At the 1972 Games held in Munich, Frank Shorter, Munich-born but representing the U.S., won the Olympic marathon, but not before facing the most bizarre reception. As Shorter was nearing the stadium, a German student wearing a track uniform emerged from the sidelines and joined the race for the last quarter-mile as a joke. Outrageously, he entered the stadium and ran partway around the track. Thinking he was the winner, the crowd began cheering him. Arriving seconds later, Shorter was perplexed to see someone ahead of him, and what's more, had to run to the finishing line enduring the boos and catcalls directed at the prankster!

At the 1976 Games in Montreal, Japanese gymnast Shun Fujimoto competed with a broken right knee and helped win the gold medal for the Japanese team! Fujimoto broke his leg on the floor exercise portion of the discipline. He could have pulled out, but due to the closeness in the overall standings with the USSR, he decided to hide the seriousness of the injury. With a broken knee, Fujimoto dug deep and somehow managed to complete his event on the rings, performing a perfect triple somersault dismount while maintaining perfect posture. Ouch! Unbelievably, he secured gold for Japan.