Olympic Gold in Mismatched Shoes
A Snapshot of Jim Thorpe
It was the summer of 1912, the Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. Jim Thorpe, a Native American from the Sac and Fox Nation in Oklahoma, was representing the United States in four track and field events, including the decathlon, a grueling contest in which the winner would be given the title of world’s greatest athlete.
The decathlon comprised ten events taking place over three days. When Jim gathered his track shoes on the morning of day two, they were missing. Some people believe they were stolen.
Sports shoes were custom-made then. So with no store to buy a replacement, Jim and his coach searched trash bins behind the stadium, hoping to find a pair. Eventually, his coach returned with two shoes. One for the right foot, one for the left. They were different sizes and styles. One fit fine. The other was far too big. Without other options, Jim put on two pairs of socks to make it work.
Then he ran.
Wearing these mismatched, discarded shoes, Jim didn’t just compete; he won. And he dominated, finishing first and beating the competition by nearly 700 points. Decades would pass before someone won with a higher margin.
After the decathlon ended, King Gustaf V of Sweden famously declared to Jim, "Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world." To which Jim modestly replied, "Thanks, King."
Jim returned home to a ticker-tape parade down Broadway in New York City. His name was in the papers. He was the pride of the nation.
Sources:
Crawford, Bill. All American: The Rise and Fall of Jim Thorpe. Hoboken, N.J. : John Wiley & Sons, 2005.
"Jim Thorpe." Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Thorpe
Photograph of Jim - Wikimedia Commons, Wikimedia Foundation, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jim_Thorpe,_1912_Summer_Olympics.jpg
