In the 1952 Olympics at Helsinki, Josy Barthel (second from the lead in the above photo) of Luxembourg won the gold medal for the men's 1500 meter competition. This victory was considered a real gobsmacker, as Luxembourg had never won a gold medal before in any Olympics and the competition featured several more likely and famous candidates--including Roger Bannister, who held the British record for the event and who thereafter became the first man to run the 4-minute mile.
The Olympic Committee was so unprepared for this development that it did not even have the musical scores available for the band to play the Luxembourg national anthem. The musicians improvised, and the resulting rendition was spectacularly cacophonous. Barthel cried unabashedly on the podium, and no one was sure if it was tears of joy over his triumph or instead tears of anguish at the butchered rendition of his homeland's melody.
For a video of the race, click here.
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