Women Athletes Posters “O...-R...-”
for social studies and physical education classrooms, home schoolers, fans.

Danica Patrick
b. 3-25-1982; Beloit, WI

Auto racing driver Danica Patrick is the most successful woman in the history of American open-wheel racing. Dhe competed in the Indy Car series from 2005 to 2011, and holes the highest finish by a woman at the Indianapolis 500 of 3rd place.

Currently she competes in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and works as a model and advertising spokeswoman.

Mary Lou: Creating an Olympic Champion

Mary Lou Retton
b. 1-24-1968; Fairmount, WV

Mary Lou Retton is a gymnast and Olympic gold medalist. Retton was the first female gymnast from outside Eastern Europe to win the Olympic all-around title, after 14 Eastern Bloc countries boycotted the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.

Cathy Rigby
b. 12-12-1952; Los Alamitos, CA

Cathy Rigby was the highest performaning U.S. gymnast in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics, and the first U.S. woman to win a medal in the World Gymnastics Games. She is also an actress and speaker.

Wilma Rudolph
b. 6-23-1940; Clarksville, TN
d. 11-12-1994; Brentwood, TN

Poster Text: Wilma Rudolph was born in Tennessee in 1940, the 20th of 22 children. Her parents had to struggle mightily to make ends meet for their large family. Then, at the age of four, Wilma became seriously ill with scarlet fever and pneumonia. The illness left her with a crippled leg, and doctors told here she would never be able to walk normally again. But Wilma refused to give up. She soon recovered completely and grew to be an exceptionally tall and graceful young woman – and in time, she became a star athlete.

Wilma once scored 49 points in a high school basketball game – a school record that still stands! But her greatest triumph came during the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome where she won gold medals in the 100-meter dash, the 200-meter dash, and the 400- meter relay. She set a new Olympic record in the 100 meter-dash with a time of 11 seconds. Wilma Rudolph overcame tremendous odds to become one of the greatest athletes in Olympic history. In 1993, just one year before she died of cancer, she was the first person ever to receive President Clinton's National Sports Awards.

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