WILMA RUDOLPH SHORT NOTE

                                   WILMA RUDOLPH

When Wilma Rudolph was four years old, she had a disease called polio owning to which she was unable to walk. To make matters worse, her family was poor and could not afford good medical care.

Even through the doctors had said that Wilma would not be able to walk, her mother decided she would do everything she could to help Wilma to walk again. She took her every week on a long bus trip to a hospital to receive therapy and she would massage Wilma’s legs. By the time she was eight, Wilma could walk. She first walked with a leg brace and after that, she used a high-topped shoe to support her foot. She played basketball with her brothers every day. After three years, she didn’t even have to use the special shoe.

Then Wilma began running. She ran so well that during her senior year in high school, she qualified for the Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. She won a bronze medal in the women’s 400-metre relay. At the Olympics in Rome, she won two gold medals: one for the 100-metre race and one for 200-metre race. Then she sprained her ankle, but she ignored the pain and helped her team to win another gold medal for the 400-metre relay!

Wilma started the Wilma Rudolph foundation to help children learn about discipline and hard work. Even though she is no longer alive, her influence still lives on in the lives of many young people who look up to her.

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