Diana Golden was unquestionably one of the greatest, most successful, disabled athletes of all time—but she was much more than that; she was a woman of incredible spirit who overcame tremendous physical and emotional challenges to triumph in her quest to live fully and completely right up until the end of her short life.

A precocious and energetic child, Diana lost her right leg to cancer at age 12. She accepted that loss with optimism when she learned that she would still be able to ski after amputation and chemotherapy. She then re-learned to ski as an amputee with the help of the New England Handicapped Skiing Association at Mount Sunapee, NH. There, in the company of Viet Nam veterans and other physically disabled athletes, she caught the desire to pursue championship success as a ski racer.

Diana began her competitive skiing while at Lincoln-Sudbury High School in Lincoln, MA. She learned to train and practice with diligence and saw the value in results of commitment to hard work. She entered Dartmouth College in New Hampshire in 1980 and became part of the ski team there, working out by running sprints on the track and hopping up the stadium stairs.

While earning a B.A. in English at Dartmouth, Diana was part of the U.S. Disabled Ski Team, which she was a member of from 1979-1982. She rejoined the team after a three-year hiatus and remained a member from 1985-1990. Throughout her skiing career, she was determined to be "the best" and would settle for nothing less.

Diana’s achievements in disabled skiing competition are legendary. In eight years of racing she amassed an extraordinary total of medals, including 10 golds, while racing in the World Disabled Ski Championships. She won three gold medals in both 1986 and 1990, and two in 1988. She dominated the U.S. Disabled Alpine Championships in giant slalom, slalom, downhill and combined categories, winning 19 gold medals. She won all three events, plus the combined championships at the national finals in 1987 and 1988.

Diana’s most cherished gold medal was bestowed upon her during the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary when disabled skiing was introduced as a demonstration sport. Diana led her team in a USA medal sweep in the Women’s Disabled Slalom.

Diana’s career after the Olympics included entering able-bodied ski races. In those events she further proved her excellence as a skier was not limited to the disabled circuit. Although never a winner in a nondisabled event, Diana made the skiing world recognize the amount of competitive ability that a disabled ski racer could possess. With Diana’s powerful influence, U.S. Skiing instituted the "Golden Rule," enabling disabled ski competitors in able-bodied events to race as early seeds in all USSA-sanctioned events. The early starts for disabled skiers make it possible for them to avoid the deep ruts that can form over the duration of a racing event.

Diana’s career achievements led to myriad awards and honors. Among those honors was induction into the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame and the International Women’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1997. She also received the prestigious Flo Hyman Award from the Women’s Sports Foundation in 1991. She won the U.S. Ski Association Beck International and Buddy Werner Awards. As perhaps the ultimate tribute to Diana’s place in the skiing world, she was named the "U.S. Skier of the Year" by Skiing Magazine, the U.S. Olympic Committee, and the North American Snow Journalists Association in 1988. This honor recognized her as one of the greatest skiers in the world, disabled or nondisabled.

Other honors for Diana included an Honorary Degree in Pedagogy from Rhode Island College and the inaugural Presidential Medal for Outstanding Leadership and Achievement from Dartmouth College. She became a spokesperson for Chap Stick Lip Products, Jeffries & Company, Subaru of America, Whitetail Ski Resort, and the Jimmy Fund.

After retiring from ski racing, Diana became a motivational speaker and took to this profession with all of the energy and commitment to excellence with which she approached ski racing. She became internationally famous for her ability to inspire crowds and traveled the world delivering her positive message of overcoming obstacles with persistence and commitment to goals.

At age 29, Diana was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent bilateral mastectomies. Further cancer-related problems led to more chemotherapy and a hysterectomy. For the first time in her life, Diana found herself wondering if she could overcome the challenges that life presented her.

With help and determination Diana emerged from those dark times to return to the speaking circuit, continuing to deliver her message of carrying on, even in the face of great challenge. This return to speaking was cut short in 1996 when metastatic breast cancer was diagnosed, a treatable, but incurable condition.

Diana moved from Colorado back to New England in 1996 and became a resident of Peak’s Island off the coast of Portland, ME, where she settled down to write poetry and enjoy nature with her beloved dogs, Midnight Sun and Chance. During that time she attended a Halloween Ball in Newport, RI and met Steve Brosnihan, an acquaintance from her Dartmouth days. They quickly fell in love and were married in August of 1997 while Diana continued chemotherapy.

Diana’s final years were spent happily as a beloved wife, daughter, sister and aunt as she traveled the world—for pleasure this time. She was the subject of numerous magazine and newspaper articles, including pieces published in Life and Reader’s Digest magazines. Several television programs also featured segments on her life.

Diana applied herself to writing in her later years and was published in several magazines. Personal essays on her life experiences appeared in Chicken Soup for the Woman’s Soul and the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, among other publications. She also became a literacy volunteer and personally tutored an adult woman to the goal of achieving a GED certificate.

Before her death at age 38 in August 2001, Diana completed a book about her experiences as a child losing her leg to cancer and finding acceptance and self-esteem by becoming a ski racer. At the time of this writing, the book is being edited for anticipated publication.

Diana established the Golden Opportunities Fund shortly before her passing. Its goal is to provide financial assistance for young, disabled athletes striving for excellence. The fund is administered by Disabled Sports USA and has already begun to make its mark in the junior disabled sports world.

Diana’s life was one of great achievement and triumph, as well as tragedy and illness. Throughout it all, at every stage of her life, Diana’s extraordinary spirit carried her above her tribulations to a place where she could live, and enjoy, life fully. Her magnetism, charm and humor melted all those who came in contact with her and left them wishing for a chance to spend more time in her company. She has left a legacy not only of success as a ski racer and motivational speaker, but also as a complete, caring, human being who was loved and adored by her family and friends as well as uncounted others who have heard her story and been inspired by it.