Athletes

Jim Thorpe

Also Known As Sac and Fox name Wa-Tho-Huk, often translated as Bright Path Sac and Fox name, commonly translated as Bright Path (fuller renderings include a bright path the lightning makes).

Citation Formats

General Reference

Sport and Games Atlas. "Jim Thorpe." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://sport.interactiveatlas.org/athletes/jim-thorpe.

APA Style

Sport and Games Atlas. (n.d.). Jim Thorpe. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://sport.interactiveatlas.org/athletes/jim-thorpe

BibTeX

@misc{sportandgamesatlas-jim-thorpe,
  author = {Sport and Games Atlas},
  title = {Jim Thorpe},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://sport.interactiveatlas.org/athletes/jim-thorpe},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

American athlete of Sac and Fox descent, winner of both the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics; also played professional baseball, football and basketball, and is regarded as one of the most versatile athletes in history.

Facts

Birth Year

1887 1

Death Year

1953 1

Nationality

United States 1

Career Highlight

Won gold medals in both the pentathlon and decathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics; stripped of his medals in 1913 over a since discredited amateurism violation, and posthumously restored as sole gold medallist by the IOC in 2022. 1

Cross-Tradition Connections