These are the official results of the Women's 3000 metres event at the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the sec ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. This was the first ever 3000 metre race for women at the Olympics; and this, along with the marathon at the same Olympics, were the first women's Olympic athletics races over 1500 metres. The final, held on August 10, 1984, was won by

Maricica Puică Maricica Puică (née Luca on 29 July 1950) is a retired Romanian middle-distance runner. She is the 1984 Olympic champion in the 3000 metres. One of the greatest female middle-distance runners of the 1980s, she also twice won the World Cross C ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

. The race most remembered because of the fall of world champion Mary Decker after a collision with

Zola Budd Zola Budd (also known as Zola Pieterse; born 26 May 1966) 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 30 ...

Background

Decker was the favorite, having won the same event at the 1983 World Championships. She was largely untested in domestic races. This was a home town Olympics for Decker, having grown up barely 50 km (33 miles) from the Coliseum. Decker's main competition was expected to be Puică, who had set the fastest time that year.Athletics at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games: Women's 3,000 metres
sports-reference.com However the media largely billed the race as a contest between Decker and Budd. Budd, who at the time always ran barefoot, achieved fame in early 1984 when she bettered Decker's 5000 m world record with a time of 15:01.83, at the age of 17. (It did not count as a world record due to South Africa being excluded from international athletics competition because of its apartheid policy). With South Africa banned from international competition, Budd obtained British citizenship controversially fast (through an agreement between her father, Frank Budd, and the London '' Daily Mail'') in order to enter the Olympics.

Race description

Decker won the first heat to claim the new Olympic record.

improved upon the record in the third heat. In the final, Decker immediately went to the front, with Puică a metre back. Starting slower, Budd ran through the field to assume her position on Decker's shoulder 200 metres into the race. They ran in the same formation for three laps. With four laps to go, the leading four of Budd, Decker, Puică and

Wendy Sly Wendy Sly MBE (née Smith, born 5 November 1959) is a female British former athlete, who competed mainly in the 3000 metres. She won a silver medal in the event at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She won the 1983 10km World Road Race Champions ...

began to open up a lead on the rest of the runners. Sly moved forward to challenge for the lead next to Budd. Coming off the turn, Budd moved toward the curb. Decker stepped on her back kick, then shortly after, collided with the British runner and fell spectacularly to the curb, injuring her hip. As a result, Mary Decker did not finish the race. Decker was carried off the track in tears by her boyfriend (and later, husband), British

discus throw The discus throw (), also known as disc throw, is a track and field event in which an athlete throws a heavy disc—called a discus—in an attempt to mark a farther distance than their competitors. It is an ancient sport, as demonstrated by th ...

Richard Slaney Richard Charles Slaney (born 16 May 1956) is a male British discus thrower who competed in the 1984 Summer Olympics and strongman competitor, notable for being a repeat winner of the Britain's Strongest Man title. At the UK Athletics Champion ...

. In 2008, Decker said, "The reason I fell, some people think she tripped me deliberately. I happen to know that wasn't the case at all. The reason I fell is because I am and was very inexperienced in running in a pack." The crowd began booing Budd, which affected her performance for the rest of the race; many years later she said she "gave up". Puică rushed around Budd into the lead, with Sly on her shoulder as the bewildered Budd lost ground for a moment. But Budd ran around Puică and Sly to again take the lead, and the three of them increased their lead over the rest of the field. Deeper in the pack, somehow Brigitte Kraus also fell into the infield and out of the race. With a lap and a half to go, Sly again edged her way around Budd and into the lead. With about 500 metres to go, Budd dropped back, and it became a two-woman race between Puică and Sly.Sky Documentary "Decker-Budd", aired on Danish

DR2 DR2 (DR To) is the second television channel operated by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) in Denmark. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more "highbrow" programmes than the more mainstream and popular DR1. Like ...

2 August 2018 23:30 CEST Sly took the bell with Puică on her shoulder. With 250 metres to go, Puică passed Sly and went into her finishing kick, separating from Sly, and went on to win by about 15 metres, with Sly finishing second. Meanwhile Lynn Williams caught Budd and moved into third position, and went on to take bronze. Budd continued to fall back through the field as the other athletes were launching their finishing kicks, and finished seventh. Out of twelve starters, four had fallen during the race, with two not finishing.

Results

Medalists

Abbreviations

Final

Qualifying heats

*Held on 1984-08-08

References

External links

Official Report

{{DEFAULTSORT:Athletics At The 1984 Summer Olympics - Women's 3000 Metres 5000 metres at the Olympics 1984 in women's athletics Women's events at the 1984 Summer Olympics