| Katura Horton-Perinchief | |
| Nationality: | Bermudian |
| Sport: | Diving |
| Birth Date: | 26 February 1983 |
| Birth Place: | Paget, Bermuda |
Katura Horton-Perinchief (born 26 February 1983) is a Bermudian diver.[1] She competed in the women's 3 metre springboard event at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[2] She also competed at the 2002 and 2006 Commonwealth Games.[3] Horton-Perinchief was the first black woman to compete in diving at the Olympics.[4] [5] She was also the first female to compete for Bermuda in diving at the Olympics, and the first Bermudian diver at the Olympics since the 1952 Summer Olympics.[4] [6]
Horton-Perinchief was born in Paget, Bermuda in 1983.[2] Her mother, Ellen-Kate Horton, represented Bermuda in softball,[4] while her father, Philip Perinchief, was the Attorney General of Bermuda.[4] She began diving in competitions when she was seven years old, at events in Canada,[4] and went to school in Toronto.[7] At the age of fifteen, she was the Canadian National Champion, winning three gold medals across three different events.[4] She went on to represent Bermuda at the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 2003 Pan American Games.[4] [8]
At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Horton-Perinchief competed in the women's 3 metre springboard event, finishing in 30th place.[9] [10] She was also the flag bearer for Bermuda at the closing ceremony.[11]
She graduated from the University of Texas at Austin with a BA in French,[4] and became the Diving Team Captain in 2004.[4] She later went to study at George Washington University, where she was recruited as the university's diving coach.[4] She achieved Masters degrees in public health (MPH) and business administration (MBA). She also sits on the board of the Bermuda Olympic Association.[4]
After the Olympics, Horton-Perinchief was forced to retire in 2008 from diving through injuries, arthritis,[4] [12] and a cerebral cyst.[10]