[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 25 (Monday, February 7, 1994)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 5693-5694]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-2953]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: February 7, 1994]
Presidential Documents
Proclamation 6649 of February 3, 1994
National Women and Girls in Sports Day, 1994
By the President of the United States of America
A Proclamation
The inspiring story of Wilma Rudolph is among our most
outstanding examples of the courage of women in sports.
Wilma Rudolph literally sprinted onto the world stage
during the 1960 Olympics, becoming the first American
woman to win three gold medals in track and field
competition. What had transpired in her life before her
great victory in Rome was perhaps even more astounding.
The twentieth of twenty-two children, Wilma was born
near Clarksville, Tennessee, weighing only 4-\1/2\
pounds. At the age of four, she was stricken with
pneumonia, chicken pox, and polio, which left her
crippled and with little hope of ever walking again.
Through sheer determination and the love and support of
family and coaches, Rudolph became an athlete of
enormous talent and skill. However, hers was not only a
personal victory. She was one of the first major role
models for both Black and female athletes, and her
unprecedented success caused gender barriers to be
broken in previously all-male track and field events,
like the Penn Relays.
As we celebrate the ability and commitment of women and
girls in sports, we recognize that the life of Wilma
Rudolph carries an important lesson for all of us. This
stunning athletic sprinter, who raced like the wind,
reminds us that women have long delighted in the thrill
of athletic competition. They have demonstrated their
versatility and have tested the limits of physical
mastery and endurance.
With the adoption of the Education Amendments of 1972,
American law offered women in colleges and universities
the hope of enjoying the same governmental support that
men's sports had always enjoyed. Title IX of that Act
requires that those institutions receiving government
funding provide equitable athletic programs for women.
But even as we remember the passage of this historic
legislation, we realize that true equality in the world
of sports has not yet come. By applying the same
virtues that make a successful athlete--commitment,
spirit, and teamwork--all of us can play a role in
providing women and girls the opportunities they
deserve.
Wilma Rudolph has spent her lifetime trying to share
what it has meant to be a woman in the world of sports,
so that other young women have a chance to reach their
dreams. On this day, let us emulate this goal--to
encourage all women and girls to fulfill their true
potential in any sport they choose. Let us hope that
they, too, will enjoy the incomparable feeling of the
wind at their backs.
The Congress, by Public Law 102-557, has designated
February 3, 1994, as ``National Women and Girls in
Sports Day'' and has authorized and requested the
President to issue a proclamation in observance of this
day.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the
United States of America, do hereby proclaim February
3, 1994, as National Women and Girls in Sports Day. I
urge all Americans to observe this day with appropriate
ceremonies and activities.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
third day of February, in the year of our Lord nineteen
hundred and ninety-four, and of the Independence of the
United States of America the two hundred and
eighteenth.
(Presidential Sig.)>
[FR Doc. 94-2953
Filed 2-4-94; 11:45 am]
Billing code 3195-01-P
