| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Born | Diane Jones (1951-03-07)March 7, 1951 (age 74) Vancouver,British Columbia, Canada |
| Sport | |
| Country | Canada |
| Sport | Women's pentathlon |
| Retired | 1983 |
Diane Jones-Konihowski,CM (born March 7, 1951)[1] is a formerCanadianpentathlete who was the 1978 Commonwealth Champion and won two gold medals at two Pan-American Games, as well as representing Canada at two Summer Olympics.
Jones-Konihowski was born inVancouver,British Columbia,[1] and raised inSaskatoon,Saskatchewan. She graduated from the College of Education at theUniversity of Saskatchewan.[2] Diane took her first international medal at the 1969 Pacific Conference Games, a bronze in the high jump. She competed for Canada at the1972 Summer Olympics, placing tenth[3] she took the bronze medal at the World Student Games in Moscow in 1973; and the1976 Summer Olympics, placing sixth.[4] Considered to be a medal contender for the1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow, a third appearance at the Olympics failed to materialize as Canada was one of the countries that chose toboycott the games due to the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. Although Jones-Konihowski considered competing as an individual, she ultimately decided against it.[5] She won a gold medal in the pentathlon at the 1975 and 1979 Pan Am Games and1978 Commonwealth Games. She was also the winner of the pentathlon at the Liberty Bell Classic (alternate Olympic competition) in 1980.[6] Two weeks after the Moscow Olympics, Diane competed in the pentathlon in Germany; she won the gold beating all the Olympic Medallist.[7] She retired from competition in 1983.[8] She was Chef de Mission of the2000 Canadian Olympic Team inSydney,Australia.
In 1978, she was made a Member of theOrder of Canada.[9] She was inducted into theSaskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1980, theCanadian Olympic Sports Hall of Fame in 1996, and the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 2002. She was also awarded theBobbie Rosenfeld Award and theVelma Springstead Trophy. In 2002, she was awarded an honorary degree from the University of Saskatchewan. In 2020/21, she was awarded theOrder of Sport, marking her induction intoCanada's Sports Hall of Fame.[10]
In 1977, she marriedJohn Konihowski, a professional football player for theEdmonton Eskimos and theWinnipeg Blue Bombers.
She lives inCalgary,Alberta, where she is the President and partner of Premiere Executive Suites. In 2005, she was elected to the board of directors of theCanadian Olympic Committee.[11]
| Pentathlon | |
|---|---|
| Heptathlon | |
| Pentathlon (1970–1978) | |
|---|---|
| Heptathlon (1982–present) |
|
| International | |
|---|---|
| People | |
