How Wilma Rudolph survived polio and became the fastest woman in the world

Wilma Rudolph lived with disability and sickness from the very beginning. She’s born into this world way too early. There’s no treatment for babies two months premature. Most babies weighing four pounds at birth don’t make it, but she did. The odds are stacked against her. She’s the 20th of 22 children and her parents never made more than $2,500 annually. She’s born into the American south where she was both needed by white society, and not wanted by it. Neither of her parents completed elementary school and only her mother could read. Her parents were forced to pay their own way in life from childhood on, but they wanted something different for their kids.

Other posts in this series:

Disabled Women in History: Frida Kahlo and chronic pain

Disabled Women in History: Noor Inayat Khan WWII spy and Indian Princess

Disabled Women in History: 6 influential women who lived with chronic fatigue syndrome or ME

Wilma Rudolph and disability from polio

(1940-1994)

Wilma experienced constant illness as a child because of her prematurity. She survived double pneumonia, scarlet fever, measles, mumps, and whooping cough all before she was seven years old. The one that left its mark was polio.  It “crippled” her legs and stopped her from walking or running like the other children. At just five years old she put on a steel brace even though it felt like a reminder that something was wrong with her and she wasn’t like everyone else. She wanted to be like the other children, but she was bothered because of her “deformity.” The school wouldn’t allow her to come because she was too different. No one wanted to play with the girl who couldn’t walk. She pulled into herself and hid right in plain sight. 

There were no doctors available for Black children in Clarksville, TN so her mother took her to Nashville to a Black medical college. The bus was segregated and there was no consideration for a black child with a disability. Only a white child could find a seat, use a restroom, and grab something to eat at the train station. Wilma didn’t know anything different.  

The doctors said she needed to do water and heat therapy, as well as therapeutic massage to increase the use of the leg. They stuck her leg into blindingly hot water to relax the muscles. When they went home her family took turns massaging her legs four times a day. Eventually, she learned to walk again with a limp.

Wilma Rudolph living with a disability and moving on

Wilma started school in the 2nd grade with braces on her legs and fear of other children. She said,

All those years of being sick left a lot of scars on me mentally. Those years left me very insecure. I was a sensitive person to begin with, and you combine sensitivity with insecurity and you’ve got some case on your hands…I lived in mortal fear of being disliked.¹

She entered a southern school before Brown vs Board which meant that there were few resources available, especially for a disabled child. 

By the time she was 12, Wilma shed her leg braces and became interested in basketball. She didn’t know much about it, but the other girls looked like they were having fun, so she watched them. She tried out for the team and made it, though she spent the whole season on the bench studying the players and the game. Despite her inactivity, her coach gave her the nickname “skeeter” a slang word for mosquito because she buzzed around the gym like one. 

All those years of being sick left a lot of scars on me mentally. I was a sensitive person, to begin with, and you combine sensitivity with insecurity and you've got some case on your hands...I lived in mortal fear of being disliked. Click To Tweet

The sexism and racism Black women in sports had to deal with

At the end of the season, the coach decided to open up a track team. They had no meets but had “playdays” to mix teams and go against each other for fun. Competition was a masculine trait and was too inappropriate for women because of their delicacy. Society didn’t want women to be like men. No, women needed to play sports and be cute and feminine at the same time. Black women lived with extra pressure as the expectation was that they look nice and be nice as many considered them naturally more masculine than white women. 

In the 1950s competition was too much of a masculine trait so it was declared inappropriate for women. Athletics for health's sake were allowed, but women's systems were too delicate for more than that. Click To Tweet

During Wilma’s sophomore year, the basketball referee was the track coach at Tennessee State College. He challenged her and encouraged her to attend his summer program. Her first summer her success was middling, but the second summer in 1956 she went to the AAU National Championships where she won every race she competed in.

Wilma Rudolph running in the 1956 Olympics

After the AAU championships, Wilma’s coach suggested she try for the 1956 Olympics. She didn’t know what the Olympics were, but she was on board. She won the 200 meters in qualification and headed to the Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. She couldn’t afford to go on her own, so people got together to provide her with luggage and clothes.

The 1956 Olympics happened during the Cold War giving Wilma a unique opportunity for participation. This was only the Soviet Union’s second Olympics, though they dominated the Americans in the first. Sports in the Soviet Union were extremely intense because they believed that sports victories reflected the success of Communism. This lead to Soviet women not having the same barriers as Americans. They had state support and never worried about finances. Americans on the other hand were true amateurs, and so America was desperate to temporarily overlook racist ideas and welcome black women to the field. Into the 1960’s Black athletes were essential to the improvement of the United States’s international track performance.

Sadly, Wilma missed making the final for the 200 meters but did help the American relay team to earn a bronze medal. Afterward, she went back to high school where she started her basketball season. No one wanted to race against her because they knew she’d beat them.

In the 1956 Olympics, America was desperate to beat the Soviets and became willing to temporarily overlook its racist ideas to welcome Black athletes to track and field Click To Tweet

Wilma Rudolph survives polio and disability to become the fastest woman in the world- 1960 Olympics

At the 1960 Olympics Wilma officially became the “fastest woman in the world” when she became the first American woman to win three gold medals in one Olympics. Afterward, the first-ever integrated event in Clarksville, TN occurred because Wilma refused to attend a segregated parade in her honor.

Wilma Rudolph’s influence and example

To me, Wilma is not inspiring because she “beat polio” like many of the headlines tout using inspiration porn. She’s inspiring because she struggled in 1,000 different ways and ran into 1,000 different hurdles, but she never quit. According the the Bleacher Report:

While inspiring and impressive, Wilma Rudolph’s story isn’t one about a singular, courageous person.  Hers is a story about family and community—a story about how all of us need help along the way to whatever our destiny may be.

Wilma Rudolph had the strength of her mother to rely on along with the care, will and reinforcement from her 21 brothers and sisters.  She also inspired a broken town of separated people who were willing to come together to celebrate her success as one proud group.

Wilma Rudolph made a huge impact on society–for African Americans, for women and for all people who have hurdles to clear.  It’s been 52 years since her last Olympic gold medal but, despite the time that’s elapsed, her story of courage, will, love and family will live on forever.²

Wilma Rudolph made a huge impact on society–for African Americans, for women and for all people who have hurdles in their lives. Her story of courage, will, love, and family will live on forever. Click To Tweet

Wilma inspired generations of athletes, but especially Black women. Anita DeFrantz, another Olympic Medalist, said of Wilma:

There she was, with the whole world focused on her. And wasn’t it wonderful. Here was someone who looked like me, and she’d done something that everybody celebrated.³

In her honor, the Women’s Sports Foundation now presents the “Wilma Rudolph Courage Award” to female athletes who are courageous in overcoming adversity.

 

Suggested reading (affiliate links)

 

 

 

 

Sources

1. Smith, M. M. (2006). Wilma Rudolph: a biography. Greenwood Press.
2. Thompson, S. (2017, October 3). Wilma Rudolph: an American Hero’s Lasting Example of Triumph Under Pressure. Bleacher Report. https://bleacherreport.com/articles/1184813-american-hero-wilma-rudolph-a-lasting-example-of-triumph-under-pressure.
3. Los Angeles Times. (1994, November 20). ‘My She-ro’: Wilma Rudolph : Track and field: The 20th of 22 children, she survived childhood illnesses and went on to become the first female to win three Gold medals at one Olympics. Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-11-20-sp-64970-story.html.