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Lee Erwin Reporting
lerwin@clarksvillenow.com

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – It’s difficult to travel around Clarksville without finding a reference to one of the City’s most cherished and famous citizens, Wilma Rudolph. Rudolph was an amazing athlete and Olympic champion who was the first woman to win three gold medals in track and field competition in the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome, Italy.

A major thoroughfare, Wilma Rudolph Boulevard and the Wilma Rudolph Event Center are named after the Olympian. They are just two examples of Clarksville’s love and respect for their hometown hero. The center features a statue of Rudolph in a running pose and lighted silhouettes of her running on the side of the building.

Wilma Glodean Rudolph was born on June 23, 1940 in St. Bethlehem, which at the time was not part of the City of Clarksville. In her childhood years she suffered from a number of medical problems like polio, infantile paralysis and scarlet fever. At various times because of illness she also had to wear a leg brace for her twisted leg and orthopedic shoe until she was close to 12-years-old.

Her athletic ability became obvious while as a basketball star at Burt High School. When she was 16 she qualified for the 1956 U.S. Olympic track and field team and won a bronze medal in the 4X100 meter relay in Melbourne. After high school she attended Tennessee State University on a full scholarship and received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education.

Over the years Rudolph received a long list of awards and honors including her induction into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the National Women’s Hall of Fame. She has also been voted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame and the National Black Sports and Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Wilma Rudolph was diagnosed with cancer and died at the age of 54 in 1994 and is buried at Foston Memorial Gardens in Clarksville. Each June in her honor the Clarksville Running Club holds the Wilma Rudolph 5K Road Race. You can learn more about Wilma Rudolph by visiting her permanent exhibit at the Customs House Museum and Cultural Center in Clarksville.

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