Pioneering Gymnast Dianne Durham Dies At 52

Pioneering Gymnast Dianne Durham Dies At 52

Dianne Durham, the first African American senior national gymnastic champion, died on Thursday following a brief illness at 52 years old.

Feb 6, 2021 by Kelly Feng
Pioneering Gymnast Dianne Durham Dies At 52

Dianne Durham, the first African American senior national gymnastic champion, died on Thursday following a brief illness at 52 years old. 

Durham’s husband, Tom Drahozal, confirmed her death on social media. 

“Dianne Durham, the love of my life, passed away today. She stuck a triple full over the gates of heaven and was awarded the biggest prize ever. She will be in heaven for eternity. I miss her, but know that she will be my guardian angel.” 

In addition to Durham’s all-around win at the 1983 U.S. National Championships, she also won three more individual gold medals in the vault, balance beam, and floor. She won silver on the uneven bars.

Durham’s best event was vault. The height that we see from her full-twisting Tsukahara vault is all the more remarkable considering it was the old style vault, similar to the pommel horse, without the handles. Watch her sail through the skill at the 1984 United States versus China Event Final. 

While Durham was known as a power gymnast, her initial training came in dance, often seen in her balletic dancing combined with sky-high tumbling and well-designed choreography.


Durham was the last gymnast to beat Mary Lou Retton in the all-around before Retton went on to win the all-around gold in the 1984 Olympic games. Durham and Retton were the first stand-out American students of Bela and Martha Karolyi.

Along with her win at the 1983 U.S. National Championships, Durham won the McDonald’s International Invitational the same year, appearing to be fast-tracked to a spot on the 1984 U.S. Olympic Team. 

An ankle injury hampered her performance at the 1984 Olympic trials, where she was sixth after the first day. Told by Karolyi to scratch bars after a vault injury, she listened, believing she still had the opportunity to petition for an Olympic spot. However, a technicality kept her from petitioning, ultimately leaving her off the team.

Durham refused to let the heartbreaking disappointment define her; she became a coach, judge, and motivational speaker. She and Drahozal owned and operated a gymnastics center in Chicago, Illinois, for 17 years, until its closing in 2011.

Kathy Johnson Clarke, the 1984 Olympic silver and bronze medalist, said, “Dianne never received close to the attention and honor she so richly deserved while she was still with us. I will forever treasure the memories of competing alongside her and the exuberance, fun, laughter and pure joy she brought to every trip and competition.”

While many gymnastic notables have expressed an outpouring of condolences, it was Pia’s Twitter account, a throwback to old-school gymnastics, that summed up Durham's impact the best. 


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