Three Olympic gold medals. A new track and field world record. The title of most famous female athlete in the history of the Olympic games. All of these accomplishments are absolutely amazing considering that doctors thought Wilma Rudolph would never walk - let alone RUN - when she was a child!
" 'I can't' are two words that have never been in my vocabulary." - Wilma Rudolph
The odds had always been stacked against her. Wilma was barely 5 lbs. when she was born into the Rudolph family the 20th of 22 children. At age 4 she contracted polio, crippling her leg so badly she had to wear a leg brace. Plus she lived during the days of segregation where blacks were forced to separate and unequal living. Yet Wilma Rudolph overcame all of these obstacles to compete in the 1956 Olympic games in Melbourne, Australia, where she won a bronze medal and the 1960 Olympic games in Rome, where she won the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and the 400-meter relay in a dramatic photo-finish.
Like Jesse Owens and Jackie Robinson (see links below), Wilma Rudolph inspired people of all ages until her death on Nov. 12, 1994. Reading this graphic novel biography should inspire readers of all ages to reach for their dreams as Rudolph once did.