Wilma Rudolph Biography (1940–1994)
In 1960, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at a single Olympics.
Who Was Wilma Rudolph?
Wilma Rudolph was a sickly child who had to wear a brace on her left leg. She overcame her disabilities to compete in the 1956 Summer Olympic Games, and in 1960, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at a single Olympics. Later in life, she formed the Wilma Rudolph Foundation to promote amateur athletics.
Early Life
Rudolph was born prematurely on June 23, 1940, in St. Bethlehem, Tennessee, the 20th of 22 children born to dad Ed across his two marriages. She went on to become a pioneering African American track and field champion, but the road to victory was not an easy one for Rudolph. Stricken with double pneumonia, scarlet fever and polio as a child, she had problems with her left leg and had to wear a brace. It was with great determination and the help of physical therapy that she was able to overcome her disabilities.
My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.
Growing up in the segregated South, Rudolph attended the all-Black Burt High School, where she played on the basketball team. A naturally gifted runner, she was soon recruited to train with Tennessee State University track coach Ed Temple.
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Posted By: Dea. Ron Gray Sr.
Saturday, March 26th 2022 at 11:43AM
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