Wilma Rudolph was an American sprinter who overcame a childhood marked by polio and other serious illnesses, which left her wearing a leg brace for several years, to become the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games, at the 1960 Rome Olympics, in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 meter relay. Her success came at a time when women's track and field received far less institutional support and public respect than men's, and her performance in Rome, along with her poise and visibility as a Black woman competing internationally during the civil rights era, made her one of the most influential female athletes of the twentieth century. Upon returning home to segregated Clarksville, Tennessee, she reportedly insisted that her celebratory homecoming parade be racially integrated, one of the first such integrated events in the city's history. She later became a teacher and coach and founded the Wilma Rudolph Foundation to support young athletes, and she remains widely credited with helping open wider opportunities for women, and particularly Black women, in elite international athletics.
Facts
RoleSprinter; triple gold medalist at the 1960 Summer Olympics 1 BirthplaceSaint Bethlehem, Tennessee, United States 1 Death PlaceBrentwood, Tennessee, United States 1 Role
Role (category) FAQs
What did Wilma Rudolph achieve at the 1960 Olympics?
She won three gold medals in Rome, a first for an American woman, after overcoming childhood polio.
At the 1960 Rome Olympics she became the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games, in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 meter relay. She had overcome a childhood marked by polio and other serious illnesses that left her wearing a leg brace for several years.
What did Wilma Rudolph do after her Olympic success?
She insisted on an integrated homecoming parade, then became a teacher and coach and founded a foundation for young athletes.
On returning to segregated Clarksville, Tennessee, she reportedly insisted that her homecoming parade be racially integrated, one of the first such integrated events in the city's history. She later became a teacher and coach and founded the Wilma Rudolph Foundation to support young athletes.
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In Era
Source Wilma Rudolph (Wikipedia)
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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.
Source Wikidata: Wilma Rudolph
Sources
1. Wilma Rudolph (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationInfobox: Born line
Born: June 23, 1940 in Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee, U.S.
Infobox: Died line
Her condition deteriorated rapidly, and Rudolph died on November 12, 1994, at her home in Brentwood, a suburb of Nashville, Tennessee; she was only 54 years old.
Lead sentence
Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23, 1940 - November 12, 1994) was an American sprinter who overcame polio as a child and went on to become a world-record-holding Olympic champion and international sports icon in track and field following her successes in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games.
Infobox: Full name line
Full name: Wilma Glodean Rudolph
International reception section, Italian nickname sentence
Rudolph was one of the most popular athletes of the 1960 Rome Olympics and emerged from the Olympic Games as "The Tornado, the fastest woman on earth." The Italians nicknamed her "La Gazzella Nera" ("The Black Gazelle").
Wilma Rudolph: Gender
Wilma Rudolph was an American sprinter who overcame a childhood marked by polio and other serious illnesses, which left her wearing a leg brace for several years, to become the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single Olympic Games, at the 1960 Rome Olympics, in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 4x100 meter relay.
- Wikipedia biography, role/occupation stated in lead section (w-bbfill-history3-0927)
In Era: The Contemporary Period, lead paragraph, lifespan
"Wilma Rudolph (1940-1994) and the TSU Tigerbelles".
View the Source Wikidata: Wilma Rudolph
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