Wilma Glodean Rudolph

Her road to the track began with a long trip for medical care. Rudolph was born prematurely and had pneumonia and scarlet fever, then polio at five, which weakened her left leg and foot. Little medical care was open to Black residents of Clarksville in the 1940s, so her family took her to Meharry Medical College in Nashville, about fifty miles away, and relatives gave her daily massages. She wore a leg brace until she was twelve. She grew up among many brothers, sisters and half-siblings.

What the plaque says

Wilma Glodean Rudolph 1940-1994 Born on June 23, 1940, Wilma G. Rudolph, a native of Clarksville, overcame illness, poverty and segregation to become an Olympic champion sprinter. A graduate of Burt High School, she won a bronze medal in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia. While at Tenn. A&I St. Univ., she became a member of the Tigerbelles, the school's famous women track team. At the 1960 Rome Olympics, Rudolph became the "fastest female runner in the world" and the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympiad. She won the 100-meter dash, 200-meter dash, and was on the winning 400-meter relay team. Inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in 1994, Wilma Rudolph died on November 12 of the same year.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Dunbar Cave State Park — 0.7 mi
  A Clarksville cave with 800-year-old Mississippian artwork, later a resort and Roy Acuff's dance stage, now a state park with seasonal guided tours.
• Fort Defiance Civil War Park and Interpretive Center — 3.7 mi
  An intact earthwork fort above the Cumberland and Red Rivers in Clarksville, begun with forced Black labor and later a contraband camp and recruiting center for Black soldiers.

More markers nearby

• Affricanna Town — 1.0 mi
• Burt High School — 2.8 mi
• Austin Peay State University — 3.2 mi
• Emerald Hill — 3.2 mi