Olympic medals from Jim Thorpe

World record Jim Thorpe was the superstar of the Stockholm Olympic Games in 1912. He confidently won the pentathlon and decathlon in athletics. In the decathlon he set a world record with almost 700 points ahead of the Swede Hugo Wieslander, although he had never contested a decathlon before! One of his competitors was Avery Brundage, who later became the controversial IOC president. Jim Thorpe had Indian roots. Sweden's King Gustav V is said to have told him at the medal ceremony that he was the greatest athlete in the world and Thorpe is said to have thanked him with the words

Jim Thorpe was the superstar of the Stockholm Olympic Games in 1912. He confidently won the pentathlon and decathlon in athletics. In the decathlon he set a world record with almost 700 points ahead of the Swede Hugo Wieslander, although he had never contested a decathlon before! One of his competitors was Avery Brundage, who later became the controversial IOC president. Jim Thorpe had Indian roots. Sweden's King Gustav V is said to have told him at the medal ceremony that he was the greatest athlete in the world and Thorpe is said to have thanked him with the words "Thank you, King." In January 1913 newspapers reported that he had made a few dollars playing baseball before the Stockholm Games. Since the IOC had strict rules that only amateurs were allowed to compete in the Olympic Games, Jim Thorpe was subsequently disqualified and Hugo Wieslander was declared the winner. But Wieslander refused to take the gold medal for the rest of his life. It is suspected that racism played a role