Diane Bell (born 11 October 1963) is a British former judoka.[1] She won the 56–61 kg event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, but at the time women's judo was still a demonstration sport, so unlike the men Bell did not enter the list of Olympic medalists in judo. She also won two World Judo Championships, a Commonwealth Games gold and three European Judo Championships.
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | British (English) |
| Born | 11 October 1963 Corbridge, Northumberland |
| Occupation | Judoka |
| Sport | |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Sport | Judo |
| Weight class | –61 kg |
| Club | Fairholme |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic Games |  (1988) |
| World Champ. | 
(1986, 1987) |
| European Champ. | 
(1984, 1986, 1988) |
| Commonwealth Games |  (1990) |
Medal record | |
| Profile at external databases | |
| IJF | 58378 |
| JudoInside.com | 2268 |
| Updated on 18 June 2023 | |
Judo career
editBell won the World Judo Championships in 1986 and 1987,[2] and the European Championships in 1984, 1986 and 1988. Bell is Britain's most successful judoka at the European Judo Championships. In total, she has won 3 gold, 3 silver and 5 bronze medals.[2][3] In 1986, she won the 56–61 kg event at the 1986 Commonwealth Games; the event was a demonstration sport.[4]
In 1988, she won the 56–61 kg event at the 1988 Summer Olympics; judo was a demonstration sport at the Games.[2] Bell represented England at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, and won a gold medal in the 61kg half-middleweight.[5][6] Bell beat New Zealander Donna Guy-Halkyard in the final.[7] Bell also competed at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.[2]
In addition to her international titles, she is a four times champion of Great Britain, winning the lightweight division at the British Judo Championships in 1982 and 1983 and the light-middleweight division in 1992 and 1994.[8]
Coaching
editIn 1997, Bell took up coaching.[2] At the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Bell cut Deborah Allan's hair on the weighing scales after Allan was found to be 400 grams (14 oz) over the weight limit for her event.[9]
References
edit- ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Diane Bell". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 4 December 2016.
- ^ a b c d e "Diane Bell Judoka". Judo Inside. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ^ "10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE EUROPEAN JUDO CHAMPIONSHIPS". British Judo. 19 April 2016. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ^ "COMMONWEALTH GAMES EDINBURGH – EVENT". Judo Inside. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
- ^ "1990 Athletes". Team England. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
- ^ "Mapp dazed by solid gold". The Guardian. 2 February 1990. p. 20. Retrieved 12 February 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "British Championships - Event results". Judo Inside. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
- ^ Soames, Nicholas (16 January 2001). "Judo: Allan appeal sees ban overturned". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
External links
edit- Diane Bell at the International Judo Federation
- Diane Bell at JudoInside.com
- Diane Bell at AllJudo.net (in French)
- Diane Bell at Olympics.com
- Diane Bell at Olympedia
- Diane Bell at The-Sports.org
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