Diane Modahl facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Diane Modahl
MBE

Diane Modahl launches the 2009 Two Cities Boat Race
Personal information
Nationality	British (English)
Born	(1966-06-17) 17 June 1966 (age 59) Manchester, England
Height	170 cm
Weight	56 kg
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	800 metres
Club	Sale Harriers
Turned pro	1986
Coached by	Vicente Modahl
Retired	2002
Now coaching	Aimee Pratt
Medal record Athletics Representing  United Kingdom Commonwealth Games Gold 1990 Auckland 800 m Silver 1986 Edinburgh 800 m Bronze 1998 Kuala Lumpur 800 m

Diane Dolores Modahl (born 17 June 1966) is a former English middle-distance runner. She was an expert in the 800 metres race. She is famous for winning a gold medal at the 1990 Commonwealth Games.

Modahl also won a silver medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games and a bronze at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. She competed for Great Britain in four different Olympic Games from 1988 to 2000. She reached the 800-metre final at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul.

Her fastest time for the 800 metres was 1 minute and 58.65 seconds, which she ran in 1990. This time still makes her one of the fastest British women ever in that event.

Athletics Career

Diane Edwards was born in Manchester, England, to parents from Jamaica. She showed her talent for running at a young age. In 1984, she won the English Schools 800 metres title.

Early Success

By 1986, when she was 20, Diane was one of Britain's best 800m runners. That year, she won a silver medal at the 1986 Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland.

In 1988, she was chosen to run for Great Britain at the Olympic Games in Seoul. She made it to the final and finished in eighth place. This was a huge achievement.

The next year, in 1989, she had a great season and finished third at the IAAF Grand Prix Final in Monaco.

Commonwealth Champion

In 1990, Diane won the gold medal in the 800m at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand. This was a major highlight of her career. Later that year, she set her personal best time of 1:58.65 in Oslo, Norway.

She competed in the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona and reached the semi-finals.

World-Class Runner

In 1993, now competing under her married name, Diane Modahl, she had another fantastic season. At the 1993 World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, she finished in fourth place.

She continued to compete at a high level, winning the European Cup in 1994.

A Difficult Challenge

In 1994, Diane faced a major challenge in her career. After a routine test at the Commonwealth Games in Canada, she was told she could not compete. The test result suggested she had broken the rules.

Diane was sure she was innocent and decided to fight to clear her name. She and her lawyers found that the laboratory that tested her sample had made serious mistakes. Her sample had been stored improperly in a hot room, which caused problems with the test.

Because of this evidence, the British Athletics Federation lifted her ban in 1995. In 1996, the IAAF, the world governing body for athletics, also cleared her of all charges. Courts in London agreed that she was innocent.

The legal fight cost Diane a lot of money, but she successfully proved her innocence. She and her husband wrote a book about their experience called The Diane Modahl Story - Going the Distance.

Return to Athletics

Modahl returned to running in 1996. She competed at the Atlanta Olympic Games but was injured during her race.

In 1998, she made an amazing comeback. She won a bronze medal in the 800m at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She ran a very fast time of 1:58.81.

She competed in her fourth and final Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000. She retired from professional running in 2002.

Life After Athletics

After retiring, Diane Modahl stayed very involved in sports and helping her community.

In 2010, she and her husband, Vicente, started the Diane Modahl Sports Foundation (DMSF). This is a charity that gives young people, especially those from poorer areas, the chance to get coaching in athletics.

She has held many important roles, including helping to improve healthcare and sports opportunities in Manchester. In 2020, the Mayor of Greater Manchester asked her to lead a group to help young people recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In 2018, she was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for her work with sport and young people.

Personal Life

Diane is married to Vicente Modahl, who is an international athletics coach. Her cousin is the famous retired boxer Chris Eubank.

In 2004, she appeared on the television show I'm A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!.

Achievements

• 6 AAA's Championships 800 metres titles (1986, 1987, 1989, 1992, 1994, 1998)
• 2 UK Championships titles (1987 800m & 1990 400m)

Year	Competition	Venue	Position	Event	Notes
Representing  England
1986	Commonwealth Games	Edinburgh, United Kingdom	2nd	800 m	2:01.12
1990	Commonwealth Games	Auckland, New Zealand	1st	800 m	2:00.25
1998	Commonwealth Games	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	3rd	800 m	1:58.81
Representing  Great Britain
1986	European Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	11th (sf)	800 m	2:00.84
1987	European Cup	Prague, Czechoslovakia	4th	800 m	2:00.21
	World Championships	Rome, Italy	semi-finals	800 m	1:59.34
1988	Olympic Games	Seoul, South Korea	8th	800 m	2:00.77
1989	European Cup	Gateshead, United Kingdom	5th.	800 m	2:01.13
	Grand Prix Final	Fontvieille, Monaco	3rd	800 m	2:00.83
1990	European Indoor Championships	Glasgow, United Kingdom	7th	1500 m	4:21.27
	European Championships	Split, Yugoslavia	8th	800 m	2:02.62
1992	Olympic Games	Barcelona, Spain	15th (sf)	800 m	2:04.32
1993	European Cup	Rome, Italy	5th	800 m	2:00.2
	World Championships	Stuttgart, Germany	4th	800 m	1:59.42
	Grand Prix Final	London, United Kingdom	7th	800 m	2:01.74
1994	European Cup	Birmingham, United Kingdom	1st	800 m	2:02.81
	Goodwill Games	Saint Petersburg, Russia	4th	800 m	1:59.85
	European Championships	Helsinki, Finland	14th (sf)	800 m	2:02.18
1996	Olympic Games	Atlanta, United States	heats	800 m	DNF
1998	Goodwill Games	New York, United States	5th	800 m	2:02.01
	European Championships	Budapest, Hungary	9th (sf)	800 m	2:00.08
1999	European Cup	Paris, France	5th	800 m	2:00.80
	World Championships	Seville, Spain	17th (h)	800 m	2:00.83
2000	Olympic Games	Sydney, Australia	21st (h)	800 m	2:02.41