Jim Thorpe was denied two golds during the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm.
After 110 years, the American was restored – and therefore a Swedish and a Norwegian lost their gold medal.
During the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, Jim Thorpe won two gold medals. The American won both the pentathlon and the decathlon — but Thorpe ditched his medals.
The reason was that the 25-year-old had previously worked as a professional baseball player, which was considered an unfair advantage at the time. Instead, Sweden’s Hugo Wieslander took gold in ten matches and Norway’s Ferdinand B took gold in five.
In 1953, the 65-year-old Thorpe died, but the American was later rehabilitated.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced in 1982 that Thorpe would share the gold medal with Weslander and B. However, that wasn’t enough, according to many of Thorpe’s supporters. He was seen by many as an icon, as he was the first Native American to win an Olympic gold medal.
“Exceptional and very unique”
40 years later, and 110 years after the Olympics were held in Stockholm, Thorpe finally earned an Olympic gold medal. According to the New York Times, the IOC consulted with both Weslanders and members of the Bee family as well as the Swedish and Norwegian Olympic Committees before making the decision.
– This is a very exceptional and unique situation. It is an extraordinary gesture of fair play from the relevant National Olympic Committees, says Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee.