...is Carl, with the following fact:
Jim Thorpe is remembered for the loss rather than the winning of Olympic Gold medals. In 1913, Thorpe was stripped of both of his gold medals by the Olympic Committee. According to the then prevailing Olympic Rules, no professional was permitted to compete in the strictly amateur Olympic Games. However a newspaper journalist that Thorpe had received $25 per week to play minor league baseball in North Carolina. As well as losing his medals, Thorpe’s name was removed from the record books.
However, the silver medal winners in the 1912 decathlon and pentathlon events refused to claim the medals that Thorpe fairly won. Jim Thorpe died in 1953 of a heart attack. He was 64 years of age, and was buried in the town of Mauch Chunk, Pennsylvania which subsequently changed it’s name to Jim Thorpe. In 1982 the International Olympic Committee restored Thorpe’s Gold Medals, and on January, 1983 replicas of his medals were presented to his family. All's well that ends well.
Bad luck to the 'Nero' factoiders - this was indeed an excellent fact, but there were two very similar entries!
Next week I will be imposing a new word-limit of 100 words per fact. I think everyone will agree that the first e-factoid has been a resounding success!
