Diane
Durham
"Diane Durham is black America's first internationally ranked female gymnast" (Ashe, 1988 p.200). Born in Gary, Indiana Diane was considered one of the most talented gymnasts in her time. During her era, her mother who traveled and counseled her and Coach Bela Karolyi, helped Durham set a new stage for not just black gymnasts, but all gymnast (Ashe, 1988 p.200). With this kind of support and work ethics, she was the first black gymnast to achieve prominence at an early age. From that early age, Diane went on to capture records, memories, and history that will always portray her as an outstanding athlete.
At the age of 15, this powerful 104-pound athlete started her career on the right foot. In 1981 and 1982 Durham found herself winning the national junior elite title for two consecutive years. She recorded firsts in floor exercise, parallel bars, vault, and balance beam. These prestigious wins were done before her reign with coach Karolyi. But it was not until 1983 when Diane marked a whole new stage in her development. This year started off with poise, as she took first in floor, vault, parallel, and balance beam, and becoming National Senior Champion. Following this remarkable goal, she then went on to the international level, placing third at the 1983 Chinichi Cup behind Elena Shushunov and Mary Lou Retton. These two individuals were also considered great before their time. In this particular competition she faced many top world competitors and she stepped up with great confidence and effort (Scott, 1998).
Two months later with another all-around triumph she scored three 9.9 in the '83 McDonald's International Championships. As this year started off with a great start, it quickly came to a stop due to injuries. She injured herself at the world championship trials, which cost here a shot at the world title. This was also was a turning point in Diane life. From this injury, she continued to train and work hard to prepare for future events including the 1984 Olympics. Diane was coming in as a sure medallist in these '84 games, but injuries kept her from reaching these heights. Diane continued to train in the mid 80's working on new compulsories, but she never competed again (Scott, 1998). Here poise and flamboyant moves made her a great gymnast for her time. Its unfortunate that she did not continue her career, but the circumstances that she went through caused her to end early.
References:
Ashe, A. (1988). A hard road to glory: A history of the african american athletes, 1946-1986, NewYork: Warner Book.
Scott, C. (Tues, Dec. 1, 1998). Tribute to the 80's! [Online]. Available: www.gymnastics.com/olypmic/Gymnasts/1998.
(1985, Jan/Feb). The making of a gymnast.
Women's Sport and Fitness, 51-54.