Wilma Rudolph Word Scramble

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When Wilma Rudolph was four years old, she had a disease called polio which causes people to be crippled and unable to walk. To make matters worse, her family was poor and could not afford good medical care. Her mother decided she would do everything she could to help Wilma to walk again. The doctors had said she would not be able to walk. She took her every week on a long bus trip to a hospital to receive therapy . It didn't help, but the doctors said she needed to give Wilma a massage every day by rubbing her legs. She taught the brothers and sisters how to do it, and they also rubbed her legs four times a day. By the time she was 8, she could walk with a leg brace. After that, she used a high-topped shoe to support her foot. She played basketball with her brothers every day. A track coach encouraged her to start running. She qualified for the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. She won a bronze medal in the women's 400-meter relay. In the 1959 she set a world's record in the 200-meter race. At the Olympics that year she won two gold medals; one for the 100-meter race and one for the 200-meter race. She retired from running when she was 22 years old, but she went on to coach women's track teams and encourage young people. Her influence still lives on in the lives of many young people who look up to her.

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