There's 5 ways to deal with being "impeded".
1a) Fall down and like Nate Brannen in London 1500, get up and run 3:39 failing to make the final, but make the final in Moscow WC in revenge beating the guy who impeded you
1b) Fall down, ball your eyes out and kill your career like Morgan Uceney
2) Get a shot of adrenaline and storm past the opponents: think Lance Armstrong when a fan's purse hooked his handlebars and pulled him down. Yeah sure he doped, but his response was key.
3) Continue on passively, because you know you were beat anyways
4) Let your coach go apoplectic and knowing his history of heart attack, the committee gives in to save his life, and DQ's someone who was clearly the best, allowing the impeded person to get in.
5) Something else i forgot