Born Mildred Ella Didriksen in 1911, Babe Zaharias was an unabashed tomboy. In high school, she played basketball, one of very few options for girls at the time (many schools didn’t have any sports for girls at all.) In 1930, she took up track and field training and qualified for the 1932 Olympics, where she won two gold medals and one silver (due only to a judging technicality.)