dianne durham death: Dianne Durham, the principal Black lady to win a USA Gymnastics public title, kicked the bucket Thursday in Chicago following a short ailment, her better half said. She was 52.

Durham was a pioneer in American vaulting. Her triumph in the inside and out at the 1983 public titles as a young person was the first by a Black lady in the association’s set of experiences.

“I think among her and Mary Lou Retton, they believed they presented to a greater degree a force acrobatic,” said Durham’s better half, Tom Drahozal. “Dianne was a pioneer for Black gymnasts too … She made ready for other people.