Dianne Burge
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Dianne Burge (née Bowering), (born 9 October 1943) is a former
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 ...
n sprinter who competed in two
Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
and won three gold medals at the
Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...
. She was awarded the title
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
n 'Athlete of the Century' by
Athletics South Australia Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
.


Early athletics career

In 1963,
Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
sprinter Diane Bowering won the Australian 100-yard Championships in an upset. She was virtually unknown outside her home state but ended the year ranked as #3 in the world. She competed for Adelaide Harriers and was coached by Len Barnes who nicknamed her 'the twerp'Australian Broadcasting Corporation - Peter Goers' interview with Di Burge


International athletics career

A year later, Bowering ran second in the national 100y title and earned a place in the Australian team for the
1964 Summer Olympic Games The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this hon ...
in Tokyo. At the Games, she did not progress past the second round of the 100 metres, but made the final of the 4 × 100 metres relay with the Australian team.Athletics Australia profile
/ref> Now married and running as Dianne Burge, she starred in the
1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games The 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games were held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 4 to 13 August 1966. This was the first time that the Games had been held outside the so-called White Dominions. They were followed by the 1966 Commonwealth P ...
in
Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the five most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...
,
Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
, winning gold medals at 100 yards, 220 yards and in the 4x110 yards relay. At the end of the year, she was world-ranked #6 for 100 metres and #5 for 200 metres. In 1967, she won the 100 m and 200 m at the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
versus British Commonwealth meet in
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, beating Olympic champion
Wyomia Tyus Wyomia Tyus (pronunciation: ''why-o-mi''; born August 29, 1945) is a retired American track and field sprinter, and the first person to retain the Olympic title in the 100 m (a feat since duplicated by Carl Lewis, Gail Devers, Shelly-Ann Fraser ...
and was ranked #2 in the world for 100 m and #3 for 200 m by
Track and Field News ''Track & Field News'' is an American monthly sports magazine founded in 1948 by brothers Bert Nelson and Cordner Nelson, focused on the world of track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on runni ...
. Burge won the sprint double at the 1968 Australian Championships, running fast times of 11.3 and 23.0 with the 100 metres time a new Australian record. Considered a medal favourite at the
Mexico Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...
, she was affected by illness in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
and did well to make the 100-metres final, placing sixth. She was ranked sixth in the world for 100 metres, when she retired from the sport in early 1969.


Awards

Burge was awarded the inaugural Sportswomen's Association of Australia (SA Division) 'Sportswoman of the Year' award in 1966.Australian Women biographical profile - Dianne Burge
/ref> She was named as the 'Athlete of the Century' by
Athletics South Australia Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...
.


Statistics

Personal Bests World Rankings - 100 m and 200 m Australian Championships Record * DNQ=Did not qualify for final (only six athletes per final in this era)


References


{{DEFAULTSORT:Burge, Dianne 1943 births Living people Australian female sprinters Athletes (track and field) at the 1968 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Australia Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Australia Athletes (track and field) at the 1964 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics Olympic female sprinters Medallists at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Place of birth missing (living people) Australian Athletics Championships winners