Great Olympians

Biographies - DI

Dia - Dib - Dic - Did - Die - Dij - Dil - Dim - Din - Dir - Dis - Dit - Div - Dix - Diz

Georgios Diamantis

Olympic Competitor nr 63

Michael Diamond

B. 1972-05-20, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Shooting, Clay Pigeon (2 gold)
1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 HP
Trap 11th gold gold 8th fourth 33120
Double Trap 9th 240
33360

Vasile Dîba

B. 1954-07-24, Romania
Canoeing - Kayak (1 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze)
1976 1980 1984 HP
K1, 500 m gold bronze fourth 13200
K1, 1000 m bronze - 7th 2960
K4, 1000 m - silver - 2000
18160

Tirunesh Dibaba

B. 1985-06-01, Ethiopia
Athletics (2 gold, 1 bronze)
2004 2008 HP
5000 m bronze gold 8940
10000 m gold 6400
15340

Klaus Dibiasi

B. 1947-10-06, Solbad Hall, Austria, Italian
Diving (3 gold, 2 silver)
1964 1968 1972 1976 HP
Platform silver gold gold gold 46400
Springboard 13th silver fourth 8th 5881.6
52281.6

In his childhood his parents, both Italians moved from Austria to Bozen (Bolzano) in Italy. When he won his 1964 silver medal, the inhabitants of Bozen built an indoor diving tank for him. He went on to win the diving from the 10-meter highboard at Mexico City, München and Montreal He also won silver on the 3-meter plank in '68 and was fourth in '72.
In 1976, he won before Greg Louganis, who would otherwise (or without the boycott) have three tower golds ('84, '88)

Giuseppe di Capua

B. 1956-03-15, Italy
Rowing (2 gold, 1 silver)
1984 1988 1992 HP
Coxed Two gold gold silver 31500
31500

Faithful cox to the Abbagnale brothers.

George DiCarlo

USA
Swimming (1 gold, 1 silver)
1984 HP
400 m Free-style gold 6400
1500 m Free-style silver 4000
10400

Giorgio di Centa

Italy
Nordic Skiiing (2 gold)
1998 2002 2006 2010 HP
Pursuit 15 km + 15 km fourth fourth 3200
15 km, classical style 35th 10th 100.0001
30 km classical style 8th 256
50 km freestyle 11th 64
50 km freestyle, mass-start gold 6400
50 km classical, mass-start 11th 64
4 x 10 km silver gold 9th 2640
Team Sprint 9th 120
12844.0001

(12520)

Manuela di Centa

competed in 1988 as

Manuela di Centa Sioli

B. 1963-01-31, Paluzza, Italy
Nordic Skiing (2 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)
1984 1988 1992 1994 1998 HP
5 km, classical style 24th 18th 12th silver 21st 3033.36
Combined Pursuit (5 km + 10 km) 10th silver 23rd 3075.26
10 km 28th 20th 1.0256
20 km 26th sixth 5440.06
15 km, classical style - -
30 km, classical style gold
15 km, free-style gold 5280
30 km, free-style sixth -
4 x 5 km 9th - bronze bronze bronze 1640
18469.7

She was elected in 1998 into the IOC Athletes Commission.

Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrikson

B. 1914-06-26, Port Arthur, Tex, USA; D. 1956-09-27
Track and Field (2 gold, 1 silver)
1932 HP
80 m Hurdles gold 9600
Javelin Throw gold 9600
High Jump silver 6000
25200

Before Los Angeles, she came to the US national championships and entered no fewer than eight events, all to be performed within three hours. All alone, she won the team competition ahead of a team comprising 22 members.
At Los Angeles, she was only allowed to enter three events, and she almost won all three. In the high jump, she cleared the same height (a world record) as fellow American Jean Shiley, but was classed second because of an 'illegal' jumping style (although she did get a share of the world record and a silver medal). Afterwards the two athletes decided to saw both medals in half and join the two halves.
She is the only athlete ever to win medals in a running, a jumping and a throwing event, and still she was enraged that she could only enter three events.
She later became famous under her married name Zaharias as a golfer and won seventeen international titles between 1934 and 1950.
Her nickname "Babe" was given to her at age 14, after Babe Ruth, because she also excelled at Baseball!
The "O" in her name should be an "E", since she is of Norwegian descent.  She kept the change after the mistake was made in highschool.

Ines Diers

B. 1963-11-02, Germany
Swimming (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
1980 HP
100 m Free-style bronze 2560
200 m Free-style silver 4000
400 m Free-style gold 6400
800 m Free-style silver 4000
4 x 100 m Free-style Relay gold 1600
18560

Wilfried Dietrich

B. 1933-10-14, Germany; D. 1992-06-03
Wrestling (1 gold, 2 silver, 2 bronze)
Greco-Roman 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 HP
+87 kg silver silver 20064
+97 kg bronze -
+100 kg fourth
Free-style
+87 kg - gold 19290
+97 kg 7th/8th bronze
+100 kg fifth
39354

The only modern wrestler to succesfully compete both in Greco-Roman and Free Style.
(see Kalle Anttila, Ivar Johansson, Kristjan Palusalu, Carl Westergren, Rudolf Svensson, Hamit Kaplan)

Sjoukje Dijkstra

the Netherlands
Figure Skating (1 gold, 1 silver)
1956 1960 1964 HP
Ladies' Singles 12th silver gold 15660
15660

William Harrison "Bones" Dillard

B. 1923-07-08, Cleveland, Ohio, USA
Track and Field (4 gold)
1948 1952 HP
100 m gold - 6400
110 m Hurdles - gold 9600
4 x 100 m gold gold 3200
19200

Inspired by the sight of the victory celebration for Jesse Owens following the Berlin Olympics, Dillard became a specialist high hurdler and, between May 1947 and June 1948, had eighty-two sprint and hurdles races without a defeat. In the 1948 US Olympic trials, he fell in the hurdles and failed to finish, but he did qualify as third string in the 100 metres flat. In an extraoridnary upset he won the final in London in 10.3 seconds, equalling Owens' Olympic record - particularly fitting since Owens had presented him with his 1936 Olympic shoes. In 1952, Dillard returned to his main event to win the high hurdles.

Harold, Viscount Dillon

Olympic Competitor nr 532

Baron Georges Arthur Dillon-Kavanagh du Fertagh

B. 1873-02-14, Nîmes, France; D. 1944-08-04
Fencing (2 gold, 1 silver)
1900 1906 HP
Foil, Individual 7th gold 7800
Épée, individual silver 3750
Épée, team gold 1200
Sabre, individual, one hit comp. 2.025
600 12152.025 12752

Olympic Competitor nr 248

Pyrros Dimas

B. 1971-10-13, Chimarra, Albania, as Pirro Ohima, emigrated to Greece in 1991.
Weightlifting (3 gold, 1 bronze)
1992 1996 2000 2004 HP
-82.5 kg gold 65280
-83 kg gold
-85 kg gold bronze
65280

In five years he transformed himself from an unloved Albanian immigrant to a Greek national hero by winning two Olympic gold medals.
He had crossed the Greek border on the pretext that he needed an operation, but stayed in Greece.
After his win at Atlanta, he announced he would win again in Sydney and in Athina in 2004.
Considering the ease of his victory in Sydney, his aim of four consecutive golds seemed not so far-fetched, but he won only bronze in his adopted country.
The Hellene Olympic Federation has an excellent site on its performance at Atlanta, which includes a picture of Piros Dimas.

Uberto Di Modrone

Olympic Competitor nr 522

Piero d’Inzeo

B. 1923-03-04, Italy
Equestrianism - Jumping (2 silver, 4 bronze)
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 HP
Jumping, Individual dnf - bronze silver 9th 7th 22nd 25th 8900
Jumping, Team dnf(14th) - silver bronze bronze fifth bronze 9th 3535.4
Three-day Event, individual - sixth - - - - - - 800
Three-day Event, team - dnf(19th) - - - - - - 0.4
13235.8

He competed in 8 Olympic Games (1948-76), a record he shares with his brother Raimondo d'Inzeo, Hubert Raudaschl (AUT, Sailing), Durward Knowles and Paul Elvstrøm.

Raimondo d’Inzeo

B. 1925-02-02, Italy
Equestrianism - Jumping (1 gold, 2 silver, 3 bronze)
1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 HP
Jumping, individual - 9th silver gold 11th 26th 23rd 12th 13330
Jumping, team - - silver bronze bronze fifth bronze 9th 3531
Three-day Event, individual 30th - - - - - - - 0.125
Three-day Event, team dnf(14th) - - - - - - - 4
16865.1

He competed in 8 Olympic Games (1948-76)

Manlio Di Rosa

B. 1914-09-14, Italy
Fencing (2 gold, 2 silver, 1 bronze)
1936 1948 1952 1956 HP
Foil, individual - sixth bronze - 4000
Foil, team gold silver silver gold 7800
11800

Ursula "Uschi" Disl

B. 1970-11-15, Bad Tölz, Germany
Biathlon (2 gold, 4 silver, 2 bronze)
1992 1994 1998 2002 2006 HP
7.5 km 11th 13th silver silver 34th 7067.2016
7.5 km + 10 km Pursuit 9th 10th 195
15 km 24th bronze bronze 12th 12th 4560.12
12.5 km Mass Start bronze 2560
4 x 7.5 km silver silver gold gold - 7050
21432.3216

She did not qualify to skate in the German team that won silver in Torino, but she won a silver on the last event in Torino, winning her medals in five Olympiads.

(22497)

Alexander Ditiatin

B. 1957-08-07, Russia, Soviet Union
Gymnastics (3 gold, 6 silver, 1 bronze)
1976 1980 HP
Individual Combined fourth gold 8000
Team silver gold 2600
Rings silver gold 2600
Pommeled Horse sixth silver 1160
Vaults silver 1000
Parallel Bars silver 1000
Horizontal Bar silver 1000
Floor Exercises bronze 640
18000

Joint record holder, with Shirley Babashoff, of the highest number of silver medals (SIX).

Andreas Dittmer

B. 1972-04-16, Neustrelitz, then GDR, Germany
Canoeing - Canadian (3 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
1996 2000 2004 2008 HP
C1 500m bronze gold SF:4th 9042
C1 1000m gold silver 8th 10656
C2 500m fourth 1200
C2 1000m gold 4800
25698

Karol Divín

Czechoslovakia
Figure Skating (1 gold, 1 bronze)
1956 1960 1964 HP
Men's Singles fifth silver fourth 10890
10890

Charles Percy Dixon

B. 1873-02-07, Great Britain; D. 1939-04-29
Tennis (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
1908 1912 HP
Men's Singles QF 538.1
Men's Singles, covered courts silver 5000
Men's Doubles bronze 1170
Men's Doubles, covered courts bronze 1920
Mixed Doubles, covered courts gold 4800
13428

(149 HP)

Dizier

Olympic Competitor nr 339

Written 2001-02-07 - last modified 2002-10-28

This page is part of the site "Full Olympians" by Herman De Wael. See here for a full Introduction.