S3 Ep. 2: Life Is Too Short To Be Bitter: Dianne Durham

American Prodigy: Becoming Great

Blue Wire

Sports

4.8 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 28 February 2022

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Dianne Durham could have represented the United States at the 1984 Olympics in LA, but she was injured during trials. A combination of racism and internal gymnastics coaching politics meant that she was unable to petition for a spot on the team. In this episode, we give the trailblazer the flowers she deserved – almost four decades overdue. Click here for the transcript for episode 2 Click here for the Blue Wire newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This episode contains accounts of physical, emotional and sexual abuse, eating disorders
0:06.4	and racism.
0:07.4	You'll also hear some swearing.
0:10.6	Previously, on American prodigies.
0:14.1	I can't just see some on-biles.
0:17.3	Definitely some on-biles because she's an amazing gymnast and she shows people that
0:23.5	black gymnasts can be great.
0:27.1	Being a black gymnast in a white gymnast world was one of the hardest and toughest
0:31.4	things that I've ever had to accomplish.
0:33.8	Then I've found different versions of myself that I wish I found before and the version
0:39.2	I am today is somebody that can speak up that can defend themselves.
0:44.1	It's inevitable.
0:45.3	We damn good, so move over, go sit down and enjoy the show and embrace us.
0:56.1	You're listening to tape from the 1983 National Gymnastics Championships.
1:15.9	The championships happened in Chicago, just 30 miles from Diane Durham's hometown.
1:22.4	That's Diane in 2017, reminiscing about one of the biggest moments of her career.
1:33.3	The 1983 Nationals were huge for her.
1:36.5	If she won, she'd be the first black girl to win all around National Championship in
1:40.9	Artistic Gymnastics, the absolute best in the country.
1:54.4	And her coach, the audience and the CBS commentators also had their minds on the future and
2:01.1	what else Diane might achieve.
2:20.9	Three years earlier, Lucy Collins was the first black woman to make the women's Olympic
	...

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