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Born June 23, 1940, in Clarksville, TN
Died November 12, 1994, in Brentwood, TN
Wilma Rudolph overcame childhood polio before going on to become a track and field champion. She was the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field at a single Olympiad: at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, she won the 100-meter sprint, 200-meter sprint, and the 4 x 100-meter relay. Rudolph’s autobiography, Wilma: The Story of Wilma Rudolph, was published in 1977 and adapted into a television movie. She was director of the women’s track program and a consultant on minority affairs at DePauw University, and was president of the Wilma Rudolph Foundation.