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When Was Wilma Rudolph Born

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Wilma Rudolph became a very influential sprinter after overcoming many obstacles. Wilma was born prematurely on June 23, 1940, in Bethlehem, Tennessee. Her family was a poor African American family and Wilma was the fourteenth child out of nineteen children. Her father, Ed Rudolph, worked as a railroad porter, and her mother, Blanche Rudolph, worked six days a week as a maid. At four years old, Wilma contracted polio, which severely weakened her. At the time, there was no cure or treatment. She suffered double pneumonia and scarlett fever during that time, and it almost killed her. She pulled through, but her left leg was paralyzed from the polio. Specialists from Nashville recommended therapeutic massages, which would hopefully help to regain

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