List of polio survivors
Name Life Comments
Tenley Albright born 1935 The first American female figure skating world champion and Olympic champion . She caught polio , aged 11 , and was isolated in the hospital for a while . Albright later became a surgeon and helped with the international polio eradication effort through the World Health Assembly
Paulo Autuori born 1956 Brazilian futsal player in his teens , Paulo Autuori contracted poliomyelitis and had to give up his career as a player . He decided to study to become a coach instead , and became one of the most successful managers in Brazilian football
Bob Blackman 1918-2000 After a bout of polio during his first year of college ended his football-playing career , Blackman became a college football head coach . He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1987
Ethelda Bleibtrey 1902-1978 Triple Olympic gold medallist in the freestyle swimming events . At age 16 , she took up swimming to help recover from a bout of polio . Shortly afterwards , Bleibtrey competed in the 1920 Summer Olympics in Antwerp
Bhagwat Chandrasekhar born 1945 Cricketer who specialised in leg spin . At age five his right arm was withered by a bout of polio . Chandrasekhar used his right hand for bowling which led to his distinctive style
Walt Davis born 1931 Olympic gold medallist in the high jump , and later a basketball player in the NBA . He caught polio , aged nine , and could not walk for three years
W. Harry Davis 1923-2006 Stricken with polio at age three , Davis was left crippled from the waist down until he was five . He recovered but his legs remained slightly different lengths . Davis went on to become a successful amateur boxing coach and served on the U.S. Olympic boxing committee . He was also an executive , a civil rights leader , and campaigned as Minneapolis 's first black mayoral candidate in 1971
David Dore born 1940 Dore served as the head of the Canadian Figure Skating Association for 17 years . He was introduced to figure skating as a child while recovering from polio
Ray Ewry 1873-1937 Track and field athlete Ray Ewry contracted polio as a child , and he used a wheelchair for a while . He devised his own exercises to strengthen his legs . Ewry went on to become one of the most successful Olympic athletes of all time , winning 10 gold medals in standing jump events
Paola Fantato born 1959 Despite being confined to a wheelchair by polio as a child , Italian Archer Fantato has competed in both the Olympics and Paralympics , winning six medals in the latter
Bill Gadsby born 1926 Former ice hockey defenceman in the NHL , Gadsby contracted polio at age 24 while at a training camp . Fortunately , he was able to recover quickly and his hockey season was uninterrupted
Bud Grant born 1927 The long-time former American football head coach of the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League for eighteen seasons . He caught polio as a child , leaving one leg shortened . He was advised to take up sport as therapy
Lis Hartel born 1921 Olympic dressage silver medallist . She caught polio , aged 23 , while pregnant . Hartel was left permanently paralysed below the knees but was able to compete again after three years of rehabilitation
Larry Hinson born 1944 Professional golfer , Hinston 's left arm was affected by a bout with polio as a boy , but it never hindered his golf game
John Konrads born 1942 Olympic freestyle swimmer in the 1950s and 1960s , Konrads caught a mild case of polio while swimming at the community pool
Shelley Mann born 1937 Mann caught polio , aged six , and took up swimming to aid her recovery . At the 1956 Summer Olympics she won gold and silver medals in butterfly events
Jack Nicklaus born 1940 Professional golfer who has won many major golf championships . He caught polio , aged 13 . Nicklaus was affected with stiffness , pain and weight loss over two weeks . He recovered without any paralysis but believes he may have post-polio syndrome , which makes his joints sore . His sister Marilyn also caught polio , possibly from him , and was less fortunate - she was unable to walk for a year
Wilma Rudolph 1940-1994 Champion American Olympic sprinter . At age four , she contracted polio . Her left foot became twisted , due to a disparity in the strength of the muscles . After five years of massage and exercises , she managed to walk again without leg braces . She became a basketball star , and led her team to a state championship . Rudolph won a bronze medal , aged 16 , at the 1956 Summer Olympics and three gold medals ( 100 meter , 200 meter , and 4 x 100 meter relay ) in the 1960 Summer Olympics , setting two world records
Joe Soares born ~1959 Soares contracted polio as an infant in Portugal , resulting in his use of a wheelchair . At age four , he was sent , alone , from his island home in the Azores to Lisbon . There he underwent surgery and spent six months in a body cast . Soares became a well known wheelchair rugby player and coach . His story is , in part , the subject of the 2005 documentary film , Murderball
Vic Wertz 1925-1983 Major League Baseball first baseman and outfielder . He caught non-paralytic polio during August 1955 and was in the hospital for 20 days
Uncontested diagnosis -- Sports
Ray Ewry , nicknamed `` The Human Frog '' for his ability to leap , spent some of his childhood in a wheelchair .
This is a list of notable people who have survived paralytic poliomyelitis. Poliomyelitis (often simply called polio) is an acute viral infection that involves the gastrointestinal tract and occasionally the central nervous system. Poliovirus is acquired by faecal-oral or oral transmission. Prior to the introduction of a vaccine in 1955, infection was common, with epidemics during the summer and autumn of temperate countries. An eradication programme has reduced the number of reported polio cases worldwide by more than 99% since the mid-1980s. Most infections are asymptomatic; a small number cause a minor illness that is indistinguishable from many other viral illnesses; less than 1% result in acute flaccid paralysis. This list only includes notable persons who had the paralytic form of polio. The extent of paralysis varies from part of a limb to quadriplegia and respiratory failure. The latter was often treated with an iron lung until, it was hoped, the patient recovered. Around 30-40 years after contracting paralytic poliomyelitis, about 25-40% of cases lead to post-polio syndrome. Symptoms include muscle pain, further weakening of muscles and paralysis. Surviving paralytic polio can be a life-changing experience.