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Building Character
Wilma Rudolph
~ The Tennessee Tornado~
Wilma Rudolph personified Character and Perseverance. Unwilling to succumb to a serious disease at birth, the disability that followed, and signficant poverty, Wilma, through the help of her family, became one of the greatest track athletes of her time.
As the 20th of 22 children to Ed and Blanche Rudolph, Wilma was born in 1940 with polio - a debilitating, crippling disease that did not know a cure until the 1950's. Because of the disabling affect to her legs, she had to be home-schooled. She would travel with her mother to the closest hospital (50 miles away) every week for therapy. Here the doctors told her that she would never walk. The best they could suggest is that her legs be massaged 4 times every day. Blanche taught the other children how to perform the massage and they shared the responsibility. Her mother would massage her legs well into the evenings, always telling her that she would someday walk without assistance. By age eight, Wilma began to defy the predictions and was able to walk with leg braces. Not satisfied with this progress, she insisted on playing basket ball with her brothers, and used high-topped shoes to support her feet.
One day three years later at age eleven, Wilma's mother returned home to find her playing basketball in barefeet - with no aids! With a sense that her possibilities were endless, she made the basketball team when she entered high school. Knowing her background, the coach was hesitant to give her playing opportunities. When the opportunity finally came in her sophomore year, she set state records for scoring and led her team to the state championship. It was in basketball that she was first observed by Tennessee State University track coach Ed Temple who invited her to attend their summer track camp.
Wilma Rudolph and her family never gave up hope. The dedication and perseverance that had been instilled in this young woman was literally unleashed when the invitation to the Tennessee State track summer camp was offered to her. Rising from polio and poverty at birth to become a World Class Olympic athlete was not a fluke or luck - it was the result of a loving family, deep determination, and a whole lot of character!
Wilma Rudolph's Accomplishments Include:
* 1956 - Won an Olympic Bronze medal in the 4-100m relay in Melbourne
* 1960 - Won the Olympic Gold medal in the 100m dash in Rome
* 1960 - Won the Olympic Gold medal in the 200m dash in Rome
* 1960 - Won an Olympic Gold medal in the 4-100m relay in Rome (with a sprained ankle)
* 1961 - Won the James E. Sullivan Award for the nation's top amateur athlete
* 1963 - Earned a full scholarship to Tennessee State University where she would earn her Bachelor's Degree
* 1973 - Inducted in National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame
* 1974 - Inducted in the National Track and Field Hall of Fame
* 1983 - Inducted in the U. S. Olympic Hall of Fame
* 1994 - Inducted in the National Women's Hall of Fame
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