful than 'the fall'. The hosts have no synergy with each other, the guests, the audience, or the camera.
Welcome to The One Show.
So, was it ever determined who may have caused the entanglement?
Maricica Puica won the at particular race after Decker and Zola clashed and Puica was in fact the fastest woman across that distance that year ... Neither Zola nor Mary stood a chance in that race. FACT!
Puica was a doper. FACT!
+Matangaro A healthy Mary beats Puica every day all day, no contest, she did not have the kick Mary had.
Mike Phalen: Doper or not, she trained as hard as anyone. That's right, Puica worked her tail off. Do you appreciate that?
OH PULEESE...with the horse shit, no one knows what would have happened had the fall not taken place.
Bob Jacubas - yes we do
If you judged on the thumbnail alone, it looks as if Decker is STILL pissed off about it.
Really, it's the opposite. When Budd talks, Decker pays attention and looks at Budd. When Decker speaks, Budd won't look at Decker or acknowledge Decker.
Zola is still a little girl...Bless
The male host body language needs to be put in check. Why does he keep scooting closer and closer to his CO host. Like dirt married or something. If I was his producer I would tell him to respect the space of his coworker, and if he cannot, then to pack his shit and and hit the road!
Ruining the media narrative also Zola was the better natural runner she just didnt have the US team backing
Not true. Decker was one of the greatest 'natural' runners of all time. She was a prodigy, breaking age records way before she was a member of the US national team. She was quicker than Budd at every distance except the 5000 metres.
Waiting for Decker to start crying like the spoiled 10 year baby she was....drama queen!!!!
Zola! The barefoot beauty
WHAT WAS THE BLOODY INCIDENT!!
Type Mary Decker and Zola Budd into Google and...SHAZAAAMMM!
Bongusta Mondo: Thank you !
@@marcweeks9178 Not "Shazaammm", better hit "enter" key
Zola invented a Recipe for a Cheescake an Mary claimed it was hers - Zola tossed the Cheescake at her and in the process Mary slipped and fell with her Ass in Cheescake - thus "The Fall" - it was all a tragic misunderstanding !!
bloody idiot
They are both such lovely people.
Slaney, who won two world titles under her maiden name of Mary Decker and tested positive for testosterone in 1996.
+Tall Paul The test was faulty and the charge over turned, research before you post!
@@mstrunn The charge was not overturned. WADA upheld it, but USADA insisted that she wasn't guilty.
No doping of any kind when Decker was at her best so what is the point of your comment exactly?
@@oshawaxpress If someone doped later in their career, _everything_ becomes suspect. I remember watching _9.79*,_ the 30 for 30 about the 1988 Olympic 100m finals, and one of the chief testers of both 1984 and 1988 said that he was stunned by the number of positive tests when he tested a batch of samples that still existed with testing abilities of 20 years later. The fact that she didn't get caught until 1996 doesn't mean that she only started doping at that time.
My general point in my initial comment was that her positive test result was _not_ overturned, so the comment that I responded to was false.
As regards to the media believe half of what you see and nothing of what you read
The Trip.
Its the wrong way to trip a Mary
Underrated!
Yes, but she was a long way from home.....
That song was released on the Decca label.
Deckers own fault. She was behind. No gold ever for you girl.
Mary still looks fit !
What was all the fuss about ? Clearly it was an accident.
why is she wearing shoes?
sponsorship probably...
This whole thing was stupid .... mary flopped lol
“Bad footing “. Oops
Decker,typical American,blame the other guy.Budd did not trip her,watch the film!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Watched it and Zola tripped Mary
Look at ua-cam.com/video/5HRal7snecw/v-deo.html
Her head is pointing down and left to look before executing a trip move. Twice.
First attempt at 0:33 when the left foot breaks normal stride,
Second attempt at 0:37. More evident at freeze frame of 0:47.
@@crxdelsolsir In the documentary, the 2nd time they show what happens in slow motion you can see Mary's right leg hits Zola's left left (from behind). Zola's left leg, hits her own right leg and then bounces out to the left for her to regain balance - THEN Mary's left leg hits it (again from behind) and this is what causes her to fall. Think about it, how do you trip someone who is behind you? Many left spike marks on Zola's leg from behind - she was at fault.
😂tripped someone behind her 😂
We did. And you're wrong.
@@wildone1392 --"how do you trip someone who is behind you?" Uhhhh... by sticking your leg in front of them. Duhhhh.
Decker's tantrum was over the top ...
That race aside, Mary Decker was a monster back then. I remember being a lil kid in the 80s, and she was so domimant.
I thought the documentary was about the legendary Manchester band fronted by Mark E Smith, how disappointing...
Which in turn was named after a novel by Albert Camus... imagine my disappointment when, much to my chagrin, I went out expecting an evening of French existentialist literature and instead faced a drug addelled drunken Mancunian singing chaotically in a post-punk band !
@@WH-hi5ew ..... that's nothing. I thought the documentary was about that season in North America encompassing the months of September through to early November. I was expecting to see lovely coloured autumnal leaves swaying in a cool breeze and slowly fluttering to the ground while retired fat old Americans take billions of photos of the spectacle.
Instead, all I saw was some vaguely attractive American woman trying to stamp on the bare foot of some poor young white South African bint who obviously couldn't afford a pair of running shoes. In the end, the yank missed, tripped over her own feet, and fell over.
We live and learn, hey.
Zola never has been the greatest speaker.
It was just a accident! Deal with it and just move on.
they look so old now :(
so do you
Aging tends to do that to you.
What a great vid! I remember watching it live in 1984 and all the controversy. Mary Decker would prob got gold and Zola Budd maybe a medal. It looked like a "racing incident" to me, but Zola had those sticky-out elbows and no shoes and prob shouldn't have even been there.
@Paul Kryder Was that the blonde Romanian girl?
@Paul Kryder Yes, but without Mary Decker.
How silly a comment. Zola deserved to be there as much as Decker and she didn't' initiate the contact. Decker tried to force an inside pass without any track to run on. Zola did nothing but wrong and instead of wining Decker should have apologized.
@@danienlsohn4760 She shouldn't have been there because she was South African, and therefore banned... Now who feels silly?
@@philrogers4535 Should have been there. Plenty of athletes represent other counties. She went through the process and was selected because she could win and Decker screwed up. Decker shouldn't have been there trying to run over another competitor.
Zola budd fails to mention how she hated living in England at the time and moaned all the time about the nasty weather here as she puts it
I wouldn't want to live there either. I have no issue with the people, but the weather is depressing.
I wouldn’t blame her…British weather sucks!
The years have been good to Mary. She looks good!
when Decker said she recently watched the race for the first time....Zolas face was like, "OH SHIT! What is she about to say next???" She straight tripped her ass, no doubt about it.
Nah.
BRReed86 Zola was in front of Mary. Though the fall was not necessarily Mary’s fault, it definitely wasn’t Zola’s
Mary is a really sweet beautiful woman.
No...you’re the first person who’s ever used those adjectives to describe Mary.
I was the first so I think he is the second. It’s easy to judge the strong one when he falls down.
Funny how nobody cares the most important fact about the race who actually won the gold you know the blonde from hmm...what’s her name umm
Maricica Puică from Romania.
Rolling my naked eyes😳👁👁. EVERYONE knows Puica won it. It's the misfortunes of Zola & Mary that made Puica famous, not her own win. In MY naked eyes👀, Puica is a rather uninteresting athlete, whereas Zola & Mary are more fun. LOL! As a Canadian😇, however, I'm glad Lynn Williams medaled!
Mary Decker is the best American woman's distance runner. Ever. There is no one else even close worth a mention. Idiots that only know her for this one race could not even give out a name of another runner to compare her to.
Yes, and I am sure in retrospect Mary would look back and wonder why she only ran one race at these games. Double world champion the year before, and with the boycott from the most all the eastern bloc nations (execpt Romania), No Russians, East German or Bulgarians she really had a great opportunity to double in LA. Having all her eggs in one basket and running in front of her home crowd - her pre-race reaction was a knee-jerk one to the disappointed of what was lost. The partisan crowd booing Zola, and blaming her; all made for a over dramatic storm of total misguided machinations by the media.
Ben Leese: I think the original poster is talking about American female distance runners, so Jess Ennis is not comparable. Since Decker was a two-time World champion, and at one time held every American record from 800 metres to 10,000 metres (her mile, 2k & 3k records still stand) I think the OP is right to describe her as the best American woman distance runner ever.
Spahny1 Zola budd
Spahny1 Decker was a doper and Shannon Rowbury broke her American record in the 1500.
Decker is the best American middle-distance runner ever. Too bad her personality sucked.
Damn, Mary got hot!
Skibidi
Not the real Mary Decker
Oh shit look its Zola Butt
Seiously?
Are you age 4?
not tripped, decker needed an excuse. embarrassment to USA