WILMA+RUDOLPH

media type="youtube" key="FxWCZiNj5rM" height="344" width="425". 20th Century Project Wilma Rudolph By Donny Today we are going to answer this question. How is America influenced today by Wilma Rudolph?

Well, America today is influenced by Wilma Rudolph because she overcame a paralyzing disease and never gave up. In her childhood she had polio, which paralyzed her leg and after many ears of therapy she was able to walk with a leg brace. Then, one day at church she felt especially good and took off her brace. She was able to walk but she had a limp. But years latter she made the Olympic track team and won three gold metals. That’s the way she influenced America by telling disabled people to never give up. Now this is her story.

When Wilma was born she was two months early and as she got older she got sick a lot. One illness left one of her legs paralyzed. This illness is called polio. Wilma’s mom took her 50 miles two times a week to go to therapy. One day after many years when she went to therapy the doctor said that she was ready to wear a brace. Wilma was very happy because every day when her twenty-one sisters and brothers went to school, she has to sit there and watch. But now she was able to go to school for the first time. But she was still not able to participate in recess or gym. One day at church she felt very strong, so she decided to take off her brace and walk down the aisle. Everybody was looking at her. Later on in life her high school basketball coach asked if she would like to join the Tiger Belles, which are the Tennessee State University’s track team. Her coach wanted her on it because she was the fastest on the court. After the Tiger Belles she was drafted into the Olympics in 1956 where she only won bronze. Then in the 1960 Rome Olympics she won three gold medals. After the Olympics she got maired and had two kids. She received the Babe Didrikson Award for the most outstanding woman athlete. Years latter she died of a brain tumor at the age of 48, however she lived a high-quality life and inspired thousands.

Works Cited __ESPN: The Worldwide Leader In Sports__. 19 May 2009 . Krull, Kathleen. __Lives of the athletes thrills, spills (and what the neighbors thought)__. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1997. Krull, Kathleen. __Wilma unlimited how Wilma Rudolph became the world's fastest woman__. San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1996. Sherrow, Victoria. __Wilma Rudolph__. Minneapolis: Carolrhoda Books, 2000.