By: Justin Feil
Diane Dixon spent some of her most successful running days on the indoor track at Princeton University’s Jadwin Gym.
A 1984 Olympic gold medallist in the 4×400 relay for the United States, Dixon was accustomed to finishing first at the Tigers’ track in the old Metropolitan Athletic Congress meets.
Saturday she made her return to Princeton, and just across Lake Carnegie from Jadwin on Harrison St., fired the gun to start the 23rd Annual June Fete 10k race.
“I’ve started some sprints and I started a race in Washington, D.C., but it’s been a while,” Dixon said of her duties. “I used to run some track meets out here. I always remember it’s real pretty and green. I’m glad I got up to come here.”
Working on just a couple hours of sleep, she awoke at 4 a.m. to catch a train from her home in the Cobble Hills section of Brooklyn, N.Y. to come to the Fete 10k. The announcement of her presence at the race drew a rousing ovation, no doubt in recognition of her accomplishments on and off the track.
Dixon was once one of the most dominant runners in the track world, known to her contemporaries as ‘The Indoor Queen.’ Still the current American indoor 400 record holder with a time of 50.64 seconds, Dixon won 10 consecutive U.S. National Championship titles, a record that is unmatched by any American male or female.
Besides winning a gold medal in the 1984 Olympics, Dixon was also a member of the United States’ 4×400 American record setting relay that won the silver medal in the 1988 Olympics. She was also at one time the world indoor champion in the 400 meters and the world indoor record holder at 440 yards.
Since retiring from competition four years ago to have a son, Dixon has stayed active in the sports and in the community. She represents Town Sports International, the parent company for the New York Sports Club, which sponsored the Fete 10k.
“I was really excited about her coming,” said NYSC’s Debbie Curtis, Saturday’s race director. “She’s been to Princeton to run before so many times. She gets out into the community, and the New York Sports Club was very supportive in my efforts to get her down here. She’s a great role model for kids.”
Dixon burst from a rather humble upbringing in New York to become one of the most recognized American track stars. She has since parlayed her education and track celebrity to become a valuable community leader.
“I’ve been in sports all my life,” Dixon said. “Right now, it’s something that I think needs a boost. Kids need somewhere to turn. I’m trying to give back to the community. I work with kids and people, always donating to a hospital or kid’s program, just something that will build it up. But it’s no always sports related.”
And though Saturday’s early morning activities were sports related, all race entry fees benefit the Cancer Program at The Medical Center at Princeton.
“If it’s a worthy cause, I’m there,” Dixon said.
Besides firing the gun to begin the 10k, she cheered on competitors, greeted others with a smile and friendly handshake and paused to pose for pictures. Between it, she even jumped in the one-mile Fun Run and brought laughs when she jokingly fell in a heap upon crossing the finish line.
Adorned in a tight black NYSC outfit with a red jacket tied around her waist, Dixon looked still fit to compete in the shorter sprint distances that brought her fame, though she guessed she might be at least 10 seconds slower in the 400 these days. In the future, she conceded, there will be at least one comeback race. Like much of her work, it involves children. But in this case it’s her son.
“I’ll train when he gets a little older,” Dixon said. “I’ll get in shape for him. I want to see the look on his face when he sees me.”
