Diane Mcmillan

Dianne began swimming with Larne Swimming Club at the tender age of just 4.Despite having a congenital abnormality of the lower leg swimming was her first love. At the age of 11 she and her family made the difficult decision to amputate the lower part of her leg to allow for a better standard of mobility through the prosthetic leg. At 13 years of age she was 'talent spotted' by the British Amputee Sports Association and invited to train and compete against others with similar disabilities. Here her ability really stood out and she was selected to represent Great Britain in the 1988 Seoul Paralympics. In Seoul she exceeded expectations and became the first ever athlete from Northern Ireland to bring home a Paralympics medal. In fact not 1 medal but 2 Gold, 1 Silver and 2 Bronze. Success continued in 1989 winning 4 Gold at the World Championship Games in Florida then shortly after triple Gold at the US Amputee Games in New York. That year she also tasted success in the European Championship in Holland. The list of successes went on and in 1992 she became a double Olympian competing in the Barcelona Games. This time returning home with a Bronze medal. Retirement from Elite Performance coincided with the call of university for this talented athlete who graduated from Leeds Metropolitan University in Public Relations before attending Strathclyde University for a PGCE in Primary School teaching.