Wilma Rudolph - The Power of a Supportive Family


After getting double pneumonia and scarlet fever, the doctors said she'd never walk again. Wilma's mother refused to believe the doctors.

In her autobiography, Wilma wrote, "Every Saturday when I was a kid my mom would take me on a bus from our home in Clarksville, Tennessee, to a Nashville hospital 60 miles away for treatment on my leg. Then, during the week my brothers and sisters would take turns massaging my leg. If it wasn't for my family, I probably would have never been able to walk properly, no less run."

Wilma shed her leg brace when she was 11 years old. She went on to become a basketball star in high school. Ed Temple, the coach of the Tennessee State "Tiger belles" track team.

At age 16 Wilma competed in the 1956 Melbourne Summer Olympics and won a Bronze in the 4×100 relay. Four years later she became the darling of the 1960 Rome Olympics when she won three Gold Medals - in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, and the 4×100 relay.

If you think about it, Wilma's doctors were right. Wilma was not born to walk. She was born to RUN!

Next time a so-called expert tells you can't do something, think again. If it's in your heart, if you believe it's possible, and if you are willing to do the work, you just might prove the experts wrong - just like Wilma Rudolph did.