The Olympics historically has been one of the mega-events

The Olympics historically has been one of the mega-events that is used to “advertise an identity and confer a legitimacy” to countries/nations/recognized territories from their presence in the Olympics and even success in a particular sport. An example the authors give is Cuba. What we know about Cuba is that a small island with one of the few communist party political structures has ‘conveyed this legitimacy’ through their participation in the Olympic Games, but also through their success/dominance in the sport of boxing at the Olympic Games. This is the essence of ‘nationalism,’ where pride and legitimacy are a common crossroads.
What is another example of a country (like Cuba) which has found a way to ‘confer its legitimacy’ through the Olympics Games–when otherwise they have NOT been an influential actor on the world stage, and in what sport/event at the Olympics did they find substantial/significant success.