She was Béla and Márta Károlyi's first elite athlete in the United States, helping establish their coaching credentials outside of the state-sponsored program of their native Romania, and trained with Mary Lou Retton, who called Durham her "best competition".

[6] On her first gymnastics team, the Hoosierettes, her coaches, Wanda Tommasi and Richard Del Gallo, described Durham as “Olympic material”.

[7] In 1981, after winning the junior elite all-around title at the US National Championships, she moved to Houston, Texas, to be coached by Béla and Márta Károlyi.

[3] Tommasi encouraged the move, telling Durham's mother she was an Olympic-caliber gymnast and needed elite facilities to realize her potential.

[3] Durham successfully defended her junior national all-around title in 1982,[8] and had a breakout performance at the United States Gymnastics Federation international invitation, tying for the all-around title with teammate Kathy Johnson in Durham's first major international meet.

[1] Later that year Durham won the all-around title at the McDonalds International Gymnastics Championships, beating Mary Lou Retton, who was also coached by the Károlyis.

[12] When she returned from rehabbing her injuries, she felt cast aside at the gym[3] and in February 1984, Durham left the Károlyi program to train with Scott Krause in Fort Worth, Texas.

[13] But after a weak showing at the US Nationals, Károlyi approached her with an invitation to return,[3] which she accepted in the run-up to the Olympic trials.

[3] She only learned later that she was ineligible because she had not competed at the 1983 World Championship, and expressed regret no one had told her that finishing the trials on an injured ankle was her only route to the Olympics.

National Competitions- 1984 Olympic Trials, Jacksonville, FL 1984 McDonald's Championships of the USA, Evanston, IL, 7th-AA 1984 USGF U.S. Classic, Niagara Falls, NY, 3rd(t)-AA 1983 World Championships Team Trials, Eugene, OR, 2nd-AA* 1983 McDonald's Championships of the USA, Chicago, IL, 1st-AA, 1st BB, FX, V 2nd(t)-UB 1983 Caesar's Palace Invitational, Las Vegas, NV, 2nd-AA 1983 USGF U.S. Classic, Colorado Springs, CO, 1st-AA 1983 USGF American Classic, Colorado Springs, CO, 3rd-AA 1982 Junior Championships of the USA, Allentown, PA, 1st-AA 1982 Single Elimination Championships, Reno, NV, 2nd-AA 1982 USGF U.S. Classic, Philadelphia, PA, 2nd-AA, 1st-V, UB (Juniors) 1981 Junior Elite Team Trials, 2nd-AA, 1st-V, FX, 2nd-UB 1981 Junior Championships of the USA, Bethlehem, PA, 1st-AA 1981 1st Elite Nationals, 2nd-AA International Competitions- 1984 McDonald's USA vs. PR China, Honolulu, Hawaii, 1st-AA, 1st-FX, 1st(t)-V, 2nd-BB, 1st-Team 1984 International Mixed-Pairs, (with Laurent Barbieri of France), Bethlehem, PA, 5th-AA 1984 McDonald's American Cup, New York, NY 1984 Hong Kong Invitational, Hong Kong, (injured-incomplete score) 1983 Chunichi Cup, Nagoya, Japan, 3rd-AA, 2nd(t)-BB, 5th-UB 1983 Tokyo Invitational, Tokyo, Japan, 5th-UB, 9th-BB 1983 McDonald's International Invitational, (Pre-Olympic Competition), Los Angeles, CA, 1st-AA, 2nd-UB 1983 International Mixed-Pairs, (with Jim Hartung), Jacksonville, FL, 8th-AA 1982 Chunichi Cup, Nagoya, Japan, 10th-AA, 1st-V, 3rd-UB 1982 International Invitational, Fort Worth, TX, 1st(t)-AA, 1st-V, 5th(t)-UB 1982 Gymnast Friendship Championships, Beijing, PRC, 3rd-AA with FRG and PRC 1982 USA vs. Japan, Hamamatsu, Japan, 3rd-AA 1981 USA vs. Canada, Junior Invitational, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada 1981 International Mixed Pairs, Jacksonville, FL 1981 South African Invitational, Sanlam Cup, Capetown and Johannesburg, South Africa, 1st-AA After leaving competition, Durham became a coach, both for the Károlyis and at the University of Illinois at Chicago as well as performed in professional shows.

[17] The New York Times review called the piece "sublime" and "the drop-everything-and-stream-it-now achievement of [the] video exhibition" in which it was presented.

At her memorial service, Simone Biles, Betty Okino, and Gabby Douglas cited Durham’s contributions to gymnasts as a catalyst to their own careers.

[3] Dianne P Durham died after a short illness at a Chicago hospital, surrounded by family, on February 4, 2021.