1988 Calgary Olympics

At the 1988 Winter Olympics at Calgary, the Mexican cross-country ski team was Roberto Alvarez and that was it. He placed 82nd in the 15-kilometer race, 83rd in the 30K Classical and 60th in the 50K freestyle. Alvarez finished nearly an hour behind next-to-last finisher. He was so far behind in the 50K that a search party was sent to see if he had been hurt.

"I knew going in I would be lucky to beat anybody," Alvarez said. "My goal was to beat one person and not make a fool of myself. I think I accomplished both. The only race I didn't beat anybody was in the 50K. I was the last one across the line, but 13 people dropped out. So I consider that I beat them."

More than 3½ hours after the 50-kilometer cross-country ski race began, Alvarez crossed the line with hardly anyone around to greet him. He was met by his mother, who handed him a package. "He has been dying for some Oreo cookies ever since he started training," she said.