Diana Golden

Diana Golden Brosnihan (née Diana Golden, March 20, 1963 – August 25, 2001) was an American disabled ski racer. After losing a leg to cancer at age 12, she went on to win 10 world and 19 United States championships between 1986, and 1990 as a three-tracker, or one-legged skier. Golden also won an Olympic gold medal in giant slalom at the 1988 Calgary Games, where disabled skiing was a demonstration sport. She participated in alpine skiing at two Winter Paralympic Games, in 1980, and 1988, winning two gold medals in the latter year. After retiring from skiing, cancer returned in 1992, and 1996, with her last bout of cancer resulting in her death in 2001.

Early life Diana Golden grew up in Lincoln, Massachusetts, and began skiing at the age of five, making regular trips to Cannon Mountain Ski Area with her parents. However, in 1975, at the age of 12, her right leg collapsed while she was walking home from skiing and doctors diagnosed bone cancer. As a result, the doctors had to amputate her leg above the knee to stop the cancer from spreading. In her junior year at Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School she became a member of the ski team and by the age of 17 had joined the United States Disabled Ski Team (USDST).

After high school, Golden went to Dartmouth College and gained a degree in English Literature in 1984. While there in 1982, she competed at the World Handicapped Championships in Norway, winning a gold medal in the downhill and a silver in the giant slalom.

Golden at first used outriggers when skiing, but would abandon these in favour of the standard ski poles, so being able to reach greater speeds but requiring more strength and stamina.

Golden recovered and resumed motivational speaking but would give this up for good in 1996 when she was again diagnosed with breast cancer, which was treatable but now incurable. The Diana Golden Opportunities Fund is the endowment that supports and encourages junior athletes with disabilities in their pursuit of excellence in skiing by providing scholarships for purchasing equipment or participating in an adaptive race or development camp.