Among Tennessee’s many sports stars, there are a few whose remarkable accomplishments and unquenchable spirits shine just a little brighter. Wilma Rudolph could light up a winter sky. The legend took flight in 1960 at the Olympic Games in Rome, Italy, where Rudolph became the first woman ever to win three gold medals in a single Olympiad. That year she won the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and the 4 X 100-meter relay. Such an awesome achievement earned her a plethora of awards and honors, including the James E. Sullivan Award in 1961, given to the top amateur athlete in the United States, and the Helms World Trophy, which has honored the foremost athlete of each world continent annually, dating back to 1896. Rudolph’s feat was monumental in and of itself, but when one considers that she overcame double pneumonia, scarlet fever, and polio as a child, her accomplishments are absolutely miraculous. A member of the famed Tigerbelles of Tennessee State University, under the legendary coach Edward S. Temple, Rudolph’s career was quite successful even before the 1960 games. Besides having a great college career, she also won a bronze medal in 1956 at the Olympic games in Melbourne, Australia. A year before her death in 1994, Rudolph became the first woman to ever receive the National Sports Award, given to her by President Bill Clinton. This was a fitting honor for a woman who captured the hearts and spirits of an entire world.
