Wilma Glodean Rudolph was born June 23, 1940, in Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee. She was the 20th out of 22 children. As a child, Rudolph suffered chicken pox, measles, scarlet fever, whooping cough and polio. The doctors at the time said that she will never be able to walk again because of the polio. She wore leg braces from ages six until ten due to the polio. Little did anyone know that Rudolph would eventually become one of the sprinters on the American Olympic Team, and be called “the fastest woman in the world.”

At first, Rudolph was not on a track and field team, but on a basketball team. When Rudolph was in high school, she was nominated All-American in basketball. After being nominated and finishing the basketball season, she was approached by a collegiate track and field coach. After some consideration, Rudolph left the basketball court and turned to track and field. She was competing in track and field at the collegiate level while still in high school. After competing at the collegiate level, she trained for the Olympic games. She won the Bronze medal in the 4×100 relay in the 1956 Olympic games. That was the beginning of a long Olympic career for Rudolph.

At the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy, Rudolph won three gold medals, and the year after that, she won the James E. Sullivan Award. She was received by President John F. Kennedy.

In 1962 Rudolph retired from track and field and completed goodwill tours abroad before returning to Clarksville.

In July of 1994, Rudolph was diagnosed with brain and throat cancer. In 1994, she also won the National Women’s Hall of Fame award and was awarded several medals and honors. The first award she received was a degree in education. In 1961, she received the Female of the Year award. In 1991, she became the first woman to receive the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Silver Anniversary Award.