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
Career HighlightWon 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. 2 Classification
Competition Category FAQs
Why was Jim Thorpe disqualified from the 1912 Olympics?
He had played minor league baseball and was retroactively declared a professional.
Olympedia explains that in early 1913 it was revealed that Thorpe had played minor league baseball in the United States. For this he was retroactively declared a professional by the Amateur Athletic Union and the International Olympic Committee, his records at the 1912 Olympics were declared void, and he had to return his gold medals and his Challenge Trophies.
Were Jim Thorpe's Olympic medals ever restored?
Yes. The International Olympic Committee restored them in 1982.
Yes. Olympedia records that in 1982 the Thorpe family succeeded in their long struggle to have his medals restored by the International Olympic Committee.
Connections
Competed In
Source Encyclopaedia Britannica
Long-Form Articles
Plays
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In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Jim Thorpe
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Jim Thorpe
Olympic awards reinstated
In consultation with surviving family members of Wieslander, the IOC voted to reinstate Thorpe as the sole winner of both events on July 14, 2022, after the National Olympic Committees of Norway and Sweden had given their approval.
Wikipedia, article summary lead
Thorpe played as part of several all-American Indian teams throughout his career, and barnstormed as a professional basketball player with a team composed entirely of American Indians.
View the Source2. Encyclopaedia Britannica
Wikidata: Jim Thorpe
Wikidata Q221482, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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