| Host City: Stockholm, Sweden |
Format: Scoring by 1912B point tables. The order of events was as follows: Day 1 (13 July) - 100 metres, Long jump, Shot put; Day 2 (14 July) - High jump, 400 metres, Discus throw, 110 metre hurdles; Day 3 (15 July) - Pole vault, Javelin throw, 1,500 metres. |
| Date Started: July 13, 1912 |
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| Date Finished: July 15, 1912 |
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| (Competitors: 29; Countries: 12) |
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Venue(s): Stockholm Olympic Stadium, Stockholm
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| Overview by IAAF |
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| The best performances on record were set by Austin Menaul (USA) – 7414.555 (at Evanston in May), and 7244.10 by Wieslander in the Olympic stadium three weeks prior to the Games. Thorpe had won the pentathlon event in the US Eastern Olympic trials, but when only one other athlete turned up for the decathlon the event was cancelled, and Thorpe was selected by default. Eugene Mercer set the early pace with wins in the 100m and long jump, scoring 1718.60 to Thorpe’s 1658.75 after two events. But Thorpe’s 12.89 in the shot gained more than 300 points on Mercer, and he was then in the lead for good. Wieslander was by now fourth (2105.30) just behind Lomberg (2168.55) and Mercer (2160.60). Lomberg had produced an exceptional long jump of 6.87, and his high jump of 1.80 gave him 2986.55 points. However, after Thorpe’s superb 1.87, the Swede was more than 300 behind Thorpe’s 3329.75. The superb American was the best in the first two events of the second day, and won by nearly 400 from Wieslander, who only moved into second place after the javelin. Thorpe was celebrated as the greatest athlete in the world, only to have his medals stripped from him a few months later when it was discovered that he had played minor league baseball in 1909 and 1910. The gold medal was awarded to Wieslander and the bronze went to Holmér, later one of Sweden’s greatest coaches. In 1983, the IOC reinstated Thorpe as an amateur and declared the American and Wieslander co-champions. |
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| Summary by Sports-reference.com |
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| Prior to 1911, the multi-event for track & field athletes was the all-around championship, a 10-event competition emphasizing strength events. But in preparation for the 1912 Olympics, the Swedes devised another 10-event multi-event with more emphasis placed on speed and jumping ability. The first known competitions in the decathlon were conducted on 15 October 1911, both in Münster, Germany (won by Karl von Halt) and Göteberg, Sweden (won by Hugo Wieslander). In June 1912, Wieslander won two further Swedish decathlons in preparation for the Olympic Games. He was the Swedish favorite. |
| The American favorite was a remarkable Native American named Jim Thorpe. A descendant of the Sac and Fox tribe and an Irish father, Thorpe had starred in both football and baseball, as well as track, at the Carlisle Indian School in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. He had never competed in a decathlon prior to Stockholm, but at the eastern U.S. Olympic Trial in the pentathlon, he was so dominant that he was named to represent the United States in both the decathlon and the pentathlon. The Stockholm decathlon was expected to be a closely fought contest between Wieslander and Thorpe. |
| But it was not. One week after winning the pentathlon, Jim Thorpe won the decathlon by an almost laughable margin, establishing a new world record, and defeating Wieslander by almost 700 points. He won three events, had one second place, four thirds, and two fourths in the ten events. Using point-for-place scoring, he scored 25 points to Wieslander’s 67 and Charles Lomberg's 75. |
| At the closing ceremonies, Thorpe was presented his trophies by Sweden’s King Gustav V. The legend is that the King told him, “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world,” and that Thorpe replied, “Thanks, King.” Whether the legend is true or not, the King was correct. But from 1913 until 1982 the Olympic record books invariably listed Hugo Wieslander as the 1912 Olympic decathlon champion. |
| In January 1913, newspaper stories broke noting that Jim Thorpe had played minor league baseball in North Carolina in 1909 and 1910. The United States AAU reacted quickly and declared Thorpe a professional. The IOC followed suit. Thorpe’s Olympic victories were taken from him and he was ordered to return his medals and trophies. |
| But the story never died. For years, many efforts were made to right what many perceived as a wrong and have the medals, the trophies, and the recognition returned to Jim Thorpe or his family. The trophies included the Challenge Trophy for the decathlon, which had been donated by the Czar of Russia. In 1982, the International Olympic Committee made partial restitution when they restored Thorpe’s amateur status, and declared him, in an unusual ruling, co-champion with Hugo Wieslander. |
| The story of Thorpe’s disqualification, the many attempts to restore his name, and the final work done which succeeded, is a long and complicated one. See the Jim Thorpe bio for further details. |
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Results |
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| Decathlon |
Men |
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Final |
15 July |
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Thorpe's gold medal was stripped by the International Olympic Committee in 1913, after the IOC learned that Thorpe had played professional baseball, violating Olympic amateurism rules, before the 1912 Games. This moved everyone else up in the rankings. In 1982, the IOC was convinced that the disqualification had been improper, as no protest against Thorpe's eligibility had been brought within the required 30 days, and reinstated Thorpe's medals. Wieslander, Lomberg, and Holmér, however, were declared to still be gold, silver, and bronze medalists, respectively. This made Thorpe and Wieslander co-champions.
Avery Brundage, president of the IOC from 1952 to 1972, competed in the decathlon finishing in 16th place. Brundage did not start in the last two events of the competition.
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Gold medalists Hugo Wieslander and Jim Thorpe |
| Rank |
Mark |
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Athlete |
Country |
NOC |
Age |
Records |
Notes |
| 1 |
8412,955 |
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Jim Thorpe |
United States |
USA |
24 |
WR |
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| 2 |
7724,495 |
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Hugo Wieslander |
Sweden |
SWE |
22 |
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| 3 |
7413,510 |
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Charles Lomberg |
Sweden |
SWE |
25 |
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| 4 |
7347,855 |
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Gösta Holmér |
Sweden |
SWE |
20 |
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| 5 |
7083,450 |
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Jim Donahue |
United States |
USA |
27 |
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| 6 |
7074,995 |
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Roy Mercer |
United States |
USA |
23 |
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| 7 |
7058,795 |
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Valdemar Wickholm |
Finland |
FIN |
21 |
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| 8 |
6758,780 |
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Erik Kugelberg |
Sweden |
SWE |
21 |
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| 9 |
6682,445 |
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Karl von Halt |
Germany |
GER |
20 |
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| 10 |
6568,585 |
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Josef Schäffer |
Austria |
AUT |
20 |
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| 11 |
6134,470 |
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Aleksandr Schultz |
Russia |
RUS |
19 |
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| 12 |
5294,615 |
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Alfreds Alslēbens |
Russia |
RUS |
19 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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George Philbrook |
United States |
USA |
27 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Ferdinand Bie |
Norway |
NOR |
24 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Frank Lukeman |
Canada |
CAN |
26 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Avery Brundage |
United States |
USA |
24 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Géo André |
France |
FRA |
22 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Alfredo Pagani |
Italy |
ITA |
24 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Einar Nilsson |
Sweden |
SWE |
20 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Otto Röhr |
Germany |
GER |
20 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Skotte Jacobsson |
Sweden |
SWE |
24 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Gunnar Rönström |
Sweden |
SWE |
28 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Alex Abraham |
Germany |
GER |
25 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Pierre Failliot |
France |
FRA |
23 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Harry Babcock |
United States |
USA |
21 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Svend Langkjær |
Denmark |
DEN |
25 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Viktor Hackberg |
Sweden |
SWE |
20 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Manlio Legat |
Italy |
ITA |
22 |
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| AC |
DNF |
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Mkrtich Mkryan |
Turkey |
TUR |
29 |
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Skotte Jacobsson 
Eugene Mercer 
Frank Lukeman 
Pierre Failliot 
Otto Röhr 
Valdemar Wickholm 
Ferdinand Bie 
Svend Langkjær 
Manlio Legat 
Josef Schäffer 
Mgirdiç Migiryan 
