In the 1920s, Henryk Muckenbrunn was one of Poland's leading skiers, a multiple national champion in several disciplines. He was due to compete in the 1924 Olympics in cross country, nordic combined, and ski jumping: a triple threat! Unfortunately, a broken leg kept him out.

So four years later, Muckenbrunn returned, now representing Switzerland. This time, he competed, and this time, he won a medal. But the medal didn't come in your basic events... it came in skijoring. No, we didn't misspell that. Skijoring.

Skijoring is a sport popular(?) in Scandinavia, and it involves a skier pulled by a horse. (Or dogs. Or, in modern skijoring, a snowmobile.) In 1928, it was included in the St. Moritz Olympics as a demonstration sport. Muckenbrunn finished third.

Skijoring never returned to the Olympics, but Muckenbrunn remained in Switzerland. During World War II, he helped smuggle fellow Jews into the country, while hiding from the authorities himself. Truly a sporting hero and a mensch!

But, honestly, shouldn't the horse get at least half the credit?