Wilma Rudolph

I don't know why I run so fast. I just run.

Sometimes it takes years to really grasp what has happened to your life.

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.

Down South, there was the old 'ladies-don't-do-such-things' way of thinking. You couldn't be a lady and a good athlete at the same time.

There were good jobs, but they were never what I wanted to do. Somehow, people always thought of Wilma Rudolph as a threat.

I was six years old before I realized that there was something wrong with me... But I did have this crooked left leg, and my left foot was turned inward.