As was the custom of the day, the medals were presented to the athletes during the closing ceremonies of the games. Along with the two gold medals, Thorpe also received two challenge prizes, which were donated by King Gustav V of Sweden for the decathlon and Czar Nicholas II of Russia for the pentathlon. Several sources recount that, when awarding Thorpe his prize, King Gustav said, "You, sir, are the greatest athlete in the world", to which Thorpe replied, "Thanks, King".[20][21] Contemporary sources from 1912 are lacking, suggesting that the story was apocryphal, however.[22] The anecdote appeared in newspapers as early as 1948, 36 years after his appearance in the Olympics,[23] and in books as early as 1952.[24]
Thorpe's successes had not gone unnoticed at home, and he was honored with a ticker-tape parade on Broadway.[20] He remembered later, "I heard people yelling my name, and I couldn't realize how one fellow could have so many friends."[20]
Apart from his track and field appearances, he also played in one of two exhibition baseball games at the 1912 Olympics, which featured two teams composed of U.S. track and field athletes. It was not Thorpe's first try at baseball, as the public would soon learn.
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