HE WOMEN’S 3000m at the 1984 Olympics is famous for Zola Budd’s tangle with Mary Decker – a collision that left the American on the floor and out of the race. In the melee, Maricica Puica sped to victory and now, more than 30 years later, insists she would have won even if Decker had not fallen.
“Even if Mary would have continued the race, she wouldn’t have won it either way,” says Puica in a new book out this week called Collision Course. “Mary wasn’t in good shape. She wasn’t prepared.
Los Angeles 1984: Maricica Puica (left) out-sprinted Wendy Sly for gold in the 3000m after Mary Decker had fallen after a mid-race collision with Zola Budd