Diane Jones-Konihowski, (born March 7, 1951) is a former

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

pentathlete who was the 1978 Commonwealth Champion and won two gold medals at two Pan-American Games, as well as representing Canada at two Summer Olympics.

Biography

Jones-Konihowski was born in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

, and raised in

Saskatoon Saskatoon () is the largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It straddles a bend in the South Saskatchewan River in the central region of the province. It is located along the Trans-Canada Hig ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

. She graduated from the College of Education at the

University of Saskatchewan A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

. Diane took her first international medal at the 1969 Pacific Conference Games, a bronze in the high jump. She competed for Canada at the

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

, placing tenth she took the bronze medal at the World Student Games in Moscow in 1973; and the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

, placing sixth. Considered to be a medal contender for the

1980 Summer Olympics The 1980 Summer Olympics (russian: Летние Олимпийские игры 1980, Letniye Olimpiyskiye igry 1980), officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad (russian: Игры XXII Олимпиады, Igry XXII Olimpiady) and commo ...

in Moscow, a third appearance at the Olympics failed to materialize as Canada was one of the countries that chose to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

the games due to the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. Although Jones-Konihowski considered competing as an individual, she ultimately decided against it. She won a gold medal in the pentathlon at the 1975 and 1979 Pan Am Games and

1978 Commonwealth Games The 1978 Commonwealth Games were held in Edmonton, Alberta from 3 to 12 August 1978, two years after the 1976 Summer Olympics were held in Montreal, Quebec. They were boycotted by Nigeria, in protest at New Zealand's sporting contacts with apar ...

. She was also the winner of the pentathlon at the Liberty Bell Classic (alternate Olympic competition) in 1980. Two weeks after the Moscow Olympics, Diane competed in the pentathlon in Germany; she won the gold beating all the Olympic Medallist. She retired from competition in 1983. She was Chef de Mission of the 2000 Canadian Olympic Team in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In 1978, she was made a Member of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

. She was inducted into th
Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame
in 1980, the Canadian Olympic Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2002. She was also awarded the

Bobbie Rosenfeld Award The Bobbie Rosenfeld Award is an annual award given to Canada's female athlete of the year. The sports writers of the Canadian Press (CP) first conducted a poll to determine the nation's top female in 1932, naming track star Hilda Strike the winn ...

and the

Velma Springstead Trophy The Velma Springstead Trophy is an award presented annually to Canada's outstanding female athlete. It is named in honour of track athlete Velma Springstead whose career ended prematurely when she died from pneumonia in 1927 when only 20 years old. ...

. In 2002, she was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Saskatchewan. In 1977, she married

John Konihowski John Konihowski (born January 6, 1950) is a former Canadian Football League receiver who played nine seasons for the Edmonton Eskimos and Winnipeg Blue Bombers. He was a part of 4 Grey Cup championships with the Eskimos. Konihowski played college ...

, a professional football player for the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

and the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. She lives in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

, where she is the President and partner of Premiere Executive Suites. In 2005, she was elected to the board of directors of the Canadian Olympic Committee.

References

External links

Historica profile of Diane Jones Konihowski

University of Saskatchewan citation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones-Konihowski, Diane 1951 births Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1974 British Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1978 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1972 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1976 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1975 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 1979 Pan American Games Olympic track and field athletes of Canada Members of the Order of Canada Canadian pentathletes Saskatchewan Huskies players Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Athletes from Calgary Athletes from Vancouver Athletes from Saskatoon Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Canadian female track and field athletes Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade bronze medalists for Canada Medalists at the 1973 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1979 Pan American Games