​"Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose."

• RUNNER
• Overcame debilitating illness to become the FIRST American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympics
• The 20th of 22 kids(!!!), Rudolph contracted polio at age four, leaving her with a weak, twisted leg in a metal brace, and told by doctors that she would never walk again
• Thanks to her family massaging her leg multiple times a day, as well as regular physical therapy treatments, she was eventually able to remove the brace
• Not only did she walk just fine, she joined both the basketball and track teams at her school, winning every race she ran
• Became more committed to her training after losing a high school track competition she'd been overly confident about winning
• At her first Olympics, she was eliminated in the 200-meter trial, but helped her team win a bronze medal in the relay
• Continued her training at Tennessee State, and set a new WORLD RECORD for the 200-meter race at the 1960 Olympic trials
• Despite spraining her ankle the day before her first race, Rudolph set a WORLD RECORD for the 100-meter, and won gold medals in each of the three events she competed in
• Upon returning home, she participated in Civil Rights protests in her hometown, demanding an end to racial segregation at restaurants and other public places
• Retired from running in 1962 to become a coach and educator
• Friend and mentor of Jackie Joyner-Kersee
• In her honor, the Women's Sports Foundation (founded by Billie Jean King) started the Wilma Rudolph Courage Award in 1996
• Rudolph is often mistakenly cited as the first Black woman to win a gold medal -- in fact, that honor belongs to Alice Coachman

Bibliography: Allen, Kathy. Girls Race! Amazing Tales of Women in Sports. North Mankato: Capstone Press, 2014. Print.
Zuckerman, Gregory. Rising Above: Inspiring Women in Sports. New York: Philomel Books, 2018. Print.

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