Wilma Rudolph

I know black women in Tennessee who have worked all their lives, from the time they were twelve years old to the day they died. These women don't listen to the women's liberation rhetoric because they know that it's nothing but a bunch of white women who had certain life-styles and who want to change those life-styles.
Wilma Rudolph

They say things like they don't want men opening doors for them anymore, and they don't want men lighting their cigarettes for them anymore. Big deal. Black women have been opening doors for themselves and lighting their own cigarettes for a couple centuries in this country. Black women don't quibble about things that are not important.
Wilma Rudolph

I loved the feeling of freedom in running, the fresh air, the feeling that the only person I'm competing with is me.
Wilma Rudolph

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.
Wilma Rudolph

By the time I was 12 I was challenging every boy in our neighborhood at running, jumping, everything.
Wilma Rudolph

I walked with braces until I was at least nine years old. My life wasn't like the average person who grew up and decided to enter the world of sports.
Wilma Rudolph

The feeling of accomplishment welled up inside of me, three Olympic gold medals. I knew that was something nobody could ever take away from me, ever.
Wilma Rudolph

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

When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult.
Wilma Rudolph

I'm in my prime. There's no goal too far, no mountain too high.
Wilma Rudolph

?I can't? are two words that have never been in my vocabulary. I believe in me more than anything in this world.
Wilma Rudolph

I walked with braces until I was at least nine years old. My life wasn't like the average person who grew up and decided to enter the world of sports.
Wilma Rudolph

The triumph can't be had without the struggle.
Wilma Rudolph

Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.
Wilma Rudolph

And I know what struggle is. I have spent a lifetime trying to share what it has meant to be a woman first in the world of sports so that other young women have a chance to reach their dreams.
Wilma Rudolph

Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose. Nobody goes undefeated all the time. If you can pick up after a crushing defeat, and go on to win again, you are going to be a champion someday.
Wilma Rudolph

I tell them that the most important aspect is to be yourself and have confidence in yourself.
Wilma Rudolph

Never underestimate the power of dreams and the influence of the human spirit. We are all the same in this notion: The potential for greatness lives within each of us.
Wilma Rudolph

When I was going through my transition of being famous, I tried to ask God why was I here? What was my purpose? Surely, it wasn't just to win three gold medals. There has to be more to this life than that.
Wilma Rudolph

My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces.
Wilma Rudolph

My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.
Wilma Rudolph

About her leg braces: I spent most of my time trying to figure out how to get them off. But when you come from a large, wonderful family, there's always a way to achieve your goals.
Wilma Rudolph

No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you.
Wilma Rudolph

No matter what accomplishments you make, somebody helps you.
Wilma Rudolph

I don't know why I run so fast. I just run.
Wilma Rudolph, Rudolph ran and world went wild

I thought I'd never get to see that. Florence Griffith Joyner -- every time she ran, I ran.
Wilma Rudolph, Rudolph ran and world went wild