MOSCOW — THE kid wearing pigtails racing against women twice her size dominated middle-distance running, thanks to a powerful kick to the finish that no one on the track could match.And finally, the heartbroken athlete lay on the track in Los Angeles at the 1984 Olympics, sobbing in pain, disbelief and dejection, her gold-medal attempt denied when she was tripped by a barefoot runner.Mary Slaney almost stoically watched all those scenes unfold in a documentary by Shola Lynch called Runner that aired on Tuesday. "It’s almost like looking at someone else’s life," Slaney said from her home in Eugene, Oregon. The film chronicles Slaney’s career from when she burst on the scene, going from a freshfaced kid with all the promise in the world to that infamous day in Los Angeles, where Zola Budd accidentally tripped her late in the race.Back then, Slaney (known as Decker) was incensed at Budd for cutting her off. Over the years, their relationship has improved."We’ve always been friendly to ...
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