There are times in life when our outlook is bleak, and to many that time is now, but if we look around us there are always others doing it tougher and there are always inspirational figures.
To hopefully try and inspire many who feel down at the moment let us look at one of the great athletes of the last century who certainly overcame more than her fair share of obstacles.
Wilma Rudolph was born in Saint Bethleham, Tennessee in 1940; the writer shares her birthday. She was the 20th child of 22 siblings from her father’s two marriages. She was premature and weighed 4.5lbs or 2kg.
Despite being born early and small she was a fighter, as her early childhood proved. She suffered pneumonia and scarlet fever, before she was five years old Deaths from scarlet fever were commonplace at the start of the last century before a vaccine was found; Although since 2014 cases have started to come back in Europe and Asia. Those who have read Louisa May Alcott’s “Little Women” will recall the tragic death of Beth March, who succumbed to scarlet fever.
If that wasn’t enough Rudolph also contracted infantile paralysis. This was caused by the Polio virus. She made a full recovery from Polio but her left leg and foot were affected. She lacked strength in both. For much of her early life she wore a leg brace.
Being born African American in Tennessee in the 1940’s there was little or no medical health care available. Her parents however sought help.
In what was a crucial decision, her parents took her to Nashville, a 50 mile or 80km journey to see doctors at the black Meharry Medical College in the hope that they could find a way to strengthen her leg and ankle. Following that initial visit she and her mother travelled by bus on a weekly basis for treatment. In addition, at home members of her family would take it in turns to massage her leg and ankle. By the age of twelve she was no longer wearing the brace.
Due to her early illnesses she was unable to attend school until she was seven years old. When she did start her schooling she showed a real talent for basketball and athletics. She went on to attend Tennessee State University on a work study scholarship, where she had to work two days a week on campus. That may not sound too bad, but having fallen pregnant in her last year at high school, she was a mother by the time she started at University. She still earned a Bachelors degree in education.
Prior to that at the age of 16 she had attended the 1956 U.S. Olympic track and field team trials in Seattle, and ran a time in the 200m that saw her qualify for the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. She was the youngest athlete on the US Team. It was not to be the fairy-tale story everyone hoped as she was eliminated in the heats. She did however win bronze as part of the 4 X 100m relay team, after Australia and Betty Cuthbert claimed Gold.
Four years on in Rome it was a completely different story. She was entered in three events, the 100m, the 200m and the 4 X 100m relay. She won three Gold medals. This made her the first American woman to win three Gold medals at one Olympic Games. She was also the first American woman to win the 100m since Helen Stephens in the historic and controversial Games of 1936.
With the Rome Olympic Games being televised Rudolph became a star, but there were not the financial rewards that came with success in that era. On her return to the USA she continued to compete, and the crowds flocked to see her race. She travelled to Africa as a goodwill ambassador for the US State Department, and on her return took part in civil rights protests in her home town to desegregate restaurants. The protest was successful.
She retired prior to the Tokyo Olympics, which stunned many. She said she wanted to go out at the top, and was famously quoted as saying, “If I won two gold medals, there would be something lacking. I’ll stick with the glory I’ve already won like Jesse Owens did in 1936.”
She then worked in education, teaching initially at the school that she had attended. She also worked for nonprofit organizations and government-sponsored projects that supported the athletic development of children. In 1984 she worked as a commentator for the ABC at the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Sadly she was not to enjoy old age. In 1994 she was diagnosed with brain and throat cancer. She passed away at the age of 54.
Many today remember the feats of Flo-jo, Florence Griffith-Joyner and the later disgraced Marian Jones in the sprints at the Olympic Games, but if ever you wanted true inspiration it is hard to go past Wilma Rudolph.
It is not surprising that in 1994 The Women’s Sports Foundation based in the United States named an award after her. The award, which is presented annually is given to “a female athlete who exhibits extraordinary courage in her athletic performance, demonstrates the ability to overcome adversity, makes significant contributions to sports, and serves as an inspiration and role model to those who face challenges, overcomes them, and strives for success at all levels.”
There are many truly inspirational sporting women who have won this award, many who most sports fans would not know. But these are women who have overcome tough times to rise to the top and have remembered that journey and given back to the next generation.
These may appear to be tough times, but we can all find inspiration from people from all walks of life to get through them. Hopefully the sharing albeit in brief of the life of Wilma Rudolph, who grew up in a segregated world and overcame that, with a disability and overcame that, is an inspiration to some.
