On August 8, 1984, during the Los Angeles Olympic Games, a middle-distance runner collapsed after receiving a medication that had been administered in error. The athlete was reportedly given a pill intended for another competitor; upon experiencing adverse effects, medical staff at the Olympic venue responded and provided emergency care. The runner was subsequently evaluated by team physicians and Olympic medical personnel and did not return to competition that day. The 1984 Los Angeles Games were notable for heightened attention to athlete health and doping controls, following decades of growing medical involvement in elite sport. Medication distribution at the Olympic Village involved national team medical staff, local organizing committee facilities, and on-site pharmacies; this layered system sometimes created opportunities for miscommunication and error. In this case, contemporary reports and later summaries indicate that the immediate cause was a mistaken transfer or misidentification of medication, rather than deliberate malpractice or doping. Medical records and contemporary press coverage described the episode as an accident. Olympic organizers and the athlete’s national federation cooperated with local medical authorities to determine the substance involved and to ensure the athlete’s recovery. Because privacy protections and limited archival release restrict access to full medical documentation, public accounts rely on journalistic reporting and statements from officials at the time. Different sources emphasize the same basic facts—wrong medication, collapse, prompt treatment—but may vary in details such as the drug’s name, dosage, and the precise chain of custody that led to the error. The incident drew attention to protocols for drug handling and athlete safety. In subsequent years, Olympic organizing committees and national teams reviewed labeling, storage, and dispensing practices for medications to reduce the risk of similar mistakes. The episode also contributed to broader discussions about informed consent, athlete autonomy over medical decisions, and the responsibilities of team medical staff and event pharmacists. Errors in medication administration can have multiple causes: look-alike packaging, unclear prescriptions, rushed exchanges during high-pressure competition schedules, or lapses in verification procedures. The 1984 incident reinforced the need for standardized procedures—such as double-checks, clear labeling, and restricting access to athlete medications—to prevent accidental administration of the wrong drug. While this collapse did not become a long-term medical scandal or a central controversy of the 1984 Games, it remains a documented example of the risks athletes face beyond competition itself. It underscores how logistical and medical systems at major sporting events can directly affect athlete safety, and how organizers must continually adapt protocols to protect competitors. Because available public records do not provide a complete, contemporaneous medical dossier open to independent verification, some specifics about the medication and immediate decision-making remain unclear in the public record. What is clear from multiple contemporary reports is that the collapse followed an administration error, that the athlete received prompt medical attention, and that the episode prompted reviews of medication-handling procedures at subsequent sporting events.