Updating Olympians

How's this for the bio of a Princeton grad? 

A United States Olympic sailor. An architect. A spy during World War II. The person who rejuvenated the silk business in Thailand, where he also turned a forgotten hotel into one of the best in the Far East — all while possibly still being a spy.

That's pretty fascinating stuff. 

It belongs to James Thompson, Princeton Class of 1928. Shortly after graduation, Thompson sailed in the Olympic Games in Amsterdam, finishing sixth. 

He then studied architecture at Penn. When World War II broke out, he joined the Army as part of the OSS, the forerunner of the CIA. Fluent in French, he worked covertly with the French Resistance, and more overtly fighting in North Africa. 

Just before the war ended, he was sent to Bangkok, for his first time in Thailand. He came back to the U.S. briefly after the war, and then returned to Thailand to start his life there — even getting divorced from his wife, who did not want to follow him there.

He'd stay in the Far East from that point on. What happened to him? Nobody knows. He went off for a walk one day in 1967 and was never seen again. Ultimately, he was declared dead in 1974, though his body was never found.

Here's a quote from an Australian journalist who knew him:

I still insist, like others who know far more about the affair than I do, that he disappeared by his own choice and will, and not by force.

Now that's how you want to go out if you're a spy.

Why did James Thompson come onto TigerBlog's radar yesterday? 

It all started with an email that was forwarded to TB from the Daily Princetonian. It appeared that there were some issues with the all-time list of Olympians on goprincetontigers.com.

Not the recent ones, mind you. No. The ones from way back. 

A history question? About Princetonians in the Olympics? 

This was right in TigerBlog's wheelhouse. And so he dove right in. 

Of course, there is the question of the archives. The list of Princeton Olympians, like so many other records, goes back a long, long way.  TB isn't even sure who first put this list together. 

He relies on it, as he relies on all other records, to be accurate, since he has no reason to doubt them. And, for the most part, it's spot on.

On the other hand, he does realize that there have to be some discrepancies. As an example, there is an inaccuracy somewhere about the first season of women's lacrosse at Princeton. The official record book and the Prince archives disagree about the schedule and results from the 1972 season.

Meanwhile, back at the Olympic records, there were a few small corrections, such as the case of rower Tina Clark, who was listed with United States and not Canada. That was easy to check.

There were some others that required a cross-reference between the year they graduated Princeton and their Olympic competition. There were a few names on the email who weren't on the Princeton webpage, with some who turned out not be Olympians or Princetonians. 

There were others who belonged or needed to be removed. Tragically, one of the ones who need to be removed was Gerrit Schoonmaker, or "G.L. Schoonmaker" as he was listed on the webpage of Olympians.

As it turned out, Gerrit did not compete in the Olympics. He graduated in 1953, joined the Marines and passed away after a short battle with ALS.

There was an "L.M. Schoonmaker," Class of 1904, who fenced in Paris at the 1920 Olympics and then was an Olympic referee after that. Gerrit was his son. 

There was also an Olympic sailer named James (Bing) Schoonmaker. Ol' Bing was an alternate on the 1952 and 1964 teams, which is how Gerrit had been listed on goprincetontigers.com. As far as TigerBlog can tell, Bing never attended Princeton.

The bigger point isn't that there were a few errors on the page. It's that Princeton Athletics has produced so many Olympians throughout the years. 

The list of Princetonians who have competed in the Olympics will be growing significantly in the next few weeks, when the 2024 Games in Paris begin next month. 

There will be a record number of Tigers in Paris. TB will make sure they're all properly mentioned on the long, long list of Princeton Olympians.