Zola Budd Decides Not to Return to U.K. to Seek International Competition

Zola Budd, whose career as a world-class distance runner has been dogged by political controversy, said today she will not return to Britain to seek further international competition.

Budd, 23, told a news conference that she planned to remain in South Africa, where she was born, and gradually return to domestic competition after completing computer programming studies at a technical school.

Budd moved to Britain in 1984 and was issued a British passport that enabled her to compete in the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. South Africa is barred from international track and field competition because of its racial segregation policies.

Anti-apartheid groups pursued Budd relentlessly over the next four years, saying she should not be allowed to compete internationally because she maintained ties with South Africa and returned frequently to visit friends and family.

In May, 1988, she left Britain and returned to South Africa, and last April she married a liquor store owner in her hometown of Bloemfontein. She had expressed interest in returning to Britain to resume international competition.