Diane Modahl MBE

Yet I couldn’t have dreamed that the next time I saw my grandmother I would be coming back to Jamaica as an Olympic athlete.

- The Diane Modahl Story: Going the Distance

Diane Modahl, (née Edwards) was born on 17 June 1966, to two hard-working parents, Sydney and Lena Constance Edwards, who had moved to Britain from Jamaica in the 1950s. Diane is one of Britain’s most successful 800m runners (now retired). She spent the first year or so of her life living in a terrace on Raby Street, Manchester, and is the youngest of her six siblings (Doreen, Caroline, Deborah, Barbara, Clive, Howard).

From an early age, Diane took great interest in watching sports. In her book, The Diane Modahl Story: Going the Distance, she reminisces about one of her earliest memories – watching sports on Saturday afternoon television with her father, where she experienced her ‘first taste of the atmosphere and excitement of international athletics’. One athlete who made an impression on her was the long distance runner, Miruts Yifter.

When Diane was a few years old, she and her family moved to 12 Byrant Close, Longsight, Manchester. While attending Ducie High School, Moss Side, her talent for running began to emerge. One evening, when she was eleven, Diane ran a 400 metre lap. Unbeknown to her, she was being watched by Alan Robertshawe, a coach for Sale Harriers. Although Diane did not know it yet, this life event would propel her from school sports to competing professionally and, ultimately, at the Olympics.

By the age of fifteen, Diane was absorbed in running – so much so, that when she was given the chance to visit Jamaica, as part of a cultural learning experience instigated by Ducie High School, she insisted that the head teacher, Mr Blackwell, allow her to continue with her training while she was away. Mr Blackwell agreed and Diane’s coach was able to give her a training programme to follow.

The first junior international event at which Diane represented Britain, was in 1983 against France in Lille. She was sixteen years old at the time. The Los Angeles Olympics of 1984 is an important marker, as it coincided with other significant events in Diane’s life, including her first job working at Ron Hill Sports in Hyde and her first Olympic trials at Crystal Palace. It was, in fact, Ron Hill who would later advise Diane on altitude training in Mexico City. It was whilst competing in the Bislett Games in Norway, that Diane met her future husband, Vicente.

Sale’s dream of winning a sixth Senior National Cross Country Championship in ten years was shattered by a double blow at Birkenhead . . . Although unfit Diane Edwards bravely turned out to support the Club, the Harriers finishing just outside the medals in fourth place.

- The Sale Harrier, 1991. Trafford Local Studies collection, cat. ref. LHC/1119/2

Diane represented Britain in four Olympic Games (1988-2000) and she remained unbeaten, by other British athletes, for six consecutive seasons in her 800m races. In 1990, she won a Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games held in New Zealand, followed by earning herself a Silver and Bronze medal. Further proving herself to be one of Britain’s most accomplished middle distance runners, Diane held the English, British and Commonwealth records for 800m and 600m.

Ann Williams and Paula Fryer recently joined Diane Edwards as members of an elite group of women runner, those who have broken the two minute barrier for 800 metres. Sale Harriers must now be in a unique position not only amongst British clubs but perhaps in the worst with this trio of world class runners.

- The Sale Harrier, 1991. Trafford Local Studies collection, cat. ref. LHC/1119/2

Her success continued into 1994 as she came first in the 800m race at the European Cup, with a time of 2.02.81. In 1994, Diane was wrongly accused of using drugs and subsequently banned from the sport. This left her devastated, but a year later, the British Athletics Federation (BAF) lifted the ban after an investigation revealed that the drug test was not carried out in line with a reliable, controlled handling of her drug test samples. This event placed a significant strain on Diane’s mental wellbeing, and Vicente reported that it cost her ‘many medals and records’ as the trauma prevented her from stepping onto the track as a ‘fully-committed’ athlete (Cheshire Life, 2015). In 1996, Diane went on to win bronze in the 1998 Commonwealth Games.

Diane and her husband entered a six-year legal battle for damages from the BAF and they had to downsize their home in Sale in order to support the legal costs. It was reported in Cheshire Life that they expended £1.5m whilst battling for their justice. This resulted in them living on the borderline of bankruptcy.

In 1996, Diane graduated with a BA Joint Honours Media with Business, and Business Management and Media at the University of Manchester. In 2002, while living in Sale, Diane retired. In 2004, she appeared in the third series of I’m A Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here!

Even after retiring, Diane has continued to contribute to the world of sports. In 2012, she and her husband, Olympic coach, Vicente, established the registered charity, the Diane Modahl Sport Foundation (DMSF). The Foundation’s mission is to help ‘young people from disadvantaged areas across the North West, enabling them to make the most of themselves in sport, education and employability’ (DMSF website).

In 2018, Diane was awarded an MBE for her services to sport and young people.

Sources 

Howard Bradbury, ‘Diane Modahl on drug cheats, I’m a celebrity and living in Cheshire’, Cheshire Life, 4 October 2015, <https://www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/people/celebrity-interviews/diane-modahl-on-drug-cheats-i-m-a-celebrity-and-7170810> [accessed 19 August 2021]

Diane Modahl Sports Foundation, ‘Diane Modahl MBE’ <https://dmsf.org.uk/the-board/diane-modahl/> [accessed 18 August 2021]

Find My Past, findmypast.co.uk, UK Electoral Register & Companies House Directors

Linkedin, Diane Modahl’s profile <https://uk.linkedin.com/in/diane-modahl-3463a826. [accessed 19 August 2021]

Diane Modahl and Lucy Hilton, ‘My Manchester – with Diane Modahl’, Manchester Evening News, 3 November 2019, <https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/whats-on/my-manchester-with-diane-modahl-17171081> [accessed 19 August 2021]

Lisa Maynard-Atem, ‘Diane Modahl; Race For Change’, Manchester’s Finest, 20 July 2020, <https://www.manchestersfinest.com/articles/diane-modahl-race-for-change/> [accessed 19 August 2021]

Diane Modahl, The Diane Modahl Story: Going the Distance, (Hodder & Stoughton, 1995). [*held in the Trafford Local Studies Reference Book section]

Open Up Magazines, ‘Diane Modahl’, Open Up, <http://openupmagazines.co.uk/diane-modahl/> [accessed 19 August 2021]

The Sale Harriers, 'Our history', <https://www.saleharriersmanchester.com/index.php/about/our-history> [accessed 1 October 2021]