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House Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
House of Representatives
Session of 2019 - 2020
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 24, 2020 10:20 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Representative Doyle Heffley |
| To: | All House members |
| Subject: | A Concurrent Resolution to encourage the International Olympic Committee to reinstate Jim Thorpe as the sole gold medal winner of the pentathlon and the decathlon events of the 1912 Olympic Games. |
| In the near future, I plan to introduce a concurrent resolution to encourage the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to reinstate Jim Thorpe as the sole gold medal winner of the pentathlon and the decathlon events of the 1912 Olympic Games. Jim Thorpe, an attendee of the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in the early 1900’s, honorably represented the Native American Sac and Fox Nation and the United States at the 1912 Olympic games in Stockholm, Sweden. He was the first U. S. athlete to win the pentathlon and the decathlon events in one Olympic year. Unfortunately, his gold medals were revoked after it was discovered that he violated strict rules regarding amateurism that were in force at the time. These gold medals were not re-instated until 1982, when the IOC recognized the improper application of the disqualification procedures. While they were reinstated, Jim Thorpe was not recognized as the sole gold medal winner of the pentathlon and the decathlon events, rather he was recognized as a co-gold medal winner with the athletes who were elevated to gold medal status after his gold medals were revoked. Please join me in cosponsoring this concurrent resolution that encourages the IOC to reinstate Jim Thorpe as the sole gold medal winner of the pentathlon and the decathlon events of the 1912 Olympic games. |
Introduced as HR1001