Anyone can be considered a good athlete, but few can be called great. To be great you have to create changes in a sport that everyone can recognize. Being able to create a noticeable change will allow more opportunities for the ones who are still growing up and want to make their own path. A woman by the name of Mildred Ella "Babe" Didrickson Zaharias has done this. With the help of her exceptional athletic ability, she opened up a world of opportunities for women in the world of sports. She broke barriers and did what she knew she could accomplish. She lived a great life and left her footprints in the history of sports.
             Mildred Ella Didrickson was born on June 26, 1911 in Port Arthur, Texas. Her parents were Ole and Hannah who were born in Norway. When Mildred was four years old, her family moved to Beaumont, Texas. She had six brothers and sisters: Dora, Nancy, Ole, Lillie and Louis (twins), and Arthur. Mildred was the second youngest in her family. While growing up, Mildred enjoyed playing baseball. In one of her games she hit five homeruns and was later given the name "Babe." Sometimes while running errands for her mother she would turn it into a race and use the hedges as hurdles and jump over them and would time herself to see how quickly she could finish the errand. Mildred graduated from Beaumont High School in 1929. She then moved to Dallas, Texas, worked at Employers Casualty Insurance Company, and played on their basketball team called the Golden Cyclones. She once entered in a contest where she threw a baseball 296 feet to win. In an exhibition baseball game, she struck out Joe DiMaggio.
             In the Olympics of 1932, held in Los Angeles, California, she qualified for five events, but was only allowed to enter into three. She won a medal in all three events. Gold- Javelin Throw- 143'4", Gold – 80 Meter Hurdles- 11.7 seconds and Silver – High Jump – 5'5". ...