Diane Bell (judoka)

Diane Bell (born 11 October 1963) is a British former judoka. She won the 56–61 kg event at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, but at the time women's judo was then 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.

Diane Bell
Personal information
NationalityBritish (English)
Born (1963-10-11) 11 October 1963
Corbridge, Northumberland
OccupationJudoka
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportJudo
Weight class‍–‍61 kg
ClubFairholme
Achievements and titles
World Champ.Gold (1986, 1987)
European Champ.Gold (1984, 1986, 1988)
Olympic GamesGold (1988)
Commonwealth GamesGold (1990)
Medal record
Women's judo
Representing  Great Britain
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul ‍–‍61 kg
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1986 Maastricht ‍–‍61 kg
Gold medal – first place 1987 Essen ‍–‍61 kg
Silver medal – second place 1991 Barcelona ‍–‍61 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1982 Paris ‍–‍56 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Hamilton ‍–‍61 kg
European Championships
Gold medal – first place 1984 Pirmasens ‍–‍56 kg
Gold medal – first place 1986 London ‍–‍61 kg
Gold medal – first place 1988 Pamplona ‍–‍61 kg
Silver medal – second place 1990 Frankfurt ‍–‍61 kg
Silver medal – second place 1994 Gdansk ‍–‍61 kg
Silver medal – second place 1995 Birmingham ‍–‍61 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1985 Landskrona ‍–‍56 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1987 Paris ‍–‍61 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1989 Helsinki ‍–‍61 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1993 Athens ‍–‍61 kg
Bronze medal – third place 1996 The Hague ‍–‍61 kg
Representing  England
Commonwealth Games
Gold medal – first place 1990 Auckland ‍–‍61 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF58378
JudoInside.com2268
Updated on 18 June 2023.

Judo career

Bell won the World Judo Championships in 1986 and 1987,[1] 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 medals, 3 silver medals and 5 bronze medals.[1][2] In 1986, she won the 56–61 kg event at the 1986 Commonwealth Games; the event was a demonstration sport.[3]

In 1988, she won the 56–61 kg event at the 1988 Summer Olympics; judo was a demonstration sport at the Games.[1] Bell represented England at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, New Zealand, and won a gold medal in the 61kg half-middleweight.[4][5] Bell beat New Zealander Donna Guy-Halkyard in the final.[6] Bell also competed at the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics.[1]

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.[7]

Coaching

In 1997, Bell took up coaching.[1] 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.[8]

References
  1. "Diane Bell Judoka". Judo Inside. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  2. "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.
  3. "COMMONWEALTH GAMES EDINBURGH – EVENT". Judo Inside. Retrieved 27 July 2020.
  4. "1990 Athletes". Team England. Archived from the original on 21 August 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  5. "Athletes and results". Commonwealth Games Federation. Archived from the original on 20 September 2019. Retrieved 20 September 2019.
  6. "Mapp dazed by solid gold". The Guardian. 2 February 1990. p. 20. Retrieved 12 February 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "British Championships - Event results". Judo Inside. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  8. 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.


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