The World is Abuzz with News of the Beginning of

The Modern Pentathlon competitions in Athens Thursday and Friday, with the Men's beginning at 15:40.

I was unaware that Jim Thorpe not only won gold in the decathlon, but also the pentathlon.

Jim Thorpe won the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Sweden. Sweden's King Gustav V praised him as "The greatest athlete in the world" after the Olympics.

But there was controversy.

A short time later, even though there was never a rule against professional athletes competing in the Olympics at that time, a committee determined that Thorpe had played professional baseball for the Fayetteville and Rock Mount teams of the East Carolina League and his name and gold medals were expunged from the Olympic records.
...
While Grace [Thorpe, his daughter] and her family were fighting to get their father's name cleared a movie called "Jim Thorpe, All American" was aired with Burt Lancaster in the title role. Grace believes the movie helped to open people's eyes to what really happened and might have even swayed some of the minds on the Olympic Committee.

Without many fanfares, the gold medals and his records were restored to Thorpe in 1982 -- 70 years after a king called him, "The greatest athlete in the world."
...
In these hectic times when many professional athletes are allowed to compete in Olympic events, it seems rather ridiculous that a man named by the ABC Network as the "Greatest Athlete of the Century" should have had to live the rest of his life under a cloud of guilt.

[Grace] Thorpe...World War II veteran now resting in the Claremore Veterans Home still remembers.

Disciplines of the Modern Pentathlon:

Shooting - Air Pistol - 20 shots - 10 meters.

Fencing - epee - round robin-tournament, with a single touch deciding each match.

Swimming - free-style race - 200 m.

Riding - equestrian show jumping with horses provided by the organisers, which are selected through a random draw 20 minutes prior to the commencement of the event [The hick says, "Jeez Louise!] - 350 to 450m length, and includes 12 hurdles (15 jumps) with one double and one triple jump.

Running - 3K Cross-Country.

To which Thorpe added World Class Excellence in the Decathlon.

One more honor for Thorpe: Jim Thorpe to celebrate 50 years
Athlete's namesake borough plans a festival and parade.
[My emphasis added to improve clarity.]