Diane Nelson’s curling career began in 1971, when she was only 13, and she had already won provincial and mixed championships in British Columbia by the time she captured the 2000 World Championships under the Kelley Law rink (team) as lead. The team’s next victory came at the 2001 Olympic trials, which qualified them to represent Canada at the 2002 Winter Olympics. At the curling tournament they entered the playoffs with an 8-1 record, but a loss to Great Britain left them fighting (successfully) for the bronze medal spot against the United States. She stuck with the rink until 2003, when Law took a hiatus from curling and disbanded her team, at which point her Olympic teammate Georgina Wheatcroft decided to begin skipping (captaining) her own rink. Nelson joined on as lead for the 2003-2004 season and won her last B.C. provincial title prior to retiring at the end of the year. She competed most of her career under her maiden name of Diane Nelson, but played under her married name of Diane Dezura during her final two seasons. Her husband, Grant Dezura, is also a curler.
Canada