Determination. If anyone’s life can be summed up in that one word, it’s WILMA RUDOLPH. From the circumstances of her birth, to her childhood, to her success as an Olympian, this woman embodied determination.
Born prematurely June 23, 1940, the 20th of 22 children, Wilma Rudolph overcame double pneumonia, scarlet fever, and polio. Polio, unfortunately, led to the loss of use in her left leg, resulting in the need for iron leg braces when she was six. Determined to be rid of them, she attended weekly physical therapy sessions in Nashville, a 90-minute bus ride away, as no local doctor would treat her in the segregated South. This, coupled with daily massages provided by her numerous siblings, enabled her to walk, and run, without braces by age nine. By eleven, she was “basketball crazy”, according to her mother. She was all basketball until her coach encouraged her to run, creating the first female track team at her high school.
At the age of 16, as the youngest member of the U.S. Track and Field team, Rudolph competed in the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, earning a bronze medal in the 400-meter relay. Four years later, she was breaking world records.
Rudolph is widely known for her extraordinary display of athletic talent in the 1960 Rome Olympics, becoming the first American woman to win three gold medals at one Olympic game. (This wouldn’t happen again until Florence Griffith Joyner, Flo-Jo, in 1988.) Upon her return home, she refused to participate in segregated celebrations, as was the norm in 1960s Tennessee. Instead, her welcome home parade and banquet were the first integrated events in her hometown of Clarksville, Tn.
Wilma Rudolph stopped racing competitively two years after her Olympic victories. However, her drive to encourage others to persevere was just getting started. She went on to coach at DePauw University, became a goodwill ambassador to French West Africa, as well as starting the Wilma Rudolph Foundation, a non-profit organization for amateur athletes. As she stressed, “…most important is to be yourself…have confidence in yourself. I remind them the triumph can’t be had without the struggle.”
If anyone knew of triumphing over struggle, it was Wilma Rudolph. Take inspiration from this courageous woman as you fight your personal battles.
For learn more:
- ESPN – Rudolph ran and world went wild
- Olympics – From Polio to Podium – The inspirational story of Wilma Rudolph
- US Olympic & Paralympic Museum – Wilma Rudolph
- Biography – Wilma Rudolph
Photo credit: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons