From Polio to Three Gold Medals – Wilma Rudolph
“My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.” Wilma Rudolph.
Wilma Rudolph had three strikes against her when she was four – double-pneumonia, scarlet fever, and polio.
Everyday her brothers and sisters took turns massaging her crippled leg. Her mother took her to therapy once a week at a Nashville hospital.
1940 to 1956:
Born prematurely on June 23, 1940 in St. Bethlehem, Tennessee, she weighed 4 1/2 pounds. She was a sickly child who spent most of her time in bed.
At age 6 Wilma was fitted with a metal leg brace for her left leg.
At 9 she took off her leg brace.
At 16 she won an Olympic bronze medal in the 4x100m relay. (Melbourne – 1956)
At 20, Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to ever win three Olympic medals in one Olympics – gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay. In the process, she broke three world records.
Courage:
“When she returned from Rome, Tennessee Gov. Buford Ellington, who was elected as “an old-fashioned segregationist,” planned to head her welcome home celebration. Rudolph said she would not attend a segregated event.
Rudolph’s parade and banquet were the first integrated events in her hometown of Clarksville.” (ESPN)
Wilma Rudolph quotes:
“I don’t know why I run so fast. I just run.”
“I remind them the triumph can’t be had without the struggle.” (To young people)
“No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you.”
“Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.”
What keeps you going?
More about Wilma Rudolph: Olympic
Image source: New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wilma_Rudolph.jpg
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Thank you for an inspiring post on this dark, cold winter morning. What I took away is: What you believe about yourself is more important than what others say about you.
Thanks Duane. Great take away. It’s overcast and dreary here in Central Pennsylvania.
Absolutely inspiring. Overcoming adversity is a huge life lesson. We also need to remember, a doctors advice and diagnosis are considered a “medical opinion” for a reason… They may indeed be based on years or experience and extensive study but will-power and faith are undeniable (even if they can’t be easily quantified).
Thanks David. Sometimes when a Doctor says to stop doing something, you better listen. 🙂
What an inspiring story. If we think we can, we can.
Thanks Crystal. But of course, thinking we can is not enough. We have to have siblings who massage our legs and we have to spend hours a day exercising. But, I know you know that.
Needed this this morning. Thank you for today’s blog and all of your thought-provoking messages. Reading your blog is always a highlight of my mornings.
So glad to be helpful. Thanks Stephanie.
Wilma believed her mother’s assessment more than the doctors’ predictions. Her mother knew Wilma’s emotional side much better than the doctors did.
Sometimes the hard analytical facts say one thing —and the emotional spirit and conviction tell a different story. Hard work and great determination often lead to much different outcomes.
Thank God Wilma believed her mother.
Mitch,
True but he had a desire to believe he could!
He had to believe he could or give up, he chose to fight!
Thanks Paul. You added two key ingredients. Hard work and great determination.
Christopher Reeve believed he would walk again until the day he died. Never took a single step.
Thanks Mitch. True story. We have to decide if the journey is worth the effort, even if the outcome is less than we hoped.
Such a wonderful story — well worth repeating and sharing. Thanks Dan!
Thanks Mary Ellen.
Thank you, Dan for this wonderful inspiration. My mother contracted polio when she was 5 (1919). She had bulbar, the most serious, and should have been confined to an iron lung. She wore braces, used crutches all her life, had experimental surgeries that dislocated one hip, and was a dynamo. She would sit on the living room floor at our home and pull the furniture around to reorganize it. She even learned to drive with special hand controls. Kept a spotless home, was a great cook and had a joyful outlook. She will always be my inspiration.
Thanks Carole. That’s powerful. One thing that challenges me is the joyful outlook of some people while they are facing adversity. In some ways, joy makes all the difference. Two people can face similar situations. One gives up. The other presses forward. Attitude is the difference.
Dan–thank you for telling us the inspiring Wilma Rudolph story–and especially how it and “story-telling” relates to effective leadership. While Wilma Rudolph is a beautiful and powerful example of how a person and people around her can overcome and triumph over challenges and adversity–there’s thousands of these success stories that can be shared with staff members. Story-telling is a great asset of leaders.
Thanks Rick. Every time we face adversity and press forward we’re writing a chapter in our story that helps others.
Having been a quadriplegic at an early age of 21 after breaking my neck in an MVA, my momma told me I could do anything I set my mind to. Against the Dr’s opinions she worked my limbs nightly for over a week, one day I moved my leg and now 30 years later I am living a normal life..so grateful for my mommas determination
That’s incredible Leah. Thanks for sharing and congratulations.
Thank you so much for sharing this blog. I really needed to hear this story. I think this ties into leadership in many way because not all leaders were handed a silver spoon. Many leaders had struggle and many people are still struggling for their dreams. This reminds me to push and that failure is okay. It’s how we get back on our feet and move forward. Thanks again!
Thanks Sterling. It looks like you are one of Jim’s students. Best wishes in your studies.
You remind me that getting up again is the path to success. It might not be the path to where we hoped to go, but it’s still the path to success. Keep getting up.
Hi Dan,
Reading this on a Monday night in Sydney. A bit teary from the story. The human heart is indominable and the capacity we all pocess is incredible- As educators we need to inspire all to let it loose.
Thanks Wayne. Have a great week. It’s a good thing if we stop sucking the life out of people…and help them rise instead.