IOC has declared the Native American athlete as the sole Olympic champion in decathlon and pentathlon from the 1912 Games
Well over a century after being stripped of Olympic gold medals at the 1912 Olympics due to breaking strict amateur athletics rules, Jim Thorpe has been reinstated as the decathlon and pentathlon champion from those Stockholm Games by the International Olympic Committee.
Thorpe controversially lost his titles in 1913 after it emerged he was paid to play minor league baseball from 1909 to 1910. The Amateur Athletic Union in the United States withdrew Thorpe’s amateur status and the IOC stripped him of his titles for being a professional.
The decision has been mired in controversy ever since. Thorpe, who died in 1953, was the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal and years of lobbying have taken place. In 1982 he was reinstated as ‘co-champion’ with Hugo Wieslander (decathlon) and Ferdinand Bie (pentathlon) but now he has been finally restored as the sole champion outright in both events.
“This is a most exceptional and unique situation,” IOC president Thomas Bach said. “It is addressed by an extraordinary gesture of fair play from the concerned National Olympic Committees.”
Nedra Darling, co-founder of the Bright Path Strong group which has lobbied for justice to be done for Thorpe, said: “We are so grateful his nearly 110-year-old injustice has finally been corrected, and there is no confusion about the most remarkable athlete in history.
“Jim Thorpe is a hero across Indian Country, and he is an American hero. He represented this country before it even recognised Native Americans as citizens, and he did so with humility and grace.”
One of the world’s greatest ever and most versatile athletes, Thorpe also played professional football and basketball during his career and his life story was given the Hollywood treatment in 1951 when Burt Lancaster played him in the movie Jim Thorpe – All American, which was known as Man of Bronze in the UK.
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