In one of the most exasperating finishes in Olympic history, American windsurfer Mike Gebhardt had a gold medal slip through his grasp when a plastic garbage bag got caught on his board in 1992. The Barcelona organizers were aware that floating refuse might be a problem in the city’s harbor and had garbage vessels daily clear the course, but they couldn’t collect all the garbage and waste. Gebhardt was in the lead in the seventh race, but was passed by a number or racers as he worked to free his center-board. When the combined results were toted up, Gebhardt narrowly missed out on the gold won by reigning world champion, Frenchman Franck David. Gebhardt took the silver medal.
