Wilma Rudolph - Olympic Runner
When Wilma Rudolph was four years old, she developed infantile paralysis that is caused by the polio virus. Because of this, she had to wear a brace on her left leg and foot until she was nine years old. As she got older, she began to play basketball. While she was playing in a game, a track and field coach noticed her and asked her to train with him. She became an Olympic athlete at the young age of sixteen. She was considered the fastest woman in the world in the 1960s, earning her the name "The Tornado," and because of her success, she elevated the presence of woman's track and field in the United States. She also was a pioneer for civil rights and woman's rights. She managed all of this even after being paralyzed at a very young age.
Kurt Warner - Football Quarterback
Kurt Warner had a troubled domestic life before his astronomical success. His parents divorced when he was 6 years old. His wife is a former Marine Corps corporal with a child from another marriage that became blinded by his abusive biological father. In his early football career, he was cut from the Packers’ training camp and in order to make ends meet he had a job at the local grocery store and was living in his in-law's basement with his family. His in-laws were killed by a tornado a couple years later (the natural disaster, not to be confused with Wilma Rudolph). Warner did not leave behind his passion to pursue football. He became a part of the Arena Football League in 1995, and performed so well, he was named to the AFL's First-team All-Arena in both 1996 and 1997.He became known as the twelfth out of the 20 Best Arena Football Players of all time. With his name inducted in the AFL Hall Of Fame, he moved on to finally have an NFL career.
Bethany Hamilton - Professional Surfer
Arguably the most notable female athlete in most recent years, Bethany Hamilton is famous for competing in surfing competitions after the loss of her left arm from a shark attack. In 2003, this Hawaiian teenager was surfing with her best friend, Alana, and her family, the Blanchards, when a tiger shark shark bit off her arm as it was hanging off the side of the board. Alana's father tied a tourniquet around what was left of her arm and rushed her to the hospital. She suffered from hypovolemic shock and nearly died from losing 60% of her blood. She spent a week in the hospital to recover before being released. Three weeks later, however, Hamilton was right back on her board in the water. She had to adapt to her injury, learning how to surf with a newly lost limb. She figured out what kind of board she would need and how to paddle and kick with only one arm. She has since won many professional surfing competitions and has become an inspiration to athletes everywhere, particularly women, based on a lot of exposure from the media. She also placed third with her husband in the 25th season of The Amazing Race.
Roberto Clemente - Major League Baseball Player
He began his professional baseball career in Puerto Rico, then moved to the minor leagues in Canada, and eventually worked his way to Major League Baseball. In 1958, Clemente joined the United States Marine Corps Reserve, instead of playing winter baseball. He became a Private First Class and remained until 1964. In his off-seasons, Clemente enjoyed doing charity work. In 1972, when Managua, Nicaragua was hit with a massive earthquake, he arranged emergency relief flights for the people there. He decided to join one of the flights to Nicaragua. Sadly, his plane never reached Managua. It crashed off the coast of Puerto Rico into the Atlantic Ocean. He was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, and the Pirates retired his jersey number, 21, in his honor. He was the first Latin American and Caribbean player to have the honor.
