Although it began without incident, the men's marathon event at the 2004 Summer Olympics later took a turn for the bizarre. During the final quarter of the race, an Irish protester appeared from nowhere and pushed race leader Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil into the crowds. A shocked de Lima managed to pick himself up and carry on racing, though he lost about 15 to 20 seconds of his running time and struggled to regain his rhythm. He finished third in the event, robbed of what until then seemed like a definite gold.

Oscar Pistorius is a South African Paralympic runner. Known as the "Blade Runner" and "the fastest man on no legs," Pistorius runs with the aid of artificial limbs made of carbon fiber that look like frog's legs. In 2007, Pistorius raced in his first international able-bodied competitions. However, his artificial lower legs generated claims that he has an unfair advantage over able-bodied runners. The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) has since ruled him ineligible for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Pistorius appealed the IAAF decision.