Babe Didrikson Zaharias

Hello! My real name was Mildred, but everyone called me 'Babe.' I grew up in a place called Texas, and I loved to play. Playing sports was my favorite thing to do. I loved to run super fast and jump super high. I could even hit a baseball so far it looked like a little dot in the sky. It was so much fun to be outside and play all day.

In the year 1932, I went to a giant sports party called the Olympics. It was a place where athletes from all over the world came to play games. I got to run and jump for everyone to see. I ran so fast over little fences called hurdles, and I threw a long stick called a javelin very, very far. I was so happy because I won two shiny gold medals. It felt wonderful to win.

After the Olympics, I wanted to try something new. I found a new game I loved called golf. In golf, you use a special stick called a club to hit a little white ball into a hole. It was a quiet game, but it was still so much fun. I practiced a lot, and soon I became very good at it. I won lots and lots of trophies for playing golf. I was happy that I could be great at more than one sport.

I loved being an athlete my whole life. I showed everyone that girls can be strong and play any sport they want. I lived to be 45 years old. Today, people remember me when they see girls running, jumping, and having fun with sports, and that makes my story a happy one.