American Wilma Rudolph crosses the finish line in a women’s sprint event at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy. September 3, 1960. Bettmann Archive Few could have predicted that a child battling ...

Wilma Rudolph's biggest challenge turned out not to be double pneumonia, scarlet fever or polio. Time wound up being the only obstacle the first American woman to win three gold medals at a single ...

Wilma Rudolph was told by one doctor that she'd never walk again. Polio, double pneumonia and scarlet fever were to blame. So, Wilma Rudolph became the "fastest woman in the world." “My mother told me ...