THE Brazil runner who was leading the Olympic marathon when he was pushed to the ground by a demonstrator is being invited to take part in next year’s Flora London Marathon. The incident, which may have cost Vanderlei de Lima the gold medal, came at the end of an otherwise highly successful Games. After losing about 20 seconds, De Lima finished third, just ahead of Jon Brown, of Great Britain.
David Bedford, the race director of the London Marathon, said: “We were inviting him anyway. It seems to me that Vanderlei was cheated out of a silver medal and who knows what would have happened if that incident had not occurred? “Stefano Baldini (the gold medal-winner from Italy) was closing at the time, but clearly the incident affected Vanderlei. I was delighted he hung on for a medal. It was a brave run. Now the London crowds will be able to see what he can do.”
Bedford said that he would be putting together the field for the April 17 race in October and November but “we will be sending out an early invitation to Vanderlei. He will get terrific support on the streets of London”.
De Lima, a former foot- baller, finished in 2hr 12min 11sec, with Baldini, the former European champion, recording 2:10:55. At the 18-mile stage, two miles before the incident occurred, de Lima was leading by 47 seconds.
The jury of the IAAF confirmed the result but the IOC awarded the Brazilian the Pierre de Coubertin medal, named after the founder of the modern Olympics, for De Lima’s “exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values”.
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The aggressor, Cornelius “Neil” Horan, a former Irish priest who had also interrupted the British Grand Prix at Silverstone last year, appeared in the Athens central court yesterday. He apologised for the incident and was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for three years, and fined €3,000 (about £2,015).