Dianne Durham was born in Gary, Indiana back in 1968. At the tender age of four she started training for the Olympics. When she was thirteen she was coached by Bela Karolyi. Dianne was to become Bela’s first elite American Gymnast. Dianne competed in several international competitions including Japan, Belgium and China.
When she was not competing, she worked at the Morgan Park Academy as a gymnastics teacher. In 1983, she competed in the McDonalds International Competition winning a silver medal. She injured her knee and that prevented her from competing in the world championships. In 1984, she won the Silver Medal in the Chunichi Cup, later that same year she withdrew from the 1984 US Olympic Team Competition. Later in life she became a judge, coach and motivational speaker for gymnasts. She died in 2021, she was 52.
What you may not know about Dianne is that she also competed in the 1983 USA Gymnastics National Championship, where she won, making her the first African American to win the title.
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