Techniche 5th issue (Read-Only) - College of Technology, Pantnagar

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Page 12 IMPOSSIBLE When crippled at the age of four, doctors said she would never walk again. 16 years later she didn’t walk but ran to claim the title of the fastest woman in the world. Her life is a shining ex- ample of how one woman’s persistence can defy fate and create something no less than a miracle. From the annals of sports history, Techniche brings to you the story of Wilma Rudolph . W ilma Glodean Rudolph was born on June 23, 1940 in Clarksville, Tennessee to Ed and Blanche Rudolph. Ed was a railroad porter and Blanche worked as a housekeeper to wealthy white families. Wilma was the 20 th of the child of a family of twenty-two and her family struggled to make ends meet, even dressing their girls in flour sacks. Since her birth, Wilma survived one illness after another: measles, mumps, scarlet fever, chicken pox and double pneumonia and finally, she was diagnosed with polio at the age of 4. The doctors said that Wilma would never walk. But Blanche Rudolph was not the one to relinquish. She educated Wilma at home, also having to bring her to a hospital for blacks 50 miles from their home twice a week and rubbing her legs 4 times a day on account of her polio. By age 8, Wilma could walk with a leg brace. After that, she used a special shoe to support her foot and played basketball with her brothers every day. Three years later, her mother came home to find her playing basketball by herself without the special shoe. But it was only when Wilma reached the age of 12, that she could walk normally. It wasn’t just her mother’s determined endeavours but also a strong faith that created this miracle. Wilma once said “My doctors told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother”. In high school, Wilma decided to shed her handicap forever. She got on the basketball team where she was spotted by Tennessee state track and field coach, Edward S. Temple. Being discovered by Temple was a major break for a young athlete. Teccomplish The day he saw the tenth grader Wilma for the first time, he knew he had found a natural athlete. She had already gained some track experience too, and had set state records in basketball. By the time she was 16, she earned a berth on the U.S. Olympic track and field team. She came home from the 1956 Melbourne Games with an Olympic bronze medal in the 4 x 100-meter relay. Wilma’s dream had finally been fulfilled. However, it was 4 years later that Wilma shot to life- long renown. In the 1960 Rome Olympics, as the temperature soared 100 degrees, 80,000 spectators jammed the Stadio Olimpico to witness Wilma run the 100-meter dash in an impressive 11 seconds flat. However the time was not credited as a world record because it was wind-aided. She also won in the 200meter dash and set a new Olympic record. After these twin triumphs, she was being hailed throughout the world as "the fastest woman in history." Finally, on September 11, 1960, she combined with teammates Martha Hudson, Lucinda Williams and Barbara Jones to win the 400-meter relay in 44.5 seconds, setting a world record. Thus, Wilma became the first American woman to win 3 gold medals in the Olympics. The feeling of accomplishment welled up inside her, three Olympic gold medals. She knew that, it was something nobody could ever take away from her, ever. Wilma’s accomplishments were not merely limited to this. Her homecoming parade in Clarksville was the first racially integrated event ever held in the town.
Teccomplish And that night, the banquet the townspeople held in her honour, was the first time in Clarksville's history that blacks and whites had ever gathered together for the same event. She went on to participate in protests in the city until the segregation laws were struck down. Wilma’s success story is incomplete without considering her struggle. Wilma once said “The triumph can't be had without the struggle. And I know what struggle is. 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. Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle”. Retiring from track competition in 1962, she returned to receive a Bachelor's degree in Education, graduating in 1963. The same year, she married her high school sweetheart, Robert Eldridge, with whom she had four children. Wilma had achieved what seemed to be impossible for a black, handicapped American woman but still she had many challenging doubts about her self being “What do you do after you are world famous and nineteen or twenty and you have sat with prime ministers, kings and queens, the Pope? Do you go back home and take a job? What do you do to keep your sanity? You come back to the real world. ”In 1967 on the invitation of Vice- President Hubert Humphrey, Wilma participated in "Operation Champ," an athletic outreach program for underprivileged youth in the ghettoes of 16 major cities. Her own non-profit organization, ‘The Wilma Rudolph Foundation’, continued this work and provided free coaching in a variety of sports, and academic assistance and support as well. Wilma’s enduring fame won her accolades in both her life and after it. On December 2, 1980, Tennessee State University named its indoor track after her. She was one of the 75 women chosen for the book I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who The triumph can't be had without the struggle. And I know what struggle is. 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. Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle. Page 13 Changed America (1989) by Pulitzer Prize winning photographer Brian Lanker. Within this book Rudolph joined such company as Rosa Parks, Coretta Scott King, Oprah Winfrey, Lena Horne, and Sarah Vaughan. On November 12, 1994, when at the age of 54, Wilma died of cancer, Leroy Walker, President of the U.S. Olympic Committee, said, "All of us recognize that this is obviously a tremendous loss. Wilma was very much involved with a number of Olympic programs. It's a tragic loss. She was struck with an illness that, unfortunately, we can't do very much about." Across Tennessee, the state flag flew at half-staff. The same year, a portion of U.S. Route 79 in Clarksville was named the Wilma Rudolph Boulevard in her memory The Women's Sports Foundation Wilma Rudolph Courage Award is presented to a female athlete who exhibits extraordinary courage in her athletic performance, demonstrates the ability to overcome adversity, makes significant contributions to sports and serves as an inspiration and role model to those who face challenges, overcomes them and strives for success at all levels. Jackie Joyner-Kersee was the first athlete to be awarded this prize in 1996. In 1997, Governor Don Sundquist proclaimed June 23 as Wilma Rudolph Day in Tennessee. In 2004, the United States Postal Service issued a 23 cent stamp in recognition of her accomplishment. Wilma described her motivation as-“I loved the feeling of freedom in running, the fresh air, the feeling that the only person I'm competing with is me”. Her life is a story of achieving against all the odds. Her extra-ordinary achievements are still alive in public consciousness and continue to inspire many young people who look up to her. 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.
Page 1 and 2: Issue 1, 2008 - 09
Page 3 and 4: TECHNICHE, ISSUE 1, 2008-09 Tech-bi
Page 5 and 6: Face 2 Face races, painting competi
Page 7 and 8: Face Off Page 7 Is blaming technolo
Page 9 and 10: Innotech Page 9 I t makes a man (or
Page 11: Poetech BaUcaala BaUcaala popr popr
Page 15 and 16: Book Review Page 15 our social stru
Page 17 and 18: Techaway Page 17 Well let’s try a
Page 19 and 20: S P A R D H A ‘08 ’08
Page 21 and 22: Innotech land owned by more than 17
Page 23 and 24: Techtonic Page 23 B ehold your comp
Page 25 and 26: AMtnaa AMtnaa- AMtnaa AMtnaa-- -d m
Page 27 and 28: A journey of four YearS…. A life
Page 29 and 30: tojasa tojasa (yao ivacaar AaoSaao
Page 31 and 32: Innotech Page 31 FEELING FEELING OF
Page 33 and 34: Critech Page 33 WAR WAR WAR WAR IS
Page 35 and 36: Innotech Yonder lay the photocopied

Techniche 5th issue (Read-Only) - College of Technology, Pantnagar

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?