Mary Decker-Slaney - The Unfulfilled Dream, Part 4

Some of the greatest athletes of the world have tried in vain to win an Olympic gold medal. We portray them in this series.

Olympic gold has eluded many athletes, but probably none in such a dramatic fashion as Mary Decker-Slaney. Her collision with Zola Budd in the 3000 meters final at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics had the proportion of a Shakespearean tragedy. It was not just bad luck of a stellar athlete. On this Friday afternoon, August 10th, 1984, America's sweetheart, everybody's darling (especially the media's) had fallen from grace (picture: The Guardian).

To understand the whole drama, one has to remember the buildup. As perfectly portrayed in the ESPN documentary "Runner", Mary Decker had risen to stardom in running-mad America for years. She participated in her first marathon at the age of twelve, took the spotlight in the late 1970s and was tabbed by the media to become the world's best and surely most popular female athlete. But bad look became a steady companion for Decker. In later years, many injurys hampered her career. In 1980, she won the 1500 meters at the U. S. Olympic trials, but the boycott prevented her from perhaps picking up the gold in Moscow.

Nevertheless, the rise of Mary Decker-Slaney continued, culminating at the inaugral World Championships in 1983 at Helsinki, where she smashed the Soviet runners and won the gold both in the 1500 and 3000 meters. One year earlier, Sports Illustrated (picture) had put the world record holder on the cover - Decker had become a "hot commodity".

The stage was set for an Olympic triumph in 1984 at Los Angeles, and when the Eastern Bloc countries declared to stay home, there seemed to be just one person who could stop Decker-Slaney: 18 year-old Zola Budd from South Africa, who had gained British citizenship at the eleventh hour to become eligible for L. A.

The much hyped and anticipated duel lasted only a few laps. Then Decker-Slaney hit the heel of barefoot running Budd and stumbled to the ground. While America's TV audience watched in shock and Decker-Slaney sat crying beside the track, the race continued and Romania's Maricica Puica grabbed the gold with a totally unnerved Budd finishing merely seventh (picture: UK Sports Chat).

Decker first blamed Budd for her own failure, the British runner was disqualified, but shortly after reinstated. Anyway, everybody knew that on this day Decker-Slaney's best shot at an Olympic gold had gone for good. She never even came close to another. Four years later in Seoul, Decker-Slaney finished eighth in the 1500 and tenth in the 3000 meters final. At the 1996 Atlanta Games, she did not make it past the 5000 meters heats.

What remains from Decker-Slaney's later life is a positive drug test in 1996 that was followed by a long legal battle and finally a suspension. The confrontation with Budd is history that even the two protagonists have put behind themselves. 32 years after "the fall", Mary Decker-Slaney and Zola Budd-Pieterse met at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum again. They went for a jog - no bad feelings anymore (picture: The Guardian).

The Best of Summer - Silver Medal: Munich 1972

My runner-up pick may seem controversial, but only at the first look. Of course, many people remember Munich 1972 first and foremost for the terrorist attack on Israel's athletes on September, 5th. But with all due respect to the victims of this barbaric act of violence, it is also true that these Games had lots of brilliant moments and helped to shape a positive picture of modern, post-war Germany all over the world. Had they not been overshadowed by terrorism, the 1972 Olympics would surely have gone down in history as a "Summer fairy tale" like the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

This process had started in the six years prior to the Games. In her attempt to exorcise the demons of Berlin's 1936 Nazi Games, Germany prepared for easy-going, delightful Games, which started with architecture. Munich's Olympic Park with its signature tent roof and the transparent, bright aura changed the face of the city and set the tone for the Games.

Kay Schiller and Christopher Young have portrayed this concept - largely directed by head of the organizing comitee, Willi Daume - in their great study. The world got a first impression at the opening ceremony, which was the first to feature show elements and music by Kurt Edelhagen that fitted the national teams parading into the stadium.

Fresh air was everywhere: in the architecture, the designs by Otl Aicher, the weather, the media. And the spirit spilled over to the audience. Many visitors from abroad were surprised to witness the fairness and competence of German crowds that they had not expected.

This is even more astonishing considering the fact that the Games took place at the height of the Cold War. The German Democratic Republic made its first fully accepted appearance at an Olympics, including her own flag and hymn. That happened in a country that had not started recognizing Eastern Germany until West German chancellor Willy Brandt had launched his new "Ostpolitik" a few years early.

Daume envisioned "competitive sports with a human face", a hidden acknowledgement that the doping problem was at least in sports circles already vibrant. We know today how the G.D.R. pushed her athletes to the limit and beyond, but since a widespread public discussion in 2012, it is clear that doping had become a problem in the west as well.

Besides pharmacy, the East-West-duells fascinated the audience, for example when West Germany defeated the Eastern girls in the women's 4 x 100 meter relay (picture: dpa). On a world wide scale, the triumph of the U.S.S.R. over the U.S. in the last seconds of the basketball final caused even more hype and controversy.

In contrast to this, there was no doubt about who the biggest star of Munich had been: U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz won seven gold medals, all with world records (picture: Time Magazine). His record stood for 36 years, before Michael Phelps won eight titles in Beijing.

Because of his Jewish ancestry, Spitz left Munich immediately after the terrorist attack. The days that shocked the world also haunted the greatest athlete of his time.