Wilma Rudolph Accomplishments
Wilma Rudolph is most well-known for her extreme success in track and field. What is most ground-breaking about Wilma and her success is the fact that she was a woman succeeding in what was considered at that time a “man’s sport.” She broke many records, but most importantly was the first American woman to win three gold medals during the same summer Olympics. Wilma had faced many troubles throughout her life, from illness and disabilities to insecurities and friendship issues. However, the most difficult time in her life was not the obstacles she overcame to reach her success but the point in her life after all of that- the point when she went back to reality. Throughout this paper I will discuss how the bio-social-psycho-spiritual-cultural
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She had travelled to Philadelphia for a National AAU Track Meet, and became overconfident. She was shocked when she did not win and returned home with “shame of losing.” She felt embarrassed of losing and felt as if she had let herself down. It was at that point she realized that the success she could obtain through track and field was in her hands, which only motivated her to train harder. Once qualifying for the Olympic team, she also experienced some psychological challenges. She was such a good runner at such a young age that she would hold back at Olympic practices in order to keep the other girls on the team from becoming jealous of her. She felt very torn, whether or not to excel at practice and work hard or hold on to friendships. She finally got over her fear of losing friends over hard work and decided to run for herself. One of her biggest psychological upsets, however, was after the 1956 Olympics when she did not qualify for the finals in the 200 meter dash. She could not eat or sleep for days and felt as though she let down the entire United States. She was determined that the next day she would run harder and make up for that. Fortunately, by the end of the Olympics, her 400 meter relay team had surprisingly placed third and came back home with a bronze
She had travelled to Philadelphia for a National AAU Track Meet, and became overconfident. She was shocked when she did not win and returned home with “shame of losing.” She felt embarrassed of losing and felt as if she had let herself down. It was at that point she realized that the success she could obtain through track and field was in her hands, which only motivated her to train harder. Once qualifying for the Olympic team, she also experienced some psychological challenges. She was such a good runner at such a young age that she would hold back at Olympic practices in order to keep the other girls on the team from becoming jealous of her. She felt very torn, whether or not to excel at practice and work hard or hold on to friendships. She finally got over her fear of losing friends over hard work and decided to run for herself. One of her biggest psychological upsets, however, was after the 1956 Olympics when she did not qualify for the finals in the 200 meter dash. She could not eat or sleep for days and felt as though she let down the entire United States. She was determined that the next day she would run harder and make up for that. Fortunately, by the end of the Olympics, her 400 meter relay team had surprisingly placed third and came back home with a bronze