Thorpe participated in four events ... winning gold in the decathlon and pentathlon, finishing fourth in the long jump and seventh in the high jump. In presenting the medals to Thorpe, King Gustav of Sweden called him the greatest athlete in the world (to which the laconic Thorpe replied "thanks king.").
Thorpe was soon stripped of his medals because he had accepted money to play baseball for a couple of summers ... thus forfeiting his amateur status and one of the tenets of Olympism.
The medals were not restored until 1983 - 30 years after his death.
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