Spanish Invention

To put a positive spin on this is difficult but the ingenuity of it is fantastic. In discussing the biggest sporting b**tards the Guardian have pulled out this beauty from Spain. The full report can be found here with a myriad of other suggestions in the comment section

4) The Spanish Paralympic basketball team, Sydney 2000

They pretended to be mentally disabled so they could win the Paralympic gold medal. They pretended to be mentally disabled so they could win the Paralympic gold medal. You just can't go any lower than that. It was only once the team had won the learning-disabled gold that it was revealed that the players hadn't actually been disabled. Not only were 10 of the 12-man squad entirely learning-able, some of them were actually club basketball players. Their coach actually instructed them to dumb-down their play because the ease with which they were winning was making people suspicious. Even then they tore through the competition, notching up a 24-point win over Russia in the final. "There were two or three players who could have competed in our national basketball league," observed Australia's coach. "What they did with, and without, the ball was way above what any of our athletes could have achieved." Sensing that they were on the brink of being rumbled, the team were kitted out in false beards and spectacles to disguise them on their return to Spain.

Fantastic ruse don't you think?