Dianne Durham | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Born | Gary, Indiana, U.S. | June 17, 1968||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Died | February 4, 2021 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | (aged 52)||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Spouse | Tom Drahozal | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Former coach(es) | Wanda Tommasi Richard Del Gallo Tony Ladner Bill Sands Béla Károlyi Márta Károlyi | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Retired | 1985 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Dianne Patrice Durham (June 17, 1968 – February 4, 2021) was an American artistic gymnast. In 1983, she won the all-around senior title at the women's US National Championships, becoming the first African American athlete to do so. She was Béla and Márta Károlyi's first elite athlete in the United States, helping establish their coaching credentials outside of the state-sponsored program of their native Romania, and trained with Mary Lou Retton, who called Durham her "best competition". After injuries and competition stipulations prevented her from competing in the 1984 Summer Olympics, Durham retired from competition in 1985. She later ran the Skyline Gymnastics school in Chicago.