page_title: Zola Budd
section_title: Relocation to U.S.
hierarchical_section_title: Zola Budd / Personal life / Relocation to U.S.
caption_attribution_description: English: Zola Pieterse ascending Botha's Hill in the 2012 Comrades
context_page_description: Zola Pieterse is a 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 and 1985, she broke the world record in the 5000 metres. She was also a two-time winner at the World Cross Country Championships. Budd's career was unusual in that she mainly trained and raced barefoot. She moved with her family to South Carolina in 2008, and competes at marathons and ultramarathons. She volunteers as assistant coach at Coastal Carolina University in Conway. Her mile best of 4:17.57 in 1985, still stands as the British record.
context_section_description: Following allegations of her husband having an affair with former Miss South Africa Agatha "Pinkie" Pelser, under her married name, Pieterse and her three children relocated to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, US, in August 2008, later joined by her husband Mike. She initially had a two-year visa that allowed her to compete on the US masters' circuit. She is a volunteer coach at Coastal Carolina University Chanticleers track team and has raced in the South Carolina division of USA Track and Field, winning the women's division of the Dasani Half-Marathon during Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon on 14 February 2009 with a time of 1:20:41.
  Budd's children also compete: at 2 May 2009 Orangeburg, South Carolina Festival of Roses road race, after winning the women's 12k event, she watched her daughter Lisa (17) win the girls' 5k. 12–19 age group at 30:17, followed by her niece Claudia (21) at 31:36.
  On 12 January 2012, she announced her participation in the 2012 edition of the nearly 90-kilometre (56 mi) Comrades (ultra)Marathon which was held on 3 June 2012. She would also participate in the Two Oceans Marathon during the Easter weekend of 2012 as she trained towards the Comrades Marathon which she ended up finishing in 8:06:09 (she was the 37th female finisher), earning a Bill Rowan Medal. Although she planned to also run the Comrades in 2013 she withdrew due to illness.
  In June 2014 Budd entered the Comrades again, hoping for an overall silver medal and for a time under 7 hours 30 minutes (7:30:00). Budd beat her time target, finishing with a time of 6:55:55 and earning a gold medal for a top 10 finish as well as a gold medal as the 1st 'veteran' (senior) finisher while coming in as the 7th female finisher overall (the first six being at least 10 years her junior). Budd dedicated her 2014 Comrades run to South African teacher Pierre Korkie, held captive in Yemen by Al-Qaeda for one year. She was stripped of her 'veteran' gold medal (but not of her cash prize for finishing 7th overall) following accusations that she did not display a small age category tag on her running vest, in addition to the veteran designation already displayed on her running bib. Budd and her coach pointed out that the veteran gold medal and silver medal were then given to two runners who also did not have the small age category tag on their running vests, and announced in September 2014 that they had started court proceedings against the Comrades Marathon Association to have her veteran win reinstated.
  In March 2015, Budd won the Run Hard Columbia (SC) Marathon in a time of 3:05:27.
caption: Pieterse at the 2012 Comrades Marathon. She finished in seventh place in the 2014 race, and was the first female veteran to cross the line.[17]
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