Today we learned about Wilma Rudolph, US Gold and Bronze medalist who came from Clarksville, Tennessee. She was the 20th of 22 children born and she was stricken with scarlet fever and polio so she wore a brace on her left leg until she was 11. She wanted to be a basketball player and while she was on the team she was never allowed to play. The coach created a running camp to get the basketball team more in shape and that is where Wilma found out she could run, she could run really fast. She found herself !
She was on the US Track team and won a bronze medal at the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
In 1960 she returned to the Olympics in Rome, Italy and she won 3 Gold Medals there.
She returned from Italy and refused to attend the welcoming ceremony if it was segregated. It was the first desegregated parade and banquet in Clarksvilles history. Retired from running, Wilma went back to school and got an Educational degree. She had a successful business career and she also was a national spokesperson for various consumer products.
Clarksville has honored Wilma with a historical marker on Wilma Rudolph Blvd, a street named for her.....
and a bronze statue of Wilma can be found on Cumberland River.
In November of 1994, at the age of 54, Wilma died from brain cancer. She is buried in Clarksville.
We really enjoyed learning about Wilma today....she has a huge presence in this town and rightly so. xxoo TML
