1940 biography rudolph wilma

African American athlete (1940–1994)

Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23, 1940 – November 12, 1994) was an American sprinter who overcame childhood polio 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 x 100-meter relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.^[3] 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.^[4][5][6]

With the worldwide television coverage of the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rudolph became an international star, along with other Olympic at