The IOC has reinstated the gold medals to Jim Thorpe as the sole winner of the 1912 Olympic decathlon and pentathlon. In addition, Olympic legend Carl Lewis has been named track coach at the University of Houston.
The IOC has reinstated Jim Thorpe as sole winner of 1912 Olympic decathlon and pentathlon
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Friday reinstated the gold medals Jim Thorpe won at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm for the decathlon and pentathlon, naming him the sole winner of those events.
The IOC decision comes on the 110th anniversary of Thorpe winning those events and later being proclaimed by King Gustav V of Sweden as "the greatest athlete in the world," Click 2 Houston reports.
Thorpe had been stripped of the medals because he had been paid to play minor league baseball in 1909-10, which was a violation of strict amateurism rules at the time, ESPN reported.
Jim Thorpe was voted the greatest athlete of the first half of the 20th century by the Associated Press. A Native American, Thorpe was a member of the Sac and Fox Nation and was the first Native American to win a gold medal.
Thorpe played multiple sports including basketball and professional football for the Canton Bulldogs, helping them win three championships. He later played for six teams in the NFL and was inducted into the Pro football Hall of Fame. He also played Major League Baseball for six seasons.
Olympic legend Carl Lewis is named track and field coach at the University of Houston
Legendary nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis has been named track and field head coach for the University of Houston. Will Blackburn has been named the director of track and field.
Carl Lewis is one of the United States's best Olympic athletes ever, winning nine gold medals, one silver medal, and 10 world championships between 1984 and 1996. Lewis' career spanned from 1979 to 1996, when he won his last Olympic event, taking the gold in the long jump. That made him the third Olympian to win the same individual event four times. Lewis retired in 1997. He spent his college career at the University of Houston, and he has spent the last eight years as an assistant coach on Houston’s Track and Field team, Sports Illustrated reported.
"Will and Carl are both incredible representatives and products of the University of Houston, Houston Athletics and our track and field programs," Chris Pezman, Vice President for Athletics at the University of Houston said in a statement. "I am personally grateful for their leadership during this transitionary time. We are fortunate to have individuals of their caliber leading our program with Will doing so on the day-to-day side and Carl as head coach. They are two of the very best in the country."