About Zola Budd
Zola Budd is a South African middle-distance and long-distance runner. She competed at the 1984 Olympic Games for Great Britain and the 1992 Olympic Games for South Africa, both times in the 3000 metres. In 1984 (unratified) and 1985, she broke the world record in the 5000 metres. She was also a two-time winner at the World Cross Country Championships (1985–1986). Budd mainly trained and raced barefoot. Her mile best of 4:17.57 in 1985 stood as the British record for 38 years until Laura Muir ran 4:15.24 on 21 July 2023. In 1985, she claimed the world record officially, while representing Great Britain, clocking 14:48.07. Since her performance took place in South Africa, then excluded from international athletics competition due to apartheid, the International Amateur Athletics Federation (IAAF) refused to ratify Budd's time as an official world record.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.