Quotes from Wilma Rudolph

I loved the feeling of freedom in running, the fresh air, the feeling that the only person I'm competing with is me.

Later on in life, I discovered that in order for me to be successful, I had to have a challenge. I can't do a nine to five job.

My doctor told me I would never walk again. My mother told me I would. I believed my mother.

I ran and ran and ran every day, and I acquired this sense of determination, this sense of spirit that I would never, never give up, no matter what else happened.

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.

No matter what great things you accomplish, somebody helps you.

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.

I loved the feeling of freedom in running, the fresh air, the feeling that the only person I'm competing with is me.

Sometimes it takes years to really grasp what has happened to your life.

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.

No one has a life where everything that happened was good. I think the thing that made life good for me is that I never looked back. I've always been positive, no matter what happened.

Sometimes it takes years to really grasp what has happened to your life.

Winning is great, sure, but if you are really going to do something in life, the secret is learning how to lose.

The potential for greatness lives within us all.

Believe me, the reward is not so great without the struggle.

I don't know why I run so fast. I just run.

'I can't' are two words that have never been in my vocabulary. I believe in me more than anything in this world.

The triumph can't be had without the struggle.

It doesn't matter what you're trying to accomplish. It's all a matter of discipline. I was determined to discover what life held for me beyond the inner-city streets.

The feeling of accomplishment welled up inside of me, three Olympic gold medals. I knew that was something nobody could ever take away from me, ever.

You become world famous, and you sit with kings and queens, and then your first job is just a job. You can't go back to living the way you did before because you've been taken out of one setting and shown the other. That becomes a struggle and makes you struggle.

When I ran, I felt like a butterfly that was free.

There were good jobs, but they were never what I wanted to do. Somehow, people always thought of Wilma Rudolph as a threat.

In college, I was an education major and qualified for several jobs. But the fame that came with the Olympic medals was too threatening to many people.