Long-Armed Ludy and the First Women's Olympics

Ludy was born in 1900 and grew up on a farm in South Carolina.

When she went to Winthrop College in 1917, she was 6 feet tall, so skinny that if she turned sideways, you'd think she'd disappeared, and she had the longest arms you can imagine. She spent a lot of time on the athletic field and always encouraged her teammates in their endeavors. In her final year at Winthrop, she decided to try the shotput and enjoyed the feeling of strength it gave her. She became a shot-putter and trained all year. In the spring of 1922, at the Winthrop College track meet, she set an American record. So she and her coach hopped on a train and made it to the try-outs in New York for the Women's Olympics (women were not yet included in the Olympic Games.) Again, she set an American record and was chosen to go to the Women's Olympics in Paris, France. She was very honored but knew that she couldn't afford the journey. She couldn't seem to tell the student body of her financial difficulties so she went on training. One morning the college president called her into his office and said that the student body and teachers of Winthrop College had taken up a collection for her passage. Ludy was going to Paris! She trained hard for the next two months and vowed to win, both for herself and for everyone who believed in her and helped her.

Suffice it to say that Ludy made good on her promise and set a world record in Paris.

I was interested to read this picture book, because 1) I am a woman, and 2) I am a huge fan of the Olympics, and 3) I love history. The sweet message here is that winning takes hard work, but it also takes encouragement and support. The illustrations perfectly illustrate this text. I appreciated the historical information and photographs after the story to connect this event to “real time.”

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