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I had a series of childhood illnesses... scarlet fever.... pneumonia.... Polio. I walked with braces until I was at least nine years old. My life wasn't like the average person who grew up and decided to enter the world of sports.

Wilma Rudolph

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Wilma Rudolph
Age: 54 †
Born: 1940
Born: June 23
Died: 1994
Died: November 12
Athlete
Sprinter
Clarksville
Tennessee
Wilma Glodean Rudolph
Least
Illness
Pneumonia
Sports
Nine
Braces
Persons
Average
Polio
Person
Series
Illnesses
Years
Childhood
Scarlet
Life
Decided
Fever
Like
Grew
Walked
World
Wasn
Enter

More quotes by Wilma Rudolph

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It doesn't matter what you're trying to accomplish. It's all a matter of discipline. I was determined to discover what life held for me beyond the inner-city streets.
Wilma Rudolph
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Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.
Wilma Rudolph
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No matter what great things you accomplish, somebody helps you.
Wilma Rudolph
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'I can't' are two words that have never been in my vocabulary. I believe in me more than anything in this world.
Wilma Rudolph
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I would be disappointed if I were remembered as a runner because I feelthat my contribution to the youth of America has far exceeded the woman who was the Olympic champion.
Wilma Rudolph
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I loved the feeling of freedom in running, the fresh air, the feeling that the only person I'm competing with is me.
Wilma Rudolph
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When I was going through my transition of being famous, I tried to ask God, why was I here? What was my purpose? Surely, it wasn't just to win three gold medals. There has to be more to this life than that.
Wilma Rudolph
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I tell them that the most important aspect is to be yourself and have confidence in yourself.
Wilma Rudolph
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Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.
Wilma Rudolph
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I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened.
Wilma Rudolph
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The potential for greatness lives within us all.
Wilma Rudolph
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I don't consciously try to be a role model, so I don't know if I am or not. That's for other people to decide.
Wilma Rudolph
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I know black women in Tennessee who have worked all their lives, from the time they were twelve years old to the day they died. These women don't listen to the women's liberation rhetoric because they know that it's nothing but a bunch of white women who had certain life-styles and who want to change those life-styles.
Wilma Rudolph
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Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.
Wilma Rudolph
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Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.
Wilma Rudolph
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My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces.
Wilma Rudolph
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I thought I'd never get to see that. Florence Griffith Joyner -- every time she ran, I ran.
Wilma Rudolph
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The triumph can't be had without the struggle. And I know what struggle is. I have spent a lifetime trying to share what it has meant to be a woman first in the world of sports so that other young women have a chance to reach their dreams.
Wilma Rudolph
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But when you come from a large, wonderful family, there's always a way to achieve your goals.
Wilma Rudolph
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My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.
Wilma Rudolph