“I had a series of childhood illnesses... scarlet fever... pneumonia... Polio. I walked with braces until I was at least nine years old. My life wasn't like the average person who grew up and decided to enter the world of sports.”
- Wilma Rudolph
Wilma seemed highly unlikely to live, much less become an athlete. Born prematurely weighing 4.5 pounds with an underdeveloped immune system, she contracted polio along with other life-threatening illnesses but survived with leg braces. Nevertheless, she beat the odds, rising above and beyond her disability.
[Boston Children's Hospital Archive, 1952]
[NPR]
"By the 1950s, polio had become one of the most serious communicable diseases among children in the United States. In 1952 alone, nearly 60,000 children were infected with the virus; thousands were paralyzed, and more than 3,000 died. Hospitals set up special units with iron lung machines to keep polio victims alive."
- "Wiping Out Polio: How The U.S. Snuffed Out A Killer", National Public Radio,
“My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces.”
- Wilma Rudolph
“I spent most of my time trying to figure out how to get them off. But when you come from a large, wonderful family, there's always a way to achieve your goals.”
- Wilma Rudolph
"The triumph can't be had without the struggle."
-Wilma Rudolph