V I N TAG E C L A RK S VIL L E
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By Paige Eisemann
n the summer of 1940, a little girl was born in the St. Bethlehem community of Clarksville. This child suffered multiple major illnesses and was physically disabled through much of her early years, unable even to walk on her own. Fortunately, her strength and natural athletic abilities led her to overcome the health issues that plagued her youth and her hard work and talents led her to become one of the most decorated female athletes in American history. In honor of Women’s History Month it is fitting that we remember our local hero, “The fastest woman in the world”.
Nashville. At the historically black university hospital, Wilma received the treatments she needed over the course of severa; years. By age 8 she was able to move on her own using her leg brace. Eventually she was fitted with an orthopedic shoe for support, moving past the need for her leg braces. As her loving family took turns caring for her, they followed physician instructions such as providing at-home therapeutic massage to her weakened muscles as many as four times per day. By age twelve Wilma was able to walk unassisted without braces or orthopedic shoes helping to support her. Imagine having overcome the debilitating effects of polio at such a tender age!
Wilma Glodean Rudolph was born prematurely on June 23, 1940 as the 20th of 22 children of Ed and Blanche Rudolph. Being part of a large family was a blessing, as young Wilma suffered many illnesses in early life. Pneumonia, scarlet fever, and polio left her diagnosed with infantile paralysis by age 5. The use of her left leg and foot were lost due to the drastic muscle weakness caused by the poliovirus. Doctors fitted young Wilma with a leg brace and told her family that she would never walk again. Wilma’s mother however, insisted that her strong and brave daughter would indeed walk again. The love of a mother who has witnessed her young child overcome such terrible illnesses should never be doubted. Clarksville lacked medical resources in the 1940s, especially for African American residents, so Blanche and her daughter took weekly bus rides to Meharry Medical College in
Around the time that Wilma began to walk unassisted, Wilma expressed an interest in playing basketball. Following her sister Yvonne, she began playing basketball in eighth grade. As she grew, she became a starter for the Burt High School team and began running track after her coach C.C. Gray nicknamed her “Skeeter” (short for mosquito) because she was so fast. Wilma set a new record for high school basketball in her sophomore year, scoring 803 points! It was while playing basketball that Wilma was first spotted by Tennessee State University’s track and field coach, Ed Temple. Temple knew instantly that Wilma was a natural born athlete, even before he knew what she had overcome in childhood to have the ability to use her talents. 14 year old Wilma was invited by Temple to join his summer training program at TSU. She attended his collegiate track camp, and then
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Clarksville Living
competed at an Amateur Athletic Union track meet in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania where she won nine events. Wilma continued to train regularly at TSU while still a high school student under Temple’s guidance. Rudolph raced at amateur athletic events with the Tigerbelles (the TSU's women's track team) for two more years before enrolling at TSU as a student in 1958. In 1956 Wilma attended the U.S. Olympic track and field team trials in Seattle, Washington and qualified to compete in the 200-meter individual event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia despite still being in high school. Wilma was the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic team and was one of five TSU Tigerbelles to qualify for the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. She competed in the 1956 Olympic games and won a bronze medal in 4x100 relay. As a college sophomore, Wilma competed at the 1960 Olympic trials at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, where she set a world record in the 200-meter dash that stood for eight years. Wilma arrived in Rome prepared to win gold. She had committed herself to preparing and training for these games, and that commitment made history. She won three gold medals and broke at least three world records. Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at the same Olympic game. Her performance also earned her the title of “the fastest woman in the world”, cementing her as one of the greatest athletes of the 20th century.
