Karl Hugo Wieslander (11 June 1889 – 24 May 1976) was a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-de ...

. He set the inaugural world record in the

pentathlon A pentathlon is a contest featuring five events. The name is derived from Greek: combining the words ''pente'' (five) and -''athlon'' (competition) ( gr, πένταθλον). The first pentathlon was documented in Ancient Greece and was part of ...

Gothenburg Gothenburg (; abbreviated Gbg; sv, Göteborg ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, fifth-largest in the Nordic countries, and capital of the Västra Götaland County. It is situated by the Kattegat, on the west coast of Sweden, and has ...

in 1911 with a score of 5516 points. The following year he finished second in the decathlon at the

1912 Summer Olympics The 1912 Summer Olympics ( sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1912), officially known as the Games of the V Olympiad ( sv, Den V olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Stockholm 1912, were an international multi-sport event held in Stockholm, Sweden, b ...

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

, 688 points behind

Jim Thorpe James Francis Thorpe ( Sac and Fox (Sauk): ''Wa-Tho-Huk'', translated as "Bright Path"; May 22 or 28, 1887March 28, 1953) was an American athlete and Olympic gold medalist. A member of the Sac and Fox Nation, Thorpe was the first Native ...

. In 1913, after it was discovered that Thorpe had played semi-professional baseball for a minor league team, Thorpe was disqualified for not being an amateur. Wieslander was declared the winner of the 1912 Olympics event and awarded the gold medal, which he refused to accept. In 1982 Thorpe was reinstated by the IOC with Hugo Wieslander as joint winners of the 1912 Olympic decathlon. The IOC announced 15 July 2022 that Thorpe's gold medal had been reinstated and Wieslander, whose family had considered Thorpe the rightful winner, became the silver medalist. Wieslander competed in the long jump, discus throw, shot put and two types of javelin throw at the 1908 Olympics. He completed only the freestyle javelin throw event, in which he placed fifth. At the 1912 Olympics, besides his decathlon achievement he finished seventh in the pentathlon. Nationally Wieslander won four Swedish titles: in the high jump (1907), decathlon (1909) and pentathlon (1910 and 1911); in 1906–1908 he placed second-third eight times in various jumping and throwing events. In 1913 he passed the state surveying exam and became employed by the Swedish cartography agency ( :sv:Rikets allmänna kartverk). For many years he was uncomfortable with keeping the 1912 gold medal and contemplated returning it to Thorpe. In 1951, he reconsidered and instead donated it to the sports museum at the

Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences ( sv, Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan, GIH) in Stockholm is a Swedish institution offering higher education in the fields of teaching profession in Physical Education, Sports coaching A sports co ...

. In 1954, it was stolen from the museum and was never recovered.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wieslander, Hugo 1889 births 1976 deaths Swedish decathletes Athletes (track and field) at the 1908 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes of Sweden Olympic gold medalists for Sweden Medalists at the 1912 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists in athletics (track and field) Olympic decathletes