CALIFORNIA (July 18) – Zola (Budd) Pieterse, a two-time Olympian best known for competing barefoot during her track & field career and an infamous collision during the 1984 Olympics, will speak on August 1 in Blaney Theatre, located inside Steele Hall, at 7 p.m.

Her talk is part of the Cal U cross country program's annual summer camp. Admission is free and the public is welcome to attend. Please contact Cal U head cross country and track & field coach Daniel Caulfield at caulfield@calu.edu to reserve your seat. Parking is free in Lot 4. 

A native of South Africa, Pieterse competed for Great Britain in the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles and for South Africa in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.

Her well-documented collision with American Mary Decker in the 3,000-meter race at the 1984 Olympics thrust her onto the national stage.

"Despite all this adversity and even receiving death threats over a track race, Zola is optimistic, generous and very nice," said Caulfield. "People need to always retain hope no matter how bad things may seem and hopefully listening to Zola will help in that process."

"Our goal at camp is to educate, inspire and motivate," added Caulfield. 

During her international track career, Pieterse twice broke the world record in a period of less than three years in the women's 5,000 meters and twice was the women's winner at the World Cross Country Championships.

Pieterse still holds junior world records in the mile and the 3,000 meters.

She is the head men's and women's cross country coach and assistant track & field coach at Coastal Carolina in Conway, South Carolina.

Pieterse and her husband Mike reside in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and have three children.