The Native American Who Won Two Olympic Gold Medals – Then Had His Titles Taken Away Before History Finally Reversed The Decision

The statement is more interesting than it first appears.

It is not a claim about the IOC’s official record.

It is not a claim about justice or injustice.

It is a claim about knowledge — about the specific relationship between a person and what they have done, independent of what the institutions around them say about it.

Thorpe knew he had won.

He had crossed the finish lines, had cleared the bars, had thrown the implements, had done it all faster and further and higher than everyone else in the stadium.

That knowledge was not subject to revision by the AAU or the IOC or any newspaper editorial.