Diana Golden (skier)

Diana Golden Brosnihan (née Diana Golden, March 20, 1963 – August 25, 2001) was an American disabled ski racer. After losing a leg to cancer at age 12, she went on to win 10 world and 19 United States championships between 1986, and 1990 as a three-tracker, or one-legged skier. Golden also won an Olympic gold medal in giant slalom at the 1988 Calgary Games, where disabled skiing was a demonstration sport. She participated in alpine skiing at two Winter Paralympic Games, in 1980, and 1988, winning two gold medals in the latter year. After retiring from skiing, cancer returned in 1992, and 1996, with her last bout of cancer resulting in her death in 2001.

Early life

Diana Golden grew up in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and began skiing at the age of five, making regular trips to Cannon Mountain Ski Area with her parents. However, in 1975, at the age of 12, her right leg collapsed while she was walking home from skiing and doctors diagnosed bone cancer. As a result, the doctors had to amputate her leg above the knee to stop the cancer from spreading.

Following the surgery the first question Golden asked was whether she would be able to ski again and was relieved to discover that she would be able to. After being fitted with a prosthetic device she learned to walk and then ski again within six or seven months with the help of the New England Handicapped Sportsmen's Association. In her junior year at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School she became a member of the ski team and by the age of 17 had joined the United States Disabled Ski Team (USDST).

After high school, Golden went to Dartmouth College and gained a degree in English Literature in 1984. While there in 1982, she competed at the World Handicapped Championships in Norway, winning a gold medal in the downhill and a silver in the giant slalom. However, she then became disillusioned with competitive skiing and would join a group of born again Christians. After college, she went to work for a local firm selling computer software before a friend reintroduced her to skiing and she rediscovered her love of it. In 1985, she rejoined the USDST and would gain sponsorships and a scholarship in order to be able to pursue it full-time.

Skiing career

Within a year of taking up skiing again Golden had won 4 gold medals internationally including 3 in the 1986 World Disabled Championships. She was dominant in the United States Disabled Alpine Championships winning all four of the giant slalom, slalom, downhill and combined disciplines in both 1987, and 1988. Also in 1988 Golden won 2 golds at the World Disabled Championships and most famously won a gold in the giant slalom at the Winter Olympics in Calgary, where the event was a demonstration sport. Golden retired in 1990 but before this she would win 3 gold medals at her last World Disabled Championships in 1990 at Winter Park Resort in Colorado. In total throughout her career Golden won 19 national, 10 World and 1 Olympic disabled gold medals.

Golden at first used outriggers when skiing but would abandon these in favour of the standard ski poles so being able to reach greater speeds but requiring more strength and stamina. In 1990, using the normal ski poles and one ski Golden was recorded as travelling at 65 miles per hour during a downhill race. As well as competing in disabled events Golden also took part in able-bodied