UNITED NATIONS Reuter: Zola Budd, the young South African who ran as a Briton in the 1984 Olympics, was named on Thursday for violating a treaty barring apartheid in sports.
Budd was among 2,500 persons from many countries said to have contravened the International Convention against apartheid in sports that went into force 11 days ago.
The pact was approved by the General Assembly on December 10, 1985.
Tennis greats Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert, Vitas Gerulaitis, Brad Gilbert and Billie Jean King, all of the United States, whose names were included in an earlier U.N. register, were retained in the updated list.
Pat Cash, the Australian tennis star was a newcomer.
Budd, a phenomenal barefoot distance runner who performed poorly in the Los Angeles Olympics as a British entry, got a paragraph to herself in the U.N, Centre against apartheid’s 92page document:
“The South African athlete Zola Budd, who now uses a British passport of convenience, continues to train in her native South Africa. In fact, she only returns to the United Kingdom during the athletics competitive sea son.
“This has provoked protests by antiapartheid organizations worldwide. In June, Budd even had the audacity to run a couple of laps just prior to the commencement of a cross country league meeting at Brakpan, South Africa”.
Article extracted from this publication >> April 22, 1988
