Jim Thorpe Reinstated As Sole Winner of Two Events From 1912 Olympics
The International Olympic Committee reinstated Jim Thorpe on Thursday as the sole winner of the decathlon and pentathlon events from the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden, according to ESPN.
The news was first reported by Indian Country Today.
Thorpe, who won gold medals for both events in the Stockholm Games, was stripped of his wins in 1913 because he had received money while playing minor league baseball. As a result, the Amateur Athletic Union withdrew his amateur status for breaching amateurism rules. The IOC, in return, confiscated Thorpe’s medals.
While the IOC made the decision to reinstall Thorpe as a co-champion in both events in 1982, it was not until Thursday that the organization reinstated him as the sole winner.
Thorpe's reinstatement was years in the making as it created a ton of controversy within numerous Native American communities. Thorpe, who was the first Native American to win a gold medal, was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation tribes.
A group known as Bright Path Strong, a nonprofit aimed at amplifying the voices of Native Americans, fought for Thorpe. Nedra Darling, the co-founder of BPS, said the “110-year-old injustice has finally been corrected.”
“Jim Thorpe is a hero across Indian Country,” Darling said. “He represented this country before it even recognized Native Americans as citizens, and he did so with humility and grace.
“Even after he was wronged by his coach, the American Athletic Union, and many others, he never gave in to bitterness and led with a spirit of generosity and kindness.”
Beyond his skills at the Olympics, Thorpe was a multisport athlete. He played professional baseball for the New York Giants, the Cincinnati Reds and the Boston Braves, and played in 52 NFL games for six different teams from 1920 to ’28 before retiring at 41.
Thorpe, who died in 1953, is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and college football’s annual award for the nation’s top defensive back is named after him.
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