Dianne Barr (born 13 September 1972)[1] is a Northern Irish Paralympic swimmer from Larne. Barr started swimming at the age of four, and has a congenital abnormality of the lower leg. At the age of eleven, her lower leg was amputated and replaced with a prosthetic limb.

Dianne Barr
Personal information
Born (1972-09-13) 13 September 1972 (age 51)
Northern Ireland
Sport
Country United Kingdom
SportParalympic swimming
Disability classS10
Medal record
Paralympic swimming
Representing  United Kingdom
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul 100m backstroke A4
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul 4x100m medley relay
Gold medal – first place 1988 Seoul 4x100m freestyle relay
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Seoul 100m freestyle A4
Bronze medal – third place 1988 Seoul 400m freestyle A4
Bronze medal – third place 1992 Barcelona 100m backstroke S10

Barr represented Team GB & NI at the 1988 Summer Paralympic Games in Seoul, at the age of 16, winning gold in the 100m backstroke A4, the 4 × 100m medley relay and the 4 × 100m freestyle relay[2] with her teammates Joanne Rout, Thelma Young and Linda Walters. She also won bronze in the 100m freestyle A4 and the 400m freestyle A4. At the 1992 Summer Paralympic Games, Barr won bronze in the 100m backstroke S10.

In 2012, Trevor Ringland, who like Barr attended Larne Grammar School, called for more recognition for Barr's impressive achievements.[3]

References edit

  1. ^ http://www.paralympics.org.uk/gb/athletes-root/athletesretired/dianne-mcmillan-barr Archived 3 January 2014 at the Wayback Machine Paralympics Profile of Dianne Barr
  2. ^ Results, Paralympic. "Paralympic Results". Paralympic.org. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  3. ^ http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/regional/call-to-honour-ulster-s-first-paralympic-hero-1-4200749 Newspaper report on Trevor Ringland's call for more recognition for the success of Dianne Barr [dead link]