Greatest female sprinters of all time

#8 Wilma Rudolph

Wilma Rudolph crosses the finish line to win the women's 400-meter relay at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome

Rudolph was regarded as the fastest woman in the 1960’s with her most prolific achievement coming in at the 1960 Rome Olympics when she became the first American woman to claim the triple gold in the 100m, 200m and 4x100m relay events.

Rudolph earned several nicknames – “The Tornado”, “Skeeter”, “La Gazzella Nera”, meaning “The Black Gazelle” by the Italians, and “La Perle Noire” which stood for “The Black Pearl”, by the French.

She was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame in 1983 prior to which she was named the Associated Press Athlete of the Year in 1960 and 61, United Press Athlete of the Year award in 1960 and was also the recipient of the James E. Sullivan Award in 1961.