It’s September 7th, 1960,
and the Olympics are in Rome. Wilma
becomes the first American woman to get three gold medals in the Olympics,
winning the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and anchoring the winning
400-meter relay team. The newspapers loved her. She became “The Black Pearl”
and “The Black Gazelle”—an inspiration for women all over the world. But it was
a victory back home that had nothing to do with sport that she is proudest of—a
moment when she helped bring two cultures closer together.
When she returned to Clarksville, Tennessee,
she insisted that her homecoming parade be open to everyone, and that it would
not be a segregated event. There, the parade became the first racially
integrated even ever held in that town, and that night the celebration banquet
became the second. Her impact and greatness as an athlete affected her nation
and the world…and her charity work went on to continue to open new
opportunities to those facing challenges.
Chantal Petitclerc, too, came a long way from finishing a disappointing last
place in her first wheelchair race. Through dedicated training and the
willpower to push through pain, she arrived at the 2004 Olympics in Athens
determined to make a statement. By the end of the games, she had collected five
gold medals and set three world records. To this day, she is the Canadian
record holder in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1500m events, and has a total
of sixteen Paralympic medals.
She too has used her status as an athlete to help many charities, including
Defi Sportif, an event for athletes with a disability that draws over 2500
athletes to Montreal from over ten
different countries. She has also become involved with England’s
Mobility Programme, which promotes accessibility for vehicles of individuals
with a disability and Relais Synergie, part of the Quebec Lung Association’s
annual fundraising campaign.
Were these two women born for greatness? Hardly. But their dedication and
their drive, past and present, is an inspiration to women worldwide. Wilma
Rudolph said it best: