Sport: I Can't Take It Anymore

A depressed Zola Budd turns her back on her running career

She could run like a gazelle, the symbol of her native South Africa, her lanky gait propelling a diminutive body. But Zola Budd, 21, was never able to run away from her ties to her country and its racial policies. Last week she gave up trying, and tearfully returned to her hometown of Bloemfontein, stating sadly, "I have lost my love for athletics." Her homecoming blocked any chance of an Olympic appearance in Seoul and seemed to end the career of one of the world's best women distance runners.

Budd popped up in world headlines four years ago, a slip of...

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