Note to readers parents and educators This book includes an interview of a famous American While the words this person speaks are not her actual words all the information in the book is true and has been carefully researched Text and illustrations copyright 2016 by Lerner Publishing Group Inc All rights reserved International copyright secured No part of this book may be reproduced stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic mechanical photocopying recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of Lerner Publishing Group Inc except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review Lerner Publications Company A division of Lerner Publishing Group Inc 241 First Avenue North Minneapolis MN 55401 USA For reading levels and more information look up this title at www lernerbooks com Main body text set in Avenir LT Pro 45 Book 15 21 Typeface provided by Linotype AG Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Goddu Krystyna Poray What’s your story Wilma Rudolph Krystyna Poray Goddu paper ISBN 978-1-4677-9644-6 eb pdf 1 Rudolph Wilma 1940 1994 Juvenile literature 2 Runners Sports United States Biography Juvenile literature 3 Women runners United States Biography Juvenile literature I Title pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index ISBN 978-1-4677-8782-6 lb alk paper ISBN 978-1-4677-9643-9 pb alk GV1061 15 R83G63 2016 796 42092 dc23 B Manufactured in the United States of America 1 VP 12 31 15 2015016195
Table of Contents Wilma Rudolph 4 Where and when were you born 6 Why weren’t you able to walk when you were a child 8 How did you learn to walk again 10 When did you begin to run 12 What was the first important race you won 14 Did you win any medals at the Olympics that year 16 What was it like to go to the 1960 Olympics 18 What were the Olympics like for you after you got hurt 20 In what other events did you win gold medals 22 What happened when you came home from the Olympics 24 Did you keep running after you won the gold medals 26 How did your achievements make a difference in the world 28 Timeline 29 Glossary 30 Further Information 31 Index 32
Hi friends Today I’m talking to somebody very special Her name is Wilma Rudolph Wilma would you tell us about yourself We’d love to learn about your life Wilma says Of course In 1960 I became the first woman to win three gold medals in track and field in a single Olympics After that people called me the fastest woman on Earth Black people didn’t have the same rights as white people then But when I came home from the Olympics I was an American hero My accomplishment was important to me for another reason too You see for much of my childhood I couldn’t walk I had to work harder than other athletes to run well enough to win races 4
Wilma Rudolph shows off the three gold medals she won at the 1960 Olympic Games 5
