Wilma Unlimited How Wilma Rudolph Became the World’s Fastest Woman By Kathleen Krull These notes focus only on the main idea and relevant details. Be aware that meaningful passages and/or thoughts and opinions are discussed in class but may not appear in these notes. Add your own meaningful passages and opinions as you read.

0 Wilma Rudolph was born in 1940, in Clarksville, Tennessee 0 She was the 20 th child of the family 0 “Doctors were a luxury… would treat black people.” (pg. 116) 0 At age 5, Wilma got scarlet fever and polio 0 Her leg turned inwards 0 She never let her leg slow her down 0 She would hop on one leg to get around 0 She would always do her leg exercises even when in hurt 0 All she wanted to do was be able to walk so she could go to school with everyone else 0 She was only 4 pounds at birth 0 She was always very sickly as a child 0 Her family was most likely poor and racial segregation was still an issue at that time 0 Doctors said she would be permanently crippled 0 She eventually worked so hard that the doctors put a metal brace on her leg which allowed her to go to school

0 At school, she was teased for the brace 0 She would watch the other kids play games like basketball 0 On a Sunday in Church, she took off her brace and walked down the aisle 0 At 12 she was able to take the brace off for good 0 In high school, Wilma led her team to the state championship 0 They lost 0 She made the Olympics in 1960 in Rome 0 She was not expected to win anything 0 She won gold medals in the 100 meter dash, 200 meter dash, and 400 meter relay 0 She was the anchor (4 th ) leg 0 She was sad because school was not what she thought it would be 0 She combated this sadness by doing more exercises 0 Her mother and she mailed the brace back to the hospital 0 At the title game a track coach from Tennessee State University saw her and offered her a scholarship to run at the school 0 Other runners had already run faster than her 0 She injured her ankle after arriving in Rome