Wilma Rudolph - BlackFacts.com Showcase of Inspiring Black Women

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Wilma Rudolph was an American sprinter, who became a world-record-holding Olympic champion and international icon in track and field.

Rudolph was born prematurely at 4.5 pounds (2.0 kg) on June 23, 1940, in Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee.

She was able to overcome several early childhood illnesses, including pneumonia, scarlet fever and polio. She enrolled at Tennessee State University in Nashville in 1958.

She won a bronze medal at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. She also won three gold medals, at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy.

Rudolph was known as the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s and became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympic Games.

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