My mother taught me very early to believe I could achieve any accomplishment I wanted to. The first was to walk without braces. — Wilma Rudolph

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

I believe in me more than anything in this world. — Wilma Rudolph

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

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

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. — Wilma Rudolph

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. — Wilma Rudolph

I knew that whatever I set my mind to do. I could do. — Wilma Rudolph

By the time I was 12 I was challenging every boy in our neighborhood at running, jumping, everything. — Wilma Rudolph

The triumph can’t be had without the struggle. — Wilma Rudolph

I would be disappointed if I were remembered as a runner because I feelthat my contribution to the youth of America has far exceeded the woman who was the Olympic champion. — Wilma Rudolph

No matter what great things you accomplish, somebody helps you. — Wilma Rudolph

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. — Wilma Rudolph

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. — Wilma Rudolph

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

When the sun is shining I can do anything; no mountain is too high, no trouble too difficult to overcome. — Wilma Rudolph

When I was going through my transition of being famous, I tried to ask God, why was I here? What was my purpose? Surely, it wasn’t just to win three gold medals. There has to be more to this life than that. — Wilma Rudolph

Down South, there was the old ‘ladies–don’t–do–such–things’ way of thinking. You couldn’t be a lady and a good athlete at the same time. — Wilma Rudolph

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. — Wilma Rudolph

I tell them that the most important aspect is to be yourself and have confidence in yourself. — Wilma Rudolph

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

I have spent a lifetime trying to share what it has meant to be a woman first in the world of sports so that other young women have a chance to reach their dreams. — Wilma Rudolph

The potential for greatness lives within us all. — Wilma Rudolph

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

They would say, ‘If you run around too much as a girl, you’ll never be able to have children.’ The running was supposed to be too much strain for your body, and your body would never be the same again. — Wilma Rudolph

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

I don’t know why I run so fast. I just run. — Wilma Rudolph

I thought I’d never get to see that. Florence Griffith Joyner––every time she ran, I ran. — Wilma Rudolph