"I am Cassius Clay and I am the greatest. This is Wilma Rudolph and she is the greatest."
-- muhammad ali on wilma rudolph

Growing up with asthma, but also being something of a jock, I always loved hearing about athletes who overcame obstacles to become superstars. One woman who always inspired me was Wilma Rudolph.

Wilma Rudolph was afflicted with polio as child and, by the age of four, was left with only the use of her left leg. Stunning her doctors, though, Rudolph abandoned the brace she wore on her right leg and learned to walk on her own. Once Wilma walked, she never slowed down again, winning a bronze medal in the 4 x 100 relay during the 1956 Olympics and three gold medals at the 1960 Olympics in Rome, where she was officially recognized as the fastest woman in the world.

Rudolph also struggled against the racism of her age. When she returned home from the 1960 Olympics an international star (mounted police in Cologne reportedly had to hold back her admirers), the segregationist governor of her home state, Tennessee, wanted to hold a parade in her honor. Rudolph refused to attend a segregated event and her parade was the first integrated event ever in her hometown. --jonna