Diana Golden had a competitive nature and defined disabled sports. Dominating the U.S. Disabled Alpine Championships in giant slalom, slalom, downhill and combined by never giving up, she collected an incredible total of gold medals.

Dianna Golden began skiing when she was four years old. She lost her right leg due to cancer in 1975 when she was eleven years old. Nevertheless, four years later, she was competing on her high school ski team and competed in her first U.S. Disabled Ski Championships as an all-around alpine skier.

Diana became Olympic Gold Medalist in Disabled Class L W2 at the Calgary Olympics in 1988, World Champion ten times and National title holder on nineteen occasions. Diana skied three events: slalom, giant slalom and downhill. Her success in skiing gave her the confidence she needed to tackle other things. She earned a degree in English literature from Dartmouth College and did promotional work for a number of ski areas and ski related products.

Diana received many prestigious national awards, including the Flo Hyman Award in 1991, awarded by the Women’s Sports Foundation, the United States Ski Association’s Buddy Werner Award in 1989, the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Female Skier of the Year Award in 1988 and the Beck International Award in 1986.

Diana Golden was honored as the initial inductee into the U.S. Disabled Skier Hall of Fame at Winter Park, Colorado in 1995. She was received at the White House by Presidents Reagan and Bush.

Diana died on August 26, 2001 after a courageous battle with cancer. Her husband Steve Brosnihan, family and friends were at her side.

Diana Golden Brosnihan was the first disabled skier to be inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame. She won’t be the last but none will possess a greater love of skiing and of life and positive thinking than this golden girl.

Because of the necessity for ongoing medical care, Diana was unable to travel to Ishpeming, Michigan in October of 1997 to receive her award. A special ceremony was held in her home in Rhode Island on July 23, 1998 where she was formally inducted into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame.