Durham, first Black US women's gymnastics champion, dies
Durham, the first Black woman to win a USA Gymnastics national championship, died on Thursday, Feb. 4, 2021, She was 52. (AP Photo/Lisa Genesen, File)Dianne Durham, the first Black woman to win a USA Gymnastics national championship, died Thursday in Chicago following a short illness, her husband said. Her victory in the all-around at the 1983 national championships as a teenager was the first by a Black woman in the organization's history. “People said, you’re the first Black — I’m using Black because African American wasn’t a term in my era — national champion. Her husband said he hopes USA Gymnastics will honor her by inducting her into the organization's Hall of Fame.
Biles to USA Gymnastics: 'You had one job and you couldn't protect us'
- Four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles spoke to reporters Wednesday about her struggle to continue practicing her sport for an organization that did not protect her -- and many others -- from Larry Nassar's abuse. You literally had one job and you couldn't protect us," she said of USA Gymnastics. Biles spoke to reporters after a training session in Kansas City, Missouri, ahead of the United States Gymnastics Championships. In January, Biles announced on Twitter that she was one of the many athletes sexually abused by the disgraced former USA Gymnastics and Michigan State University doctor. "We at USA Gymnastics have made a lot of progress in strengthening our athlete safety measures and putting our athletes first, but we know we have more to do," Li Li Leung, the president and chief executive of USA Gymnastics, told CNN.