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עמוד:34
4 Read the following newspaper article about Wilma Rudolph and find out what challenges she overcame . SPORTS IN Focus Wilma Rudolph : Going the Distance Wilma Rudolph is the only American woman to have won three gold medals in running events in the Olympic Games . In the 1960 Rome Olympics , Wilma showed the world that she was the fastest woman on earth . However , this was not Wilma ' s first challenge in life . Her story is about hard work , determination and self-discipline . Wilma was born in 1940 , in a small town in the state of Tennessee , USA , into a poor African-American family . She was the twentieth of 22 children . When she was only four years old , she became sick with polio * . The doctors told her parents there was no cure * . However , Wilma ' s mother was determined that Wilma would walk again . For two years she took Wilma to the hospital for medical treatment and she made sure that Wilma did special exercises at home every day . While her mother was working , Wilma's brothers and sisters helped her . At the age of 11 , while she was still getting medical treatment , Wilma decided to throw away her leg braces * and she began to walk . That was when she decided to become an athlete . By the time Wilma was 13 , she was running and playing basketball better than most of her classmates . In high school , she joined the track team and the basketball team . In the 1956 Olympics , when she was 16 , she won a bronze medal . While she was training for the 1960 Olympics , Wilma finished high school and began her studies at Tennessee State University . However , Wilma never forgot her roots and in 1963 , she returned to live and work in Tennessee . She became active in organizations that were trying to get equal rights for African-Americans . At the same time , she was teaching in school and coaching athletic teams . Later , Wilma left Tennessee and became involved with programs that encouraged young people to participate in sports and to do well in school . She won many awards for her work . Wilma believed that her greatest accomplishment was the work she was doing for community sports programs . She once said : "It is important to be yourself and have confidence in yourself ; triumph can't be had without the struggle . " Wilma died of cancer in 1994 , in Nashville , Tennessee . She was 54 when she died . * polio —a disease that causes inability to control or move muscles . * cure — medicine or treatment for a sickness . * leg braces — leg supports for people who cannot walk .
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