Wilma Rudolph
by Jessica S.
BIRTH
Wilma Rudolph was born June 23, 1940 in Clarksville, Tennessee.
She was the 20th of 22 children. She was born prematurely and
weighed only 4 1/2 pounds. She suffered many illnesses as a child
including polio, which crippled her left leg and foot. As a result she
had to wear a brace until she was 12 years old.
YOUTH
Because of racial segregation Wilma could not be cared for at white
hospitals. There was only one black doctor in Clarksville so Wilma's
mother had to nurse her through measles, mumps, scarlet fever,
chicken pox, and double pneumonia. After Wilma was diagnosed
with polio, a doctor told Wilma's mother that she would never walk
again, but Wilma's mother did not give up hope. For two years
Wilma and her mom rode a bus twice a week, 100 miles roundtrip,
for treatment at a black medical college in Nashville. Finally, at age
twelve Wilma could walk normally without her metal leg brace. She
played basketball in high school and then got interested in running
track.
ACHIEVEMENTS
In high school Wilma became a star basketball player
who set state scoring records and led her team to a
state championship.
At the Olympics in Melbourne in 1956 she won a
bronze medal in the relay at the age of 16.
In the 1960 Olympics in Rome, she became the first
American woman to win three gold medals. She won
the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and ran the
anchor leg of the 400 meter relay.
Her other honors include:
United Press Athlete of the Year 1960
Associated Press Woman Athlete of the Year 1960
Black Sports Hall of Fame 1980
U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame 1983
Women's Sports Foundation Award 1984
ADULTHOOD
After she retired from running track at the age of 24 she went back to
teach at her elementary school and coach where she had gone to high
school. She met President John Kennedy at the White House. She
had also met Jackie Robinson when she was sixteen. In 1963, she was
selected by the U.S. State Department to be a goodwill ambassador.
In 1967, vice president Hubert Humphrey invited her to work in an
athletic outreach program for underprivileged youth in 16 major
cities. She started the Wilma Rudolph Foundation to continue her
charitable work. Wilma Rudolph died from brain cancer on November
12, 1994 at her home in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 54.
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