Wilma Rudolph
OLYMPIC CHAMPION (1940 - 1994)
During Rudolph's early years surviving both
polio and scarlet fever she was left with a
brace on her leg and was told she would
never be able to walk again. Not believing the
doctors she encouraged herself to stay active
and by age 11 she was a born athlete.
Competing in the 1956 Olympics for the first
time she had bagged a bronze medal in the
4x100 relay, then in the 1960s Olympics she
made history in becoming the first American
female ever to win three gold medals in track
and field and was known as one of the
greatest athletes of the 20th century. The
following year Rudolph decided to go back to
school to finish her degree at Tennessee
State University and went onto working within
education, though still being heavily
engrossed with sport she participated at
several community centres across America.
Nellie Bly
JOURNALIST & TRAVELLER (1864 - 1922)
Bly began studying at Indiana Teacher's
College though due to financial problems she
dropped out. Distraught by it all she decided
to write a letter to the editor of the Pittsburgh
Dispatch. Her letter pointing out the unequal
representation of females got the editors
attention that much he printed out her work
also offering her own column. Then in 1890
the 25th of January Bly made history with just
the clothes on her back she travelled around
the globe to beat the fictional record set by
Jules Verne's Phileas Fogg in Around the
World in 80 Days. Suggesting the idea to her
newspaper editor they loved the idea but
wished to send a man, not satisfied with the
response Bly was willing to take the idea to
another newspaper until he changed his mind. 101