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Jim Thorpe: Sports and Recreation\Athlete\Football
Jim Thorpe: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor\Movie actor
Jim Thorpe: Sports and Recreation\Athlete\Baseball
Jim Thorpe: Sports and Recreation\Athlete\Track & Field
Jim Thorpe: Olympic medal
Portrait
Credit Line
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Restrictions & Rights
CC0
Object number
NPG.80.327
Exhibition Label
Near Prague, Indian Territory, now in Oklahoma
A member of the Sauk and Fox Nations, Jim Thorpe attended the Carlisle Indian School, which forced Native children to assimilate. There, he excelled at football, baseball, and track and field, and, in 1912, he went on to compete in the Olympic Games in Stockholm. When Swedish King Gustav V awarded Thorpe the gold medals for the pentathlon and decathlon, he said: “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.”
In 1913, it was discovered that Thorpe had earned money playing minor league baseball. The news of his professional status prompted calls for his disqualification as an Olympic athlete, particularly within the U.S. Amateur Athletic Union. Consequently, Thorpe was stripped of his medals. But in 1982, the International Olympic Committee reversed its decision, declaring him co-winner of both events. In 2022, thanks to the advocacy of Native American activists, the International Olympic Committee fully restituted Thorpe’s title as sole winner.
Nacido cerca de Prague, Territorio Indio, hoy Oklahoma
Miembro de las naciones sauk y fox, Jim Thorpe asistió a la Escuela Carlisle para Indígenas, donde se forzaba la asimilación cultural de los niños nativos. Allí se destacó en fútbol, béisbol y pista y campo, y en 1912 compitió en las Olimpiadas de Estocolmo. Cuando el rey sueco Gustavo V le entregó las medallas de oro en pentatlón y decatlón, le dijo: “Caballero, usted es el mejor atleta del mundo”.
En 1913 se descubrió que Thorpe había ganado dinero en las ligas menores de béisbol. Esto implicaba que tenía estatus profesional, y surgieron peticiones para descalificarlo como atleta olímpico, sobre todo dentro de la Unión Atlética Amateur de EE.UU. Thorpe fue despojado de sus medallas, pero en 1982 el Comité Olímpico Internacional (COI) revirtió su decisión y lo declaró coganador de ambos eventos. En 2022, gracias a gestiones de activistas nativos americanos, el COI restituyó integralmente a Thorpe su título como único ganador.
