Wilma Rudolph’s story is one of a Tennessean faced with seemingly insurmountable health obstacles and yet she overcame to become the first woman to win three gold medals in a single olympic games in 1960. It all began, June 23, 1940. Hitler tours France (bio). The New York Times features images of the war devastation in France (Baylor). Franklin D. Roosevelt is the US president. William Prentice Cooper is the Governor of TN. It is 96 degrees in Clarksville, TN(Weather). Wilma Rudolph was born in St. Bethlehem, TN number 20 of 22 to Ed and Blanche Rudolph(TN history).
At the age of 4, Wilma Rudolph was diagnosed with scarlet fever, double pneumonia, and polio. She wasn’t able to walk properly until the age of 11 after many years of physical therapy, but she didn’t let that stop her from running.(lhric) At the age of 15, she participated in a track meet at the Tuskegee Institute. She actually lost every race. However, she was recruited by the track coach at Tennessee State University to run at his summer camp. She went on to win bronze at the Olympics in Australia in 1960. (TN History)
Home Life
In 1961, she married her first husband Willie Ward, and they divorced 17 months later. She remarried in 1963 to Robert Eldridge. They had four children together, Yolanda, Djuanna, Robert Jr., and Xurry. Seventeen years after their wedding, they divorced and Wilma and her children moved to Indiana. (Wikipedia)
Work Life
Even though she didn’t begin her formal education until the age of 8, she graduated from TSU with a bachelor's degree in elementary education. After her track career she taught at Cobb Elementary, taught track at Burt High School, and later went on to become a sports commentator.
(Bio)
She died in Brentwood from a brain tumor on November 12,1994 at the age of 54.
In 1994, the local hero was immortalized by the naming of part of U.S. Route 79 Wilma Rudolph Boulevard. In the words of WIlma Rudolph, “The triumph can’t be had without the struggle.”
References
Wilma Rudolph. (n.d.). Retrieved March 21, 2016, from http://www.biography.com/people/wilma-rudolph-9466552
""The New York Times" - June 23, 1940." :: Historic Newspapers.Historic Newspaper Collection, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
"Weather History for Clarksville, TN [Tennessee] for February." Weather History for Clarksville, TN [Tennessee] for February. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
"WILMA RUDOLPH." Tennessee History for Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
Patricia. "Wilma Rudolph." Wilma Rudolph. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
"Wilma Rudolph." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2016.
