Wilma Rudolph

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.