An Olympic gold is the pinnacle every athlete dreams of, once achieved it becomes one of the most prized possessions. But what if the athlete loses it? An American athlete went through this turmoil when his Gold medal, once stripped off him, never found its way back…at least as long as he was alive. Three years later after the IOC ended up awarding him the accolade after decades of controversy he became the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States, and guess what? he is back in the news.

James Francis Thorpe, also called Jim Thorpe, competed in the 1912 Olympics, winning two gold medals- one in classic pentathlon and another in decathlon. But just as the legend stood at the pinnacle of his glory, thing went south. Jim had lost his amateur status through payments received for his professional services as a baseball player which meant he was not eligible for the events he participated in, thus the IOC stripped him of the medals he won. Years passed and in one such year so did Jim (1953). Finally, the IOC felt that perhaps they treated the native American too harshly and in 1983, 70 years after the incident, it was ruled that Thorpe should be recognized as the co-champion.  And finally four decades later, in 2022 IOC established Thorpe as the sole champion, awarding the descendants of the star with the medals.

Little was known about the fate of those medals until they found themselves in the bidding wars on Heritage Auctions. The Medals were found in an abandoned storage unit Oklahoma City storage locker which belonged to the Thorpe family.  The pure silver medal of the original mold features a laurel wreath crowning of a Victory figure holding a palm branch with a herald proclaiming the start of the Games beside a bust of Ling on verso. The Medals are currently at the bid of $10,500, with an estimate of $30,000.

Maybe an Olympic gold was never written in Thorpe’s family destiny and even though it’s the controversy that comes to mind when Thorpe is mentioned, the Olympian gold medalist goes far beyond his medal debacle.

The legend that was Jim Thorpe

“You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world.” This is what the monarch of Scandinavian nations had to say to Jim after the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. The legend had gone on to participate in 15 events across both competitions and finished in the top 4 in every single one, securing the 1st position four times in the Pentathlon and 6 times in the Decathlon. Returning home after the Olympics, Jim led the Carlisle Indian Industrial School football team through a triumphant season, culminating in its dramatic and well-savored victory.

Jim wasn’t just the first Native American to win a gold medal for the United States in the Olympics but a great human as well. He himself admitted to taking payment for his baseball matches when the claims started to make national headlines. For a fact, Jim was also rarely found to complain about the loss of his Olympic medals.

Given the history these medals hold, the character and the kind of athlete Thorpe was…how much do you think Thorpe’s legacy is worth?