[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 30, Number 5 (Monday, February 7, 1994)]
[Pages 209-210]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]

<R04>
Proclamation 6649--National Women and Girls in Sports Day, 1994

February 3, 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

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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.
                                            William J. Clinton

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:45 a.m., February 4, 
1994]

Note: This proclamation was published in the Federal Register on 
February 7.