In Brief : Proposed Rule Would Bar Budd

Zola Budd’s hopes of resuming her international track career for Britain could be dashed by a new eligibility rule being considered by the sport’s governing body.

The International Amateur Athletic Federation said today that it is looking into banning South African athletes from competing for their adopted country for at least two years after emigration.

Although Budd holds a British passport and has run internationally for Britain since 1984, one member of the IAAF’s ruling council, Arne Ljungqvist of Sweden, said the distance runner would be considered a South African because of repeated trips to her homeland.

Budd is in South Africa now, studying at a university. She returned there last spring when the IAAF investigated her eligibility after reports that she attended a cross-country meet in her hometown.

South African athletes are barred from most international sports events because of the country’s apartheid policies.