Canadians repaid sportsmanship with maple syrup at the Turin Olympics—5 tons of it.

Try for a lifetime to earn this achievement and it probably wouldn't happen. There are not many things one could do to earn an inexhaustible supply of maple syrup. In this case, the task completed to earn this massive resource was sportsmanship. At the Turin Olympics, a Norwegian ski coach gave a Canadian a spare ski pole after hers broke. The Canadian went on to win silver medal, beating the Norwegians, who finished fourth, by two places.

In response, the people of the red maple leaf were so touched that they collectively gave the Norwegian coach 5.2 tons of maple syrup! About 7,400 cans were shipped to Norway.

What was even sweeter about this whole deal is that the Canadians and Norwegians both agreed to wave any of the shipping duties that might make the maple syrup too expensive to transport.

While you may not be recognized in a way exactly like this, all athletes are encouraged to mimic the sportsmanship that the Norwegian ski coach demonstrated at the Olympics. Of course, nothing is impossible. You might very well earn your own 5.2 tons of maple syrup someday.

(Source)