C. Each one won a gold medal in the Olympics.
Picabo Street is a skiing legend. Born in Idaho, she began skiing at an early age. She did well in junior competitions and eventually joined the US ski team in 1988. She skied inconsistently for five years before winning a silver medal in the combined competition at the Alpine skiing world championships in Morioka, Japan. She also won the super-giant-slalom race at the US national championships in Winter Park, Colorado, that same year.
During the 1993-94 ski season, Street won the silver medal in the downhill at the 1994 Olympics. Then, in the 1994-95 season, she won six World Cup competition victories and the World Cup downhill season title.
In the 1996-97 season, Street crashed while taking a practice run in Colorado and tore a ligament in her left knee. She rehabilitated the knee and returned to competition, winning the gold medal in the giant slalom at the 1998 Olympics. Shortly after that, she crashed again and broke her left leg and tore a ligament in her right knee. Most fans feared that Street’s phenomenal career was over, but the skier returned once again and raced in the 2002 Winter Olympics. She failed to win a medal, but her return was a victory for all who believed in her and wanted to see her race one more time. Shortly afterwards, she announced her retirement.
Passage 2
Wilma Rudolph was one of America’s first great track and field athletes. Born in Tennessee, Rudolph had far from a normal childhood. At the age of four she came down with pneumonia, polio, and scarlet fever. The illnesses so ravaged her body that Rudolph could not even walk normally until she turned eleven years old.
In high school, Rudolph was an outstanding basketball player. But track was the sport in which she really shone. In 1956, she ran at the Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, and won a bronze medal in the 4X100-meter relay. At the 1960 Olympics, Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals. She won the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes and again ran on the 4X100-meter relay team.
In 1961, Rudolph won the James E. Sullivan Memorial Award, an award that goes each year to the outstanding amateur athlete in the US. Later that year, Rudolph retired from competition.
10
What similarities were there in these two athletes' careers?
A.
Each one retired while at the top of her career.
B.
Each one was named amateur athlete of the year.
C.
Each one won a gold medal in the Olympics.
D.
Each one excelled in more than one sport.
1 answer