Rudolph, Wilma

Rudolph, Wilma (Glodean)

Wilma Rudolph, 1961.

(credit: AP)

(born June 23, 1940, St. Bethlehem, Tenn., U.S.—died Nov. 12, 1994, Brentwood, Tenn.) U.S. sprinter. She was a sickly child who wore an orthopedic shoe until she was 11. She matured into an excellent basketball player and sprinter in high school and at Tennessee State University. At the 1960 Olympics in Rome she won the 100-m and 200-m dashes and was a member of the winning 4 × 100-m relay team. She became the first American woman to win three track-and-field gold medals in a single Olympics.

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Rudolph, Wilma (Glodean) (1940–94) track athlete; born in Clarksville, Tenn. After wearing a leg brace as a child, she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics, with victories in the 100 meter dash, the 200 meter dash, and the 4 × 100 meter relay at the 1960 games.