Women's History Wednesday Profile: Diana Golden
Diana Golden Brosnihan grew up in Lincoln, Massachusetts and learned to ski at the age of five. At 12, she developed bone cancer in her right leg resulting in an amputation above the knee. It didn't stop her from achieving her dream of becoming a competitive athlete, following the surgery and chemo, Golden learned to ski with the help of the New England Handicapped Skiing Association.
In High School, Golden was approached by the Skiing head coach and was asked to join the team. During her Junior year, she competed and won gold in the downhill World Handicapped Championships.
Golden was accepted into Dartmouth College and graduated in 1984 with a degree in English Literature. During her time in college, Diana competed professionally and earned a spot on the 1979 US Disabled team. Her success continued even after graduation, from 1986 to 1990, Golden won 10 World Championships and 19 US Championships. In 1988, she competed in the Winter Olympics held in Calgary and earned gold on the giant slalom for the disabled team
In 1991, the Women's Sports Foundation awarded Golden the Flo Hyman award, joining a list of athletes which include Martina Navratilova and Jackie Joyner-Kersee. Unfortunately in 1992, Golden was diagnosed with breast cancer. ''I like to live each day like an adventure,'' she once said. And she did. She climbed Mount Rainier in Seattle, she became a motivational speaker and advocate for disabled athletes.
She persuaded the United States Ski Association to allow disabled skiers to compete in national championships against able-bodied skiers. That open-competition policy became known as the "Golden Rule". In 1997 she was inducted into the Women's Sports Foundation International Hall of Fame. In 1997, the cancer returned again and spread to her spine, pelvis and lungs. She stopped giving motivational speeches, saying she could not be upbeat anymore and could not force a smile.
“Greatness is not a gift. Excellence is earned. It takes a combination of determination, training, commitment, sweat, stubbornness and pride to get you where you want to go. Success in sports is like everything else worth having in life-you’ve got to work for it. If you want to be great at something, you have to set a vision for yourself; you have to believe in it; you have to want it; and then you have to pursue it with every ounce of passion that your heart and soul can muster."
