Wilma Rudolph Accomplishments

“The triumph can’t be had without struggle.” Due to her childhood trials, Olympic achievements, and effect on the next generation Wilma Rudolph impacted the track and field industry. Wilma Rudolph faced many childhood trials that proved vital in preparing her for her career. Rudolph was diagnosed with polio disease at a very young age. “Then, when she was about five years old, Wilma was stricken with polio, a viral disease. Polio damages nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord. The devastating illness left Wilma’s left leg partially paralyzed. Doctors said that she would never walk without a leg brace,”(Flanagan out of poverty and pain). The polio disease temporarily paralyzed her left leg. Since her leg was paralyzed, she had to wear a …show more content…
She was one of the fastest women to ever race at the Olympic games. In the 1956 games, Wilma was the youngest member of the team at age 16. The afternoon of the Olympics Wilma was warming up on the field when she stepped in a hole and rolled her ankle. Thankfully it was just a sprain and she was still able to compete. Even though she was running through the pain of a sprained ankle she still managed to come home with a bronze medal in the 400-meter relay. After the summer Olympics, she went to Tennessee State University, where she trained non-stop for the next Olympics. At the next Olympics Wilma came to prove herself. At the time in Rome, the weather was very hot and humid, but she managed thanks to the weather in Tennessee. That day Wilma clutched gold a total of three times. “Three times that summer in Rome, Italy, Wilma ran for gold. She won the 100-meter dash by more than three yards for an unofficial world record of 11.0 seconds. In the 200-meter dash, Wilma set an Olympic record, 23.2 seconds, in her first qualifying race. She already had the world record time of 22.9 seconds in the event. She went on to win the gold medal against strong competition. She won her third gold medal by running the anchor leg (the last leg) of the 400-meter women’s relay,” (Gaines Chp. 2). Rudolph surpassed all expectations for her at both Olympic games. She was the first woman to ever win three …show more content…
Once Wilma got home and settled in after the Summer Olympics in 1960 she became a school teacher. She wanted to be like the teacher who impacted her life so greatly when she started school late because of polio. Rudolph became a teacher as well as a coach for younger kids. She wanted to be able to coach the athletes into becoming one-day stars like she was. Stated by Hazel Rochman, along with becoming a coach Wilma Rudolph also got married and had four kids. Wilma Rudolph also founded the Wilma Rudolph Foundation to aid in amateur athletes and their career ahead of them. This foundation run by Rudolph held a large number of inner-city clinics to help the kids. She founded this foundation in 1981, these kids got to train with one of the best runners ever to walk this earth. “In 1977, Wilma wrote her autobiography—Wilma. The same year, a made-for-TV movie based on the book was produced. Wilma served as a consultant during the filming,”( Passing the baton). Once, Wilma, had her book published she was on tour non-stop to talk to schools all around America to talk about her biography. She also visited hospitals on her route to the different schools. There she shared with them what she went through with polio disease as well as whooping cough and scarlet fever. She felt as though she could connect with those kids and remind them to never give up and the struggles contribute to

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