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Wilma Rudolph

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Inducted: 1999
Induction Class: Tom Landry (Football), Wilma Rudolph (Track & Field), Tony Gwynn (Baseball)
Sport: Olympic Games (Athletics)
Years Active: 1956-1962
Born: June 23, 1940
(Died: Nov. 12, 1994)
Birthplace: St. Bethlehem, Tennessee
Community Focus: Children & Youth, Sports & Recreation, Education
Foundation: Wilma Rudolph Foundation

Wilma Rudolph, the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during a single Olympic Games, was inducted into the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 1999, which included football great Tom Landry and baseball star Tony Gwynn.

Wilma Rudolph was the youngest of 20 children and was afflicted with Polio at a young age. She overcame her illness and was a was a star runner and basketball player in high school.  At the age of 16 she earned a spot on the U.S. Olympic track and field team. Rudolph returned from the 1956 Melbourne Games with a bronze medal in the women’s 4x100 meter relay. Four years later at the 1960 Games in Rome, Rudolph became the first woman from the United States to claim three gold medals in track and field in one Olympic outing. She took gold in the 100m, the 200m, and the 4x100m relay, setting world records in the 200 and 4x100. Rudolph retired from running in 1962 and went on to earn a Bachelor’s in education from Tennessee State University.

In 1967, Rudolph participated in the national program “Operation Champ,” which reached out, through athletics to underprivileged youth in a number of urban areas throughout the country. She then went on to create her own organization, which offered free coaching and academic assistance to underprivileged children Rudolph was diagnosed with brain cancer in July 1994, and died of the disease only four months later.