Athlete Profile: Jim Thorpe (USA)

He's said to be one of the most versatile athletes ever. Besides being an Olympic champion, Jim Thorpe played professional football, baseball and basketball. His status as a professional in those sports led to him losing his Olympic medals only to have them returned years later.

Jim Thorpe was believed to be born on May 28, 1888 in Prague, Oklahoma; no birth certificate was ever found. He was of mixed heritages; his father was Irish, his mother a Sac and Fox Indian. His native name, "Wa-Tho-Huk" meaning "a path lighted by a great flash a lightning" or simply "bright path."

As a young boy he attended school in nearby Stroud, Oklahoma with his twin brother. Following his brothers death, Thorpe struggled in school and was sent away to keep him from skipping school. He again ran away following his mother death and it was finally decided to send him to Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. It was there that he met coach Glen Scobey Warner, one of the most influential coaches in early American football history. It was here that Thorpe would develop his natural athletic talent.

It is reported that Thorpe attempted high jump and beat every high jumper on the team by jumping a 5'9" while in street clothes. He also competed in football, baseball, lacrosse and ballroom dancing while at Carlisle. He led the football team to numerous wins including an upset victory over Harvard and national championships.

Leading to the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, two new disciplines were added to the program-decathlon and pentathlon. The original pentathlon consisted of long jump, javelin throw, 200 meter dash, discus and 1500 meter run. Thorpe entered both events at the Olympic Trials and easy won both.

Thorpe's decathlon total of 8,413 would stand for nearly two decades. He won all but the javelin throw in the pentathlon event, easily beating the field. Along with the decathlon and pentathlon, Thorpe also entered the long jump and high jump events but would not medal in either. Thorpe would be awarded his gold medals during the Olympic closing ceremony along with two additional prized, one from King Gustav of Sweden and the other from Czar Nicholas II of Russia. It is reported that when awarded his prize, King Gustav said, "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world."

Thorpe would return home to lavish celebrations for his achievements.

However, in 1913, strict rules were put in place to enforce amateurism in sports. Athletes could not receive prize money for competitions. In January 1913, newspaper began writing that Thorpe had played professional baseball and earning money. Later that year the IOC stripped Thorpe of his Olympic titles, medals and awards.

Thorpe would go on to play professionally in basketball, baseball and football. Following his sports career, Thorpe struggled to find work. By 1950 and with no money, Thorpe was diagnosed with lip cancer. In 1953, he suffered his third heart attack; he later died on March 28, 1953 at the age of 64.

Throughout the years many continued to campaign and urge the IOC to reinstate Thorpe as the Olympic champion and return his medals. After many failed attempts, the IOC finally decided to return the medals and Thorpe's name to the record books in 1982.