One Small Step...Wilma Rudolph
By Shaundra Randolph
I was born June 23, 1940, the twentieth child out of twenty-two, and I was two months premature--I only weighed about 41/2 pounds when I was born. When I was little I was always sick, and our being poor didn't help things. We didn't have electricity; our bathroom was an outhouse in the backyard. Mom had to make our clothes out of old flour sacks. Life was tough, and we may not have had much money, but we had everything else--especially love.
But like I was saying, I was always sick when I was little; I couldn't go to school until the second grade. I suffered from whooping cough, double pneumonia, and scarlet fever at one point or another during my early childhood. Even simple colds took weeks for me to get over--I didn't have the strength to fight them off. The worse illness to strike was polio. I got it when I was very young, and it left me with a crooked left foot and leg. I became angry; I was tired of illness, and I was not going to let it get the best of me. I think that's where I got my determination and competitive spirit.
At age five, I started wearing a heavy steel brace that went from above my knee down to these clunky brown shoes I was forced to wear. I hated the brace and shoes, but I needed them to get better. Yet even with the brace, it looked as if I would never have full use of my left leg. My mom became concerned and began taking me to a clinic in Nashville, about 45 minutes away from Clarksville where we lived. There I went through four hours of treatment: whirlpools, massages, doctors lifting and twisting my leg to test it. When I got home, my family would pick up where the doctors left off, taking turns massaging my leg. Though no one complained, I knew my disability made things hard on my family. On my own, I began practicing walking without my brace. I taught myself to walk without a limp; I knew it would make my mom happy to see that the hard work was paying off.
Finally, my day arrived. I awoke that Sunday with my heart pounding in my ears; I had worked so hard for this moment! We went to church just like we always did...except this time, I left the brace behind. I had never gone out in public without it, and when I walked down the aisle I could hear everyone whispering,"Look! Look at Wilma walk!". I felt absolutely marvelous, like I was floating on air. Everyone was so delighted. That was one of the most important days of my entire life. It wasn't the end of the ugly old brace--I didn't get completely rid of it until I was 12. But it was the beginning of the end. And it was wonderful.
Wilma Rudolph went on to become an outstanding athlete in both basketball and track, making it to the 1956 Olympic semifinals in Australia at the age of 16. Although she did not make the finals for the 200 meters, she finished third in the 440-yard relay, earning a bronze medal. In the 1960 Olympics, she competed in three events: the 100- meter dash, the 200-meter race, and the 4 x 100-meter relay in which her final sprint gave her team the world-record time of 44.5 seconds. She became the first American woman in Olympic history to capture three gold medals.
Outline Wilma Rudolph
I. Background Information
A. Born June 23, 1940
B. Twentieth child of twenty-two
C. They were very poor
- no electricity
- clothes made of flour sacks
D. They did have love
II. Sickness
A. Didn't start school until second grade.
B. Whooping cough, double pneumonia, scarlet fever
C. The worse was polio--crippled her left leg and foot
D. Learned determination
III. Therapy
A. Had to wear a brace at age five
B. Looked as though left leg would be useless
C. Started going to clinic in Nashville
- 45 minutes away
- 4 hours of therapy
D. Family would take turns on her leg
E. Taught herself to walk without a limp
IV. First Appearance
- Went to church without the brace
- The beginning of the end
V. Closing Paragraph
Prop Ideas:
Heavy leg brace
Olympic-looking medal
Pair of track shoes
Extension:
Have students research the life of other African-American athletes that have made history. They can present their information as a story, role-play, radio drama, etc. Can include a poster collage of pictures to place on a bulletin board.
Sources:
Coffey, Wayne R. Wilma Rudolph. Connecticut: Blackbirch Press, 1993.
Duden, Jane. The Olympics. New York: Crestwood House, 1991.
Sandelson, Robert. Track Athletics. New York: Crestwood House, 1991.