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Wilma Rudolph was an American athlete who overcame childhood polio to become an Olympic champion in track and field during the 1960s. Her athletic achievements and dignified public presence made her an important figure in breaking down racial barriers in sports during the Civil Rights era.
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Person · Open Library
- Born
- 1940
- Died
- 1994-11-12
- Works
- 2
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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. Rudolph competed in the 200-meter dash and won a bronze medal in the 4 × 100-meter relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics at Melbourne, Australia. She also won three gold medals, in the 100- and 200-meter individual events and the 4 × 100-meter relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. Rudolph was acclaimed as the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s; she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games.
With the worldwide television coverage of the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rudolph became an international star, along with other Olympic athletes such as Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali), Oscar Robertson, and Rafer Johnson.
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1940 births1994 deaths20th-century African-American sportswomen20th-century American sportswomenAfrican-American track and field athletesAmerican women sprintersAthletes (track and field) at the 1956 Summer OlympicsAthletes (track and field) at the 1959 Pan American GamesAthletes (track and field) at the 1960 Summer OlympicsDeaths from brain cancer in TennesseeIMDb title ID different from Wikidata