During the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome Italy a young woman took her place next to the other runners at the starting line The gun fired with a POP Wilma Rudolph a runner from the United States surged forward She was all power and fluid motion
Eleven seconds later Wilma crossed the finish line first She had won the gold medal in the women's 100 meter dash It was the moment Wilma had imagined She was no longer the sickest girl in Clarksville Tennessee She was the 11 fastest woman in the world
Wilma Rudolph was born June 23 1940 She was the 20th child in a family of 22 children Because she was born almost two months early Wilma was a tiny baby She weighed just a little more than 4 pounds 1 81 kilograms Wilma's parents didn't know then that Wilma would one day become famous
