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FEB 21 1985, FEB 22 1985; Dianne Durham concentrates with split second intensity as she releases fro

Source: Jim Preston / Getty

Trailblazer Dianne Durham, the first Black senior national gymnastics champion, has died at age 52. The Gary, IN native’s husband, Tom Drahozal, confirmed she passed away at a Chicago hospital after a short illness.

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Drahozal told ESPN:

“She passed peacefully. She was the love of my life and everything I could have asked for. She was as beautiful a person away from gymnastics as she was within the sport.”

Dianne Durham spoke to the Gymnastics Insider after receiving her Hall of Fame honor in 2017:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sanf0_9cFos

Dianne Durham, first Black national gymnastics champion, dead at 52  was originally published on wzakcleveland.com