Diane Ellingson Smith Explained

Diane Ellingson Smith
Fullname:Diane Ellingson Smith
Birth Date:May 27, 1959
Birth Place:Salt Lake City, Utah
Collegeteam:University of Utah

Diane Ellingson Smith (27 May 1959 – 12 July 2019) was an American gymnast, teacher, and inspirational speaker.

Biography

Diane Ellingson Smith was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, and had six siblings.

At fourteen years old, Ellingson Smith traded cleaning for gymnastics lessons.[1] She competed with the Utah Academy of Gymnastics during high school with coaches Paul Hunt and Michelle Pond, and then competed on the Utah Red Rocks gymnastics team with coach Greg Marsden at the University of Utah.[2] She won the Junior Olympic All-Around Championship,[3] Region 1 Senior Division Championship,[4] and placed second in nationals on the bars.[5] She was a three-time All-American champion on the uneven parallel bars and finished second in the National Championships in 1981.[6] She led her University of Utah teammates to their first national AIAW championship in 1981.[7]

In 1981, at age 22, she joined the first U.S. Professional Gymnastics Classic.[8] On the first day of the tour, she over-rotated while landing a vaulting horse move and landed on her neck, sustaining an injury that left her paralyzed from the chest down.

After the accident, Ellingson Smith completed her degree in childhood education at the University of Utah and became an elementary school teacher and inspirational speaker. A book, Don’t You Dare Give Up, was published about her in 1991.[9]

That same year, she married Scott Smith and became the stepmother to four children.[10] She was a torchbearer for the 1996 Olympic Games and the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.[11] [12] Ellingson Smith died on 12 July 2019, aged 60, from undisclosed causes.

Legacy

The Diane Ellingson Award, an award given to the most inspirational University of Utah gymnast, is named after her.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kasl Phair . Kendra . A Champion Again . The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints . 14 July 2019.
  2. News: Gymnast to attend U . 14 July 2019 . Utah Daily Chronicle . Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah . 21 July 1977.
  3. Rooney . Joe . Girls' Competition, '77 . United States Gymnastics Federation's Gymnastics News . September–October 1977 . VI . 5 . 8 . 14 July 2019.
  4. News: Women gymnasts' experiences reveal talent . 14 July 2019 . Utah Daily Chronicle . University of Utah Student Media, Salt Lake City, Utah . 74 . Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah . 12 January 1978. 87 .
  5. News: Kilkenny . Kelly . Gymnasts to strive for new title . 14 July 2019 . Utah Daily Chronicle . University of Utah Student Media, Salt Lake City, Utah . 22 . Digitized by J. Willard Marriott Library, University of Utah . 7 October 1981. 91 .
  6. Web site: Crimson Club Hall of Fame Inducts Four April 21 . University of Utah Athletics . 14 July 2019.
  7. News: Hamilton . Linda . UTAH GYM PROGRAM TO CELEBRATE 20 YEARS WITH REUNION SATURDAY . 14 July 2019 . Deseret News . Deseret News Publishing Company . 24 March 1995.
  8. News: Klossner Hulet . Renon . Ex-Gymnast Still Soaring: Accident Victim Conquers New World in a Wheelchair . 14 July 2019 . Deseret News . Deseret News Publishing Company. 6 September 1989.
  9. Book: Klossner Hulet . Renon . Don't you dare give up . 1991 . Desert Book. Salt Lake City, Utah . 0875795315 . 14 July 2019 . registration .
  10. News: Robinson . Doug . Ellingson feels what gymnast is feeling . 14 July 2019 . Deseret News . Deseret News Publishing Company . 26 July 1998.
  11. Web site: For Starters — This Utahn Is No Quitter. NewsBank . The Salt Lake Tribune . 22 May 2020.
  12. Web site: Utah torchbearers . Deseret News . Deseret News Publishing Company . 14 July 2019.
  13. Web site: Utah Gymnastics . CBS Sports . CBS Sports Digital . 14 July 2019 . 13 July 2011 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110713212442/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/utah/sports/w-gym/auto_pdf/09-gym-section8.pdf . dead .

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