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65-477: The inaugural Drake Relays were held in 1910. The first meet drew just 100 spectators and 82 athletes, all from Des Moines-area colleges and high schools. The second year attendance grew to 250 athletes and a crowd of some 500 spectators. In 1914, the Relays saw its first world record set. By 1922, the Relays had expanded to two days and drew 10,000 fans, becoming the first major track and field event broadcast on radio. For

130-452: A cinder track in Rome's Stadio Olimpico : the 100- and 200-meter sprints, as well as the 4 × 100-meter relay. Rudolph, who won a gold medal in each of these events, became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympiad. Rudolph ran the finals in the 100-meter dash in a wind-aided time of 11.0 seconds. (The record-setting time was not credited as a world record , because

195-604: A career in teaching and coaching after her retirement from track competition. She began as a second-grade teacher at Cobb Elementary School, where Rudolph had attended as a child, and coached track at Burt High School, where she had once been a student-athlete herself, but conflict forced Rudolph to leave the position. Rudolph moved several times over the years and lived in various places such as Chicago, Illinois; Indianapolis , Indiana ; Saint Louis , Missouri ; Detroit , Michigan ; Tennessee; California ; and Maine . Rudolph's autobiography, Wilma: The Story of Wilma Rudolph ,

260-534: A daughter, Yolanda, born in 1958. Rudolph and Eldridge had four children: two daughters (Yolanda, born in 1958, and Djuanna, born in 1964) and two sons (Robert Jr., born in 1965, and Xurry, born in 1971). They got divorced in 1980. In July 1994 (shortly after her mother's death), Rudolph was diagnosed with brain cancer . She also had been diagnosed with throat cancer. Her condition deteriorated rapidly, and Rudolph died on November 12, 1994, at her home in Brentwood ,

325-576: A few weeks after returning from Africa , Rudolph participated in a civil rights protest in her hometown of Clarksville to desegregate one of the city's restaurants. Within a short time, the mayor announced that the city's public facilities, including its restaurants, would become fully integrated. Rudolph also married Robert Eldridge, who had fathered her child when she was in high school, later that year. The couple had three additional children, but divorced after 17 years of marriage. Rudolph did not earn significant money as an amateur athlete and shifted to

390-466: A following wind of more than 2.0 metres per second is not counted for record purposes. Below is a list of wind-assisted times (equal or superior to 19.70). Only times that are superior to legal bests are shown: Any performance with a following wind of more than 2.0 metres per second is not counted for record purposes. Below is a list of wind-assisted times (equal or superior to 21.80). Only times that are superior to legal bests are shown: Below

455-408: A guest on The Ed Sullivan Show also helped promote her status as an iconic sports star. In 1961, Rudolph married William Ward, a North Carolina College at Durham track team member; they divorced in 1963. In the interim, Rudolph retired from track competition at age 22, following victories in the 100-meter and 4 x 100-meter-relay races at the U.S.– Soviet meet at Stanford University in 1962. At

520-429: A major break for the active young athlete. The day that Temple saw the tenth grader for the first time, he knew Rudolph was a natural athlete. She had already gained some track experience on Burt High School's track team two years earlier, mostly as a way to keep busy between basketball seasons. As a high school sophomore, Rudolph competed at Alabama 's Tuskegee Institute in her first major track event. Although she lost

585-538: A month-long trip to West Africa as a goodwill ambassador for the U.S State Department . Rudolph served as U.S. representative to the 1963 Friendship Games in Dakar , Senegal , and visited Ghana , Guinea , Mali , and Upper Volta , where she attended sporting events, visited schools, and made guest appearances on television and radio broadcasts. Rudolph also attended the premiere of the U.S. Information Agency's documentary film that highlighted her track career. In May 1963,

650-502: A new, six-story dormitory as the Wilma G. Rudolph Residence Center. The building houses upper class and graduate women. It provides Wi-Fi access and includes a computer lab, beauty salon, and cafeteria. In 1997, Governor Don Sundquist proclaimed that June 23 be known as "Wilma Rudolph Day" in Tennessee. The December 29, 1999, issue of Sports Illustrated ranked Rudolph first on its list of

715-492: A premier track and field event, to be called the "Drake Relays presented by Xtream powered by Mediacom". In addition to the track meet, the Relays serves as a second homecoming for the university and sees other community events such as student street painting and a downtown Des Moines block party. Opened in 1925, the 14,557-seat stadium and its famous blue oval have hosted the Relays since 1926. A $ 15 million renovation in 2006 reduced capacity from 18,000 seats in order to expand

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780-478: A role model for black and female athletes and her Olympic successes helped elevate women's track and field in the United States. Rudolph is also regarded as a civil rights and women's rights pioneer. In 1962 Rudolph retired from competition at the peak of her athletic career as the world record-holder in the 100- and 200-meter individual events and the 4 × 100-meter relays. After competing in the 1960 Summer Olympics,

845-516: A single Olympic Games. Due to the worldwide television coverage of the 1960 Summer Olympics, Rudolph became an international star along with other Olympic athletes such as Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali), Oscar Robertson , and Rafer Johnson who competed in Italy. As an Olympic champion in the early 1960s, Rudolph was among the most highly visible black women in America and abroad. She became

910-408: A starter on the team and began competing in track. In her sophomore year, Rudolph scored 803 points and set a new record for high school girls' basketball. Rudolph's high school coach, C. C. Gray, gave her the nickname of "Skeeter" (for mosquito) because she moved so fast. While playing for her high school basketball team, Rudolph was spotted by Ed Temple , Tennessee State's track and field coach,

975-536: A straight track were eligible for consideration. In 1951, the IAAF started to recognise records set on a curved track. In 1976, the straight record was discarded. The event has been on the Olympic athletics programme since 1900 for men and since 1948 for women. The race attracts runners from other events, primarily the 100 metres , wishing to double up and claim both titles. This feat has been achieved by men eleven times at

1040-453: A suburb of Nashville, Tennessee; she was only 54 years old. Rudolph's legacy lies in her efforts to overcome obstacles that included childhood illnesses and a physical disability to become the fastest woman runner in the world in 1960. At the 1960 Rome Olympics, Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals in a single Olympiad. Rudolph was one of the first role models for black and female athletes. Her Olympic success "gave

1105-697: A tremendous boost to women's track in the United States." Rudolph's celebrity also caused gender barriers to be broken at previously all-male track and field events such as the Millrose Games. In addition to her athletic accomplishments, Rudolph is remembered for her contributions to youth, including founding and heading the Wilma Rudolph Foundation, which trains youth athletes. Her life is remembered in numerous publications, especially books for young readers. Rudolph's life has been featured in documentary films and made-for-television movies too: Rudolph

1170-580: A vice president at Nashville's Baptist Hospital. Rudolph dated boxing legend Muhammad Ali during the early 1960s. She was married twice, with both marriages ending in divorce. On October 14, 1961, Rudolph married William "Willie" Ward, a member of the North Carolina College at Durham track team. They divorced in May 1963. After her graduation from Tennessee State in 1963, Rudolph married Robert Eldridge, her high school sweetheart, with whom she already had

1235-657: Is now obsolete. The standard adjustment used for the conversion from times recorded over 220 yards to 200 m times is to subtract 0.1 seconds, but other conversion methods exist. Another obsolete version of this race is the 200 metres straight , which was run on tracks that contained such a straight. Initially, when the International Amateur Athletic Association (now known as the International Association of Athletics Federations ) started to ratify world records in 1912, only records set on

1300-445: The 4 × 100-meter relay at the 1956 Summer Olympics at Melbourne , Australia . She also won three gold medals , in the 100- and 200-meter individual events and the 4 x 100-meter relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome , Italy . Rudolph was acclaimed the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s and became the first American woman to win three gold medals in track and field during

1365-583: The Netherlands , and at other venues in Europe . Rudolph's hometown of Clarksville celebrated "Welcome Wilma Day" on October 4, 1960, with a full day of festivities. Governor Buford Ellington had created these plans to welcome Rudolph home with a parade. Ellington was elected because he had old fashioned segregationist beliefs. This was the complete opposite of what Rudolph stood for. Rudolph heard this and refused to attend her own celebration of it being segregated. Due to

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1430-522: The Olympic Games , including 113 at the 2012 Olympic Games . In 2006, a Friday evening session was added. In 2010, the Grand Blue Mile, a one-mile road race in downtown Des Moines, was added. The week of festivities currently opens with a parade on Saturday, continues with a Beautiful Bulldog Contest (Drake's mascot) on Sunday, the Grand Blue Mile on Tuesday, and an indoor pole vault on Wednesday with

1495-663: The Olympic Games : by Archie Hahn in 1904, Ralph Craig in 1912, Percy Williams in 1928, Eddie Tolan in 1932, Jesse Owens in 1936, Bobby Morrow in 1956, Valeriy Borzov in 1972, Carl Lewis in 1984, and most recently by Jamaica's Usain Bolt in 2008, 2012, and 2016. The double has been accomplished by women eight times: by Fanny Blankers-Koen in 1948, Marjorie Jackson in 1952, Betty Cuthbert in 1956, Wilma Rudolph in 1960, Renate Stecher in 1972, Florence Griffith-Joyner in 1988, and Elaine Thompson-Herah in 2016 and 2021. Marion Jones finished first in both races in 2000 but

1560-571: The Pan American Games in Chicago , Illinois the following year, Rudolph won a silver medal in the 100-meter individual event, as well as a gold medal in the 4 × 100-meter relay with teammates Isabelle Dan , Barbara Joe , and Lucinda Williams . She also won the AAU 200-meter title in 1959 and defended it for four consecutive years. During her career, Rudolph also won three AAU indoor titles. While she

1625-404: The U.S. Postal Service issued a 23-cent postage stamp, the fifth in its Distinguished Americans series , in recognition of her accomplishments. 200 metres The 200 metres , or 200-meter dash , is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight , so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run

1690-681: The decathlon and heptathlon beginning Wednesday and concluding alongside the distance carnival on Thursday. Midwest grocer Hy-Vee became the presenting sponsor beginning in 2013, enabling the Relays to offer a $ 50,000 purse in running events and $ 25,000 purse in field events, making the Drake Relays the richest athletics event in the United States. ESPN2 aired 90 minutes of live-action coverage that year and ESPN3 aired an additional two hours. The 2013 field saw 25 Olympic medalists compete. Currently NBCSN airs 2–3 hours of coverage on Saturday with live online coverage via NBCSports.com throughout

1755-683: The poliovirus ) at the age of five. Rudolph recovered from polio but lost strength in her left leg and foot. Physically disabled for much of her early life, Rudolph wore a leg brace until she was 12 years old. Because there was little medical care available to African American residents of Clarksville in the 1940s, Rudolph's parents sought treatment for her at the historically black Meharry Medical College (now Nashville General Hospital at Meharry) in Nashville, Tennessee , about 50 miles (80 km) from Clarksville. For two years, Rudolph and her mother made weekly bus trips to Nashville for treatments to regain

1820-530: The 100- and 200-meter gold medalist Betty Cuthbert as their anchor leg, won the gold medal in a time of 44.5 seconds. After Rudolph returned to her Tennessee home from the Melbourne Olympic Games, Rudolph showed her high school classmates the bronze medal that she had won and decided to try to win a gold medal at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome , Italy . In 1958, Rudolph enrolled at Tennessee State, where Temple continued as her track coach. At

1885-418: The 1926 Relays, Drake Stadium was built on the site of the prior host, Haskins Field. Women's events were added beginning in 1961 with Wilma Rudolph competing in the 100 meters. The 1966 Relays began a streak of 48 consecutive Saturdays with a sellout. In 1969, a $ 175,000 tartan track was installed. The events at the Relays would go all-metric in 1976 and the track was rebuilt as a 400-meter oval in 1978. It

1950-438: The 1956 Melbourne Olympics. Rudolph was defeated in a preliminary heat of the 200-meter race at the Melbourne Olympic Games but ran the third leg of the 4 × 100 m relay . The American team of Rudolph, Isabelle Daniels , Mae Faggs , and Margaret Matthews , all of whom were TSU Tigerbelles, won the bronze medal , matching the world-record time of 44.9 seconds. The British team won the silver medal. The Australian team, with

2015-575: The 1963 graduate of Tennessee State University became an educator and coach. Rudolph died of brain and throat cancer in 1994, and her achievements are memorialized in a variety of tributes, including a U.S. postage stamp, documentary films, and a made-for-television movie, as well as in numerous publications, especially books for young readers. Wilma Rudolph was born prematurely to Blanche Rudolph at 4.5 pounds (2.0 kg) on June 23, 1940, in Saint Bethlehem, Tennessee (now part of Clarksville). She

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2080-887: The Red River (Lynnwood-Tarpley) bridge near the Kraft Street intersection. On November 21, 1995, the Wilma Rudolph Memorial Commission placed a black marble marker at her grave site in Edgefield Missionary Baptist Church. In April 1996, a life-size bronze statue of Rudolph was erected "at the southern end of the Cumberland River Walk at the base of the Pedestrian Overpass" at College Street and Riverside Drive in Clarksville. In 2012,

2145-477: The TSU campus for two hours a day. Rudolph was first introduced to organized sports at Burt High School, the center of Clarksville's African American community. After completing several years of medical treatments to regain the use of her left leg, Rudolph chose to follow in her sister Yvonne's footsteps and began playing basketball in the eighth grade. Rudolph continued to play basketball in high school, where she became

2210-598: The Tigerbelles, for two more years before enrolling at TSU as a student in 1958. When Rudolph was 16 and a junior in high school, she attended the 1956 U.S. Olympic track and field team trials in Seattle, Washington , and qualified to compete in the 200-meter individual event at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne , Australia . Rudolph, the youngest member of the U.S. Olympic team, was one of five TSU Tigerbelles to qualify for

2275-563: The city of Clarksville, TN built the Wilma Rudolph Event Center, located at Liberty Park on Cumberland Drive. The life-size bronze statue was moved there from its previous location at Riverside Drive, and stands there now near the entrance of the building. On December 2, 1980, Tennessee State University named its indoor track in Rudolph's honor. On August 11, 1995 (nine months after Rudolph's death), Tennessee State University dedicated

2340-448: The concert of Rudolph not attending her own event, the parade was changed to be integrated. She makes everlasting history by standing up for what she believes in as this marks the first ever integrated event in her hometown of Clarksville, Tennessee. An estimated 1,100 attended the banquet in Rudolph's honor and thousands lined the city streets to watch the parade. Rudolph's gold-medal victories in Rome also "propelled her to become one of

2405-490: The event. In January 2018 Drake Relays unveiled the Blue Standard, under which Iowa's top high school athletes automatically qualify based on their event performance. The Blue Standard is the top 25 percent of accepted entrant's results from past Drake Relays. In March 2020, Xtream powered by Mediacom was named the presenting sponsor of the Drake Relays. Xtream's sponsorship allows the Drake Relays to maintain its status as

2470-534: The federal Job Corps program, and Rudolph served as a track specialist for Operation Champion in 1967. In 1981, Rudolph established and led the Wilma Rudolph Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Indianapolis, Indiana, that trains youth athletes. Six years later, she joined DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana , as director of its women's track program and served as a consultant on minority affairs to

2535-685: The first woman invited to compete at the Millrose Games. She was also invited to compete at the Penn Relays and the Drake Relays , among others. Following Rudolph's Olympic victories, the United States Information Agency made a 10-minute documentary film, Wilma Rudolph: Olympic Champion (1961), to highlight her accomplishments on the track. Rudolph's appearance in 1960 on To Tell the Truth , an American television game show, and later as

2600-564: The first worldwide television coverage of the Olympics that year. The 1960 Rome Olympics launched her into the public spotlight and the media cast her as America's athletic "leading lady" and a "queen," with praises of Rudolph's athletic accomplishments as well as her feminine beauty and poise. Rudolph returned home to Clarksville after completing a post-games European tour, where she and her Olympic teammates competed in meets in London , West Germany ,

2665-557: The lanes, allow fans to watch throwing and running at the same time, and allow for more hosting of events. Another renovation following the 2016 relays saw a new track installed, constructed of the same material used for tracks in Beijing and London for the Summer Olympics. Eleven men have claimed the role of director of the Drake Relays since the very first officially organized track and field event took place more than 100 years ago back in

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2730-567: The most highly visible black women across the United States and around the world." Her Olympic star status also "gave an enormous boost to the indoor track circuit in the months following the Olympic Games in Rome." In 1961, Rudolph competed in the prestigious, Los Angeles Invitational indoor track meet, where thousands turned out to watch her run. Besides, Rudolph was invited to compete in New York Athletic Club track events and became

2795-542: The race, Rudolph was determined to continue competing and win. Temple invited 14-year-old Rudolph to join his summer training program at Tennessee State. After attending the track camp, Rudolph won all nine events she entered at an Amateur Athletic Union track meet in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania . Under Temple's guidance, she continued to train regularly at TSU while still a high school student. Rudolph raced at amateur athletic events with TSU's women's track team, known as

2860-402: The race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first recorded event at the ancient Olympic Games . The 200 m places more emphasis on speed endurance than shorter sprint distances as athletes predominantly rely on anaerobic energy system during the 200 m sprint. Similarly to other sprint distances, the 200 m begins from the starting blocks . When

2925-538: The semifinals. Rudolph ran the anchor leg for the American team in the finals and nearly dropped the baton after a pass from Williams, but she overtook Germany's anchor leg to win the relay in a close finish. Rudolph had a special, personal reason to hope for victory—to pay tribute to Jesse Owens , the celebrated American athlete and star of the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin , Germany , who had been her inspiration. Rudolph

2990-495: The sport while still at her best. As such, Rudolph did not compete at the 1964 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo , Japan , saying, "If I won two gold medals, there would be something lacking. I'll stick with the glory I've already won like Jesse Owens did in 1936." After retiring from competition, Rudolph continued her education at Tennessee State and earned a bachelor's degree in elementary education in 1963. That same year, she made

3055-404: The sprinters adopt the 'set' position in the blocks they are able to adopt a more efficient starting posture and isometrically preload their muscles. This enables them to stride forwards more powerfully when the race begins and start faster. In the United States and elsewhere, athletes previously ran the 220-yard dash (201.168 m) instead of the 200 m (218.723 yards), though the distance

3120-601: The three women who have repeated as Olympic champion. The men's world record holder is Usain Bolt of Jamaica, who ran 19.19 s at the 2009 World Championships . The women's world record holder is Florence Griffith-Joyner of the United States, who ran 21.34 s at the 1988 Summer Olympics . The reigning Olympic champions are Letsile Tebogo (BOT) and Gabrielle Thomas (USA). The reigning World Champions are Noah Lyles (USA) and Shericka Jackson (JAM). Races run with an aiding wind measured over 2.0 metres per second are not acceptable for record purposes. Any performance with

3185-431: The time of her retirement, Rudolph was still the world record-holder in the 100-meter (11.2 seconds set on July 19, 1961), 200-meter (22.9 seconds set on July 9, 1960), and 4 x 100-meter-relay events. She had also won seven national AAU sprint titles and set the women's indoor track record of 6.9 seconds in the 60-yard dash. As Rudolph explained it, she retired at the peak of her athletic career because Rudolph wanted to leave

3250-455: The time she was 12 years old. Rudolph was initially homeschooled due to the frequent illnesses that caused her to miss kindergarten and first grade. Rudolph began attending second grade at Cobb Elementary School in Clarksville in 1947 at age seven. She attended Clarksville's all-black Burt High School, where Rudolph excelled in basketball and track. During her senior year of high school, Rudolph became pregnant with her first child, Yolanda, who

3315-521: The top 50 greatest sports figures of the twentieth-century from Tennessee. ESPN ranked Rudolph forty-first in its listing of the twentieth century's greatest athletes. Following the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Berlin in 1994, Berlin American High School (BAHS) was turned over to the people of Berlin and became the "Gesamtschule Am Hegewinkel". The school was renamed the "Wilma Rudolph Oberschule" in her honor in summer 2000. On July 14, 2004,

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3380-658: The university's president. Rudolph went on to host a local television show in Indianapolis. She was also a publicist for Universal Studios as well as a television sports commentator for ABC Sports during the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles , California , and lit the cauldron to open the Pan American Games in Indianapolis in 1987 in front of 80,000 spectators at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway . In 1992, two years before her untimely death, Rudolph became

3445-444: The use of her weakened leg. Rudolph also received subsequent at-home massage treatments four times a day from members of her family and wore an orthopedic shoe for support of her foot for another two years. Because of the treatments she received at Meharry and the daily massages from her family members, Rudolph was able to overcome the debilitating effects of polio and learned to walk without a leg brace or orthopedic shoe for support by

3510-434: The wind, at 2.75 metres (3.01 yd) per second, exceeded the maximum of 2 metres (2.2 yd).) Rudolph became the first American woman to win a gold medal in the 100-meter race since Helen Stephens did so in the 1936 Summer Olympics . Rudolph won another gold medal in the finals of the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.0 seconds, after setting a new Olympic record of 23.2 seconds in the opening heat. After these wins, she

3575-400: The year 1910. Wilma Rudolph Wilma Glodean Rudolph (June 23, 1940 – November 12, 1994) was an American sprinter who overcame childhood polio and went on to become a world-record-holding Olympic champion and international sports icon in track and field following her successes in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games . Rudolph competed in the 200-meter dash and won a bronze medal in

3640-598: Was also honored with the National Sports Award (1993). Rudolph was inducted into several women's and sports halls of fame: In 1984, the Women's Sports Foundation selected Rudolph as one of the five greatest women athletes in the United States. In 1996, the foundation presented its first Wilma Rudolph Courage Award to Jackie Joyner-Kersee . In 1994, a portion of U.S. Route 79 was named Wilma Rudolph Boulevard , extending from Interstate 24, exit 4, in Clarksville to

3705-531: Was born in 1958, a few weeks before her enrollment at Tennessee State University in Nashville. In college, Rudolph continued to compete in track. She also became a member of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority. In 1963, Rudolph graduated from Tennessee State with a bachelor's degree in education. Her college education was paid by her participation in a work-study scholarship program that required Rudolph to work on

3770-429: Was hailed throughout the world as "the fastest woman in history." On September 7, 1960, the temperature climbed toward 40 °C (104 °F) as thousands of spectators jammed the stadium. Rudolph combined efforts with her Olympic teammates from Tennessee State— Martha Hudson , Lucinda Williams, and Barbara Jones—to win the 4 × 100-meter relays with a time of 44.5 seconds, after setting a world record of 44.4 seconds in

3835-458: Was later disqualified and stripped of her medals after admitting to taking performance-enhancing drugs . An Olympic double of 200 m and 400 m was first achieved by Valerie Brisco-Hooks in 1984, and later by Michael Johnson from the United States and Marie-José Pérec of France both in 1996. Usain Bolt is the only man to repeat as Olympic champion, Bärbel Wöckel (née Eckert), Veronica Campbell-Brown and Elaine Thompson-Herah are

3900-623: Was named United Press International Athlete of the Year (1960) and Associated Press Woman Athlete of the Year (1960 and 1961). She was also the recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award (1960) for the top amateur athlete in the United States and the Babe Didrikson Zaharias Award (1962). In addition, Rudolph had a private meeting with President John F. Kennedy in the Oval Office . Rudolph

3965-492: Was one of the most popular athletes of the 1960 Rome Olympics and emerged from the Olympic Games as "The Tornado, the fastest woman on earth." The Italians nicknamed her "La Gazzella Nera" ("The Black Gazelle"). The French called her "La Perle Noire" ("The Black Pearl"), as well as "La Chattanooga Choo-Choo. Along with other 1960 Olympic athletes such as Cassius Clay (later known as Muhammad Ali), Oscar Robertson , and Rafer Johnson , Rudolph became an international star due to

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4030-430: Was published in 1977. It served as the basis for several other publications and films. By 2014, at least 21 books on Rudolph's life had been published for children from pre-school youth to high school students. In addition to teaching, Rudolph worked for nonprofit organizations and government-sponsored projects that supported athletic development among American children. In Boston , Massachusetts , she became involved in

4095-410: Was resurfaced in 1983, and in 1988 was renamed the "Jim Duncan Track" to honor the long time relays public address announcer. Hundreds of Olympic gold medalists have competed at Drake Stadium including Caitlyn Jenner , Michael Johnson , Carl Lewis , Jesse Owens , Wilma Rudolph , Frank Shorter , Gwen Torrence , and Jeremy Wariner . Hundreds more Drake Relays competitors have gone onto compete in

4160-448: Was still a sophomore at Tennessee State, Rudolph competed in the U.S. Olympic track and field trials at Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas , where she set a world record in the 200-meter dash that stood for eight years. Rudolph also qualified for the 1960 Summer Olympics in the 100-meter dash. At the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, Italy, Rudolph competed in three events on

4225-521: Was the 20th of 22 children from her father Ed Rudolph's two marriages. Shortly after Wilma's birth, her family moved to Clarksville, Tennessee , where she grew up and attended elementary and high school. Her father, Ed, who worked as a railway porter and did odd jobs in Clarksville, died in 1961; her mother, Blanche, worked as a maid in Clarksville homes and died in 1994. Rudolph had several early childhood illnesses, including pneumonia and scarlet fever, and she contracted infantile paralysis (caused by

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