For a good summer read, get Olympic Collision by Kyle Keiderling. It tells the compelling story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd.
For those who watched it live, the L.A. Olympic Games of 1984 will be forever remembered for the tragedy involving two fierce rivals in the women’s 3,000 metres.
Never before had a host nation so universally condemned a rival for an accidental collision with one of their own. Even Zola Budd, the teenage barefoot South African perpetrator representing Great Britain, was shocked, horrified and overwhelmed by the events of which she was eventually exonerated.
Budd and American sweetheart Mary Decker were the two medal favourites. Two billion people tuned in from across the globe, making it the most watched sporting event in history, and witnessed Decker and Budd collide on the track with three laps to go in the seven-and-one-half-lap race. Both of their dreams of Olympic gold were shattered and replaced by an infamous series of finger-pointing accusations.
In a recent interview on CJMQ radio in Sherbrooke, Que., Kyle Keiderling, an award-winning author from Henderson, Nevada, spoke to me about his most recent book – Olympic Collision: The story of Mary Decker and Zola Budd. The non fiction book is a sports biography that follows their lives leading up to the Olympics and their career paths afterwards.
Keiderling began, “This is my fifth book and all of my books are sports biographies. The incident in the 3,000 metres in L.A. stuck in my mind, and I thought I would look into it. I thought I knew everything about the incident, but I was wrong,” he laughed.
What Keiderling learned while doing his research and interviews was that these two women followed parallel paths in their running careers.
“Two women came from dysfunctional homes, estranged from their fathers, two-time world champions, teenage phenoms, both having the same running style, both (preferring to lead early) as front runners. They both demonstrated perseverance and resilience. They had soap opera lives that would make the Kardashians look normal,” he said.
The book is not only for track and field fans but for those who enjoy reading about sports history or enjoy world-class drama that is more compelling than fiction. The book recaptures a memorable moment in Olympic history, which happened more than 30 years ago. I found it to be a page turner, a gripping story of their lives leading up to the L.A. Olympic Games, to following their career paths afterwards.
Kiederling said, “Where Zola grew up (home) was dark and depressing. Her older sister, Jenny, 11 years older, raised her and introduced her to running. At 22 or 23 years old, Jenny died, and Zola was only 11 or 12 at the time.”
But the seeds had been sown – her sister had inspired her to run. By 17, Zola no longer had competition in South Africa, which was the similar circumstance with Mary Decker in the United States. Also in the book, the reader learns Decker had undergone 30 surgeries and still had the resilience to compete at a high level. An especially interesting Canadian sidebar to the story is Olympian Lynn Kanuka-Williams from Vancouver was there when it all happened. She competed in the event, taking home the bronze medal for Canada.
To get a copy of the book, go online to http://keiderlingbooks.com.
For the full interview go to CJMQ radio www.cjmq.fm under interviews May 2017.
For more from Christine Blanchette check out her website at www.runwithit.ca. You can also find her on Twitter @christineruns and on YouTube by searching runwithit.
