In high school, Rudolph became the star basketball player for her team. She also did track for 4 years and never lost a race. When she was 16 years old, she signed up for the Summer Olympics in track. She won the bronze medal in the track events. She was one of the first black women to win anything major like that. She decided to not to compete in the 1964 Olympics. She retired and became a school teacher and an athletic coach. She was a mother of 4 kids and divorced two husbands.