Jim Thorpe, the super athlete who had been stripped of the medals, was recognized as Olympic champion of pentathlon and decathlon

For the war it took more than a century and an arduous campaign by organizations that defend the rights of the peoples of the American Indians International Olympic Committee (CIO) eventually reinstated the the American Jim Thorpe as an Olympic champion in pentathlon and decathlon at the Stockholm Games of 1912, nearly 110 years after his medals were withdrawn for violating the rules on amateurism in effect at the time.

“This is a truly exceptional and unique situation, which has been responded to with an extraordinary gesture of fair play by the National Olympic Committees involved,” explained German IOC President Thomas Bach in a statement published on Friday’s website. agency, which details the procedure by which “Jim Thorpe’s name will now appear as the only gold medalist in pentathlon and decathlon.”

The initiative was promoted and powered by Bright Path Strong (BPS), a non-governmental organization created to amplify the rumors, stories and achievements of Native Americans, including Thorpe, who andwas a member of the Sac and Fox peoplehistorically based in the forest area of ​​Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska.

First the BPS and then the IOC contacted the Swedish Olympic Committee (SOC) and the heirs of Hugo Wieslander, who had been promoted to decathlon champion when Thorpe was expropriated in 1913. All parties agreed to acknowledge the American and even Wieslander’s relatives revealed that he had never accepted the gold medal, considering that the rightful winner of the event had been his rival.

The same approval came from the Olympic and Paralympic Committee and the Norwegian Sports Confederation, whose athlete Ferdinand Bie had become the owner of the gold medal in the pentathlon when Thorpe was stripped of the title.

Based on this IOC resolution, Thorpe will henceforth be considered the only gold medalist in pentathlon and decathlon in Stockholm 1912., while the silver medals will go to Bie in the pentathlon and Wieslander in the decathlon. Meanwhile, American James Donahue and Canadian Frank Lukeman will retain the silver and bronze medals in the pentathlon that were awarded to them when the scores were changed in 1913. The same will happen to Charles Lomberg (silver) and Gösta Holmér ( bronze). , both Swedish, in the decathlon.

Thorpe died in 1953 at the age of 64.. In 1982, the IOC awarded his sons two gold medals, although they did not change the list of winners of the 1912 Stockholm Games until this Friday.

Triumph and dispossession

Thorpe, who was 25 at the time and whose real name was Wa-Tho-Huk (Kickapoo means Luminous Path), had an outstanding performance at the 1912 Stockholm Games and won two races that made their debut at the Olympic program. He easily won the pentathlon, which at the time consisted of the long jump, a 200-meter run, a 1,500-meter run, and discus and javelin throws. He got the victory too when he threw the javelin without running because he didn’t know how to do it.

In the decathlon, a test in which he had never competed, he also climbed the top step of the podium. He finished first in shot put, high jump, 110m hurdles and 1,500m; second in the long jump; third in 100 meters, discus and pole vault; and fourth in 400 meters and javelin. He won with 8,412.95 points, a score that was only surpassed almost 20 years later.

Upon returning to his country, he was greeted like a hero with a special parade on Broadway. “I heard people shouting my name and I didn’t understand how anyone could have so many friends,” he said shortly after. Although his happiness at these achievements did not last long, as in early 1913, the Worcester Telegram newspaper ran an article in which he denounced that Thorpe had received money to play in the minor league baseball between 1909 and 1910.

What was the problem? The Olympic Charter clearly stated that the athletes competing in the Games had to be amateurs and the link between Thorpe and the teams that had hired him violated that rule. He claimed he didn’t know the rules and didn’t know he broke them, as it was common practice for college players to play in the minor leagues. But the IOC was adamant and stripped him of his medals, a resolution that took 109 years to change.

a complete athlete

Born on May 28, 1887 on a farm on the outskirts of Prague (Oklahoma), Thorpe began to distinguish himself in various sports as early as elementary school, although he made the leap when, at the age of 16, he entered the School as an Industrial student. Indian from Carlisle (Pennsylvania), founded specifically for the “Americanization” of the indigenous population. There he was one of the stars of the institute’s football team.

In Carlisle he also comes into contact with athletics, which will be the sport that will make him an athlete recognized throughout the planet, although he also experiences baseball, basketball and lacrosse. In all he had an excellent performance. That’s why he is considered the greatest athlete of the 20th century in the United States, according to a 2012 survey conducted by the ABC television channel.

After his Olympic participation, Thorpe focused on the other two disciplines in which he excelled as a professional. In 1915 he signed a contract with the Canton Bulldogs of the American Professional Football Association (APFA), which in 1922 would become the National Football League (NFL).

With the Bulldogs, who paid him $ 250 per game (a huge amount for the time), he played for five years and was champion in 1916, 1917 and 1919. He then went through other teams such as the Cleveland Indians, the New York Giants and Tampa Cardinals until his retirement in 1928. He was also a coach in many of the teams he played for. As if that were not enough, in 1920 he became the first president of the APFA. In 1963 he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame.

In parallel with his performance as a football player, Thorpe also played professional baseball (after it earned him the stripping of his Olympic medals). On February 1, 1913, he signed a three-year contract with the Major League New York Giants.

He played for the Big Apple team for three full years before gaining experience with the Cincinnati Reds and Boston Braves, which he alternated with returning to the Giants. In the Major Leagues he had 289 games until his expulsion in 1919.