WILMA RUDOLPH
Name: Wilma Rudolph
Born: 23 June 1940
Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23, 1940 - November 12, 1994) was an American
athlete, and in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, she became the first
American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single
Olympic Games, despite running on a sprained ankle.
The powerful sprinter emerged from the 1960 Rome Olympics as "The Tennessee
Tornado," the fastest woman on earth. The Italians nicknamed her "La Gazzella
Nera" (the Black Gazelle); to the French she was "La Perle Noire" (The Black
Pearl).
Wilma Rudolph was born in St. Bethlehem, a part of Clarksville, Tennessee,
twentieth of twenty-two children of Ed and Blanche Rudolph. At an early age it
was discovered that she had polio. In 1947 her mother took her to Nashville's
Meharry Medical College, a hospital for blacks 50 miles from their home, twice a
week. Because of the expense and difficulty of obtaining professional medical
care, Wilma's mother usually treated her ailing child at home. Rudolph
remembered that during her youth, "my mother used to have all these home
remedies she would make herself, and I lived on them". Many nights her mother,
herself tired after a long day's work, would sit on Wilma's bed and massage her
daughter's leg well into the evening hours. Blanche Rudolph kept telling her
polio-stricken daughter she would one day walk without braces.
In 1952, 12-year old Wilma Rudolph finally achieved her dream of shedding her
handicap and becoming like other children. Wilma's older sister was on a
basketball team, and Wilma vowed to follow in her footsteps. While in high
school Wilma was on the basketball team, when she was spotted by Tennessee State
track and field coach Edward S. Temple. Being discovered by Temple was a major
break for a young athlete. The day he saw the tenth grader Wilma Rudolph for the
first time, he knew he had found a natural athlete. Wilma had already gained
some track experience on Burt High School's track team two years before, mostly
as a way to keep busy between basketball seasons.
While attending Burt High School, Rudolph became a basketball star, setting
state records for scoring and leading her team to the state championship. By the
time she was 16, she earned a berth on the U.S. Olympic track and field team and
came home from the 1956 Melbourne Games with an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 x
100-meter relay.
At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome she won three Olympic titles; the 100 m, 200
m and the 4 x 100 m relay. The temperature climbed toward 100 degrees, 80,000
spectators jammed the Stadio Olimpico. Rudolph ran the 100-meter dash in an
impressive 11 seconds flat. She also won the 200-meter dash in 23.2 seconds, a
new Olympic record. After these twin triumphs, she was being hailed throughout
the world as "the fastest woman in history." Finally, on September 11, 1960, she
combined with Tennessee State teammates Martha Hudson, Lucinda Williams and
Barbara Jones to win the 400-meter relay in 44.5 seconds, setting a world record.
Rudolph had a special, personal reason to hope for victory--to pay tribute to
Jesse Owens, the celebrated American athlete who had been her inspiration, also
the star of the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin, Germany.
Rudolph retired from track competition in 1962 after winning two races at a U.S.-Soviet
meet. In 1963, Rudolph was granted a full scholarship to Tennessee State
University where she ultimately received her bachelor's degree in elementary
education. After her athletic career, Rudolph worked as a teacher at Cobb
Elementary School, coaching track at Burt High School, and as a sports
commentator on national television.
Wilma married her high school sweetheart Robert Eldridge in 1963, and had four
children: Yolanda (b. 1958), Djuanna (b. 1964), Robert Jr. (b. 1965) and Xurry (b.
1971). Wilma and Eldridge later divorced. In 1977, she published her
autobiography, Wilma: The Story of Wilma Rudolph.
In July of 1994, shortly after her mother’s death, Wilma Rudolph was diagnosed
with brain and throat cancer. On November 12, 1994, Wilma Rudolph age 54, died
in her home in Brentwood, Tennessee of brain cancer. At the time of her death,
she had four children, eight grandchildren, and over 100 nieces and nephews.
Thousands of mourners filled Tennessee State University's Kean Hall on November
17, 1994 for the memorial service in her honor. Others attended the funeral at
Clarksville's First Baptist Church. Across Tennessee, the state flag flew at
half-mast. Nine months after Wilma's death, Tennessee State University, on
August 11, 1995, dedicated its new six-story dormitory the Wilma G. Rudolph
Residence Center. A black marble marker was placed on her grave in Clarksville's
Foster Memorial Garden Cemetery by the Wilma Rudolph Memorial Commission on
November 21, 1995.
Name: Wilma Rudolph
Born: 23 June 1940
Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23, 1940 - November 12, 1994) was an American
athlete, and in the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, she became the first
American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single
Olympic Games, despite running on a sprained ankle.
The powerful sprinter emerged from the 1960 Rome Olympics as "The Tennessee
Tornado," the fastest woman on earth. The Italians nicknamed her "La Gazzella
Nera" (the Black Gazelle); to the French she was "La Perle Noire" (The Black
Pearl).
Wilma Rudolph was born in St. Bethlehem, a part of Clarksville, Tennessee,
twentieth of twenty-two children of Ed and Blanche Rudolph. At an early age it
was discovered that she had polio. In 1947 her mother took her to Nashville's
Meharry Medical College, a hospital for blacks 50 miles from their home, twice a
week. Because of the expense and difficulty of obtaining professional medical
care, Wilma's mother usually treated her ailing child at home. Rudolph
remembered that during her youth, "my mother used to have all these home
remedies she would make herself, and I lived on them". Many nights her mother,
herself tired after a long day's work, would sit on Wilma's bed and massage her
daughter's leg well into the evening hours. Blanche Rudolph kept telling her
polio-stricken daughter she would one day walk without braces.
In 1952, 12-year old Wilma Rudolph finally achieved her dream of shedding her
handicap and becoming like other children. Wilma's older sister was on a
basketball team, and Wilma vowed to follow in her footsteps. While in high
school Wilma was on the basketball team, when she was spotted by Tennessee State
track and field coach Edward S. Temple. Being discovered by Temple was a major
break for a young athlete. The day he saw the tenth grader Wilma Rudolph for the
first time, he knew he had found a natural athlete. Wilma had already gained
some track experience on Burt High School's track team two years before, mostly
as a way to keep busy between basketball seasons.
While attending Burt High School, Rudolph became a basketball star, setting
state records for scoring and leading her team to the state championship. By the
time she was 16, she earned a berth on the U.S. Olympic track and field team and
came home from the 1956 Melbourne Games with an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 x
100-meter relay.
At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome she won three Olympic titles; the 100 m, 200
m and the 4 x 100 m relay. The temperature climbed toward 100 degrees, 80,000
spectators jammed the Stadio Olimpico. Rudolph ran the 100-meter dash in an
impressive 11 seconds flat. She also won the 200-meter dash in 23.2 seconds, a
new Olympic record. After these twin triumphs, she was being hailed throughout
the world as "the fastest woman in history." Finally, on September 11, 1960, she
combined with Tennessee State teammates Martha Hudson, Lucinda Williams and
Barbara Jones to win the 400-meter relay in 44.5 seconds, setting a world record.
Rudolph had a special, personal reason to hope for victory--to pay tribute to
Jesse Owens, the celebrated American athlete who had been her inspiration, also
the star of the 1936 Summer Olympics, held in Berlin, Germany.
Rudolph retired from track competition in 1962 after winning two races at a U.S.-Soviet
meet. In 1963, Rudolph was granted a full scholarship to Tennessee State
University where she ultimately received her bachelor's degree in elementary
education. After her athletic career, Rudolph worked as a teacher at Cobb
Elementary School, coaching track at Burt High School, and as a sports
commentator on national television.
Wilma married her high school sweetheart Robert Eldridge in 1963, and had four
children: Yolanda (b. 1958), Djuanna (b. 1964), Robert Jr. (b. 1965) and Xurry (b.
1971). Wilma and Eldridge later divorced. In 1977, she published her
autobiography, Wilma: The Story of Wilma Rudolph.
In July of 1994, shortly after her mother’s death, Wilma Rudolph was diagnosed
with brain and throat cancer. On November 12, 1994, Wilma Rudolph age 54, died
in her home in Brentwood, Tennessee of brain cancer. At the time of her death,
she had four children, eight grandchildren, and over 100 nieces and nephews.
Thousands of mourners filled Tennessee State University's Kean Hall on November
17, 1994 for the memorial service in her honor. Others attended the funeral at
Clarksville's First Baptist Church. Across Tennessee, the state flag flew at
half-mast. Nine months after Wilma's death, Tennessee State University, on
August 11, 1995, dedicated its new six-story dormitory the Wilma G. Rudolph
Residence Center. A black marble marker was placed on her grave in Clarksville's
Foster Memorial Garden Cemetery by the Wilma Rudolph Memorial Commission on
November 21, 1995.