RIO DE JANEIRO — Alone in his apartment in south London, a 69-year-old man named Neil Horan watched a middle-of-the night broadcast of the opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics. Like other viewers, he wondered which Brazilian would get the honor of lighting the Olympic caldron.
And when he saw that it would be Vanderlei de Lima, best known for being accosted by a spectator while leading the 2004 Olympic marathon in Athens, he was aghast.
It was Horan who jumped onto the course near the 22-mile mark and shoved de Lima into the crowd in Athens — "Put him aside like a rugby tackle," he recalled in a phone conversation on Saturday — and was blamed for de Lima finishing third.
Horan conceded that it was a "kneejerk and selfish reaction to some extent," but he made no apology for his feelings.
Horan has gained bursts of infamy for his public exploits. He is a defrocked Irish priest who has made an occasional habit of interrupting sports events. He frequently appears at demonstrations, wearing a green beret and a green vest — the same outfit he wore when he interrupted the Olympic marathon — claiming that the second coming of Jesus is near. In 2009, he appeared on "Britain's Got Talent," and his Irish dancing earned him an invitation to the second round, until executives realized who he was. He does not dispute the label as an eccentric.
Horan said he has read and seen interviews with de Lima in which the Brazilian called him a religious fanatic in a desperate search for publicity. De Lima has said that the chapter is closed, a brushoff that rankles Horan.
In 2003, laicized by the Roman Catholic Church and an outspoken believer that the end of the world was coming, Horan interrupted the British Grand Prix by running onto the racetrack, forcing cars to swerve past him. He went to Athens in August 2004, he said on Saturday, with no intention of interrupting any events.
De Lima, flustered and off rhythm, returned to the course but was passed by the eventual winner, Stefano Baldini of Italy. Meb Keflezighi of the United States won silver, and de Lima managed to grab the bronze.
Horan, still impressed that de Lima was able to take third place after what he had done to him, was taken to jail, and eventually was given a suspended sentence and fined.
These days, Horan believes that de Lima is more famous for being accosted than he would have been for winning. That is why Horan was frustrated to watch the climax of the opening ceremony.
To Horan, alone in his apartment across the ocean, de Lima would not be a global hero without him.
"It is certain that he would not be the star of the opening ceremony if not for what I have done," Horan said. "He would not. How many people remember the gold medal winners of 12 years ago? Even those here in London four years ago?
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