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Athens marathon attacker joins long list
A man dressed in a kilt and beret who disrupted the men's marathon on Sunday joins a long list of cranks, celebrities and unsung heroes who make the race one of the great spectacles of the Olympics.
A man dressed in a kilt and beret who disrupted the men's marathon on Sunday joins a long list of cranks, celebrities and unsung heroes who make the race one of the great spectacles of the Olympics.
At the Munich Olympics in 1972 a hoaxer slipped on to the track a couple of minutes before the lead runner reached the stadium and ran a full lap, pretending to be a competitor, before being dragged away by security guards.
Just four years ago, a well-known Australian publicity seeker broke through security at the Sydney Marathon.
But while he failed to disrupt Sunday's race, the man in the kilt actually managed to get his hands on an athlete -- Brazilian Vanderlei de Lima -- and push him into the crowd.
The man, a former Irish priest who interrupted the British Formula One Grand Prix last year by running on to the track, was arrested.
De Lima, who was winning at the time, carried on running and took the bronze medal, saying later the incident might have deprived him of the gold.
Ever since Phidippides ran -- or supposedly ran -- from the Greek town of Marathon to Athens in 490 B.C. to announce the victory of the Athenians over the Persians, the marathon has been a magnet for larger-than-life personalities.
FIRST MARATHON
Take Spiridon Louis, winner of the first marathon of the modern Olympics in 1896.
His origins remain shrouded in mystery. He has been variously reported to have earned his livelihood as a shepherd, a professional water carrier or a village postman.
Deluged with offers of lavish gifts from Athens merchants after his victory 108 years ago, the modest Louis rejected free shaves, wine and clothing for life plus a shotgun.
All he wanted was a horse and cart.
In the 1904 race in St Louis, New Yorker Fred Lorz reached the stadium first, was acclaimed the winner and photographed with Alice Roosevelt, daughter of the United States president.
Only later did it emerge that Lorz had hitched a ride for about a quarter of the race.
Thomas Hicks, who was so exhausted during the race he had to be revived with strychnine sulphate served in an egg white with several sips of brandy, finished second behind Lorz and was awarded the gold.
Four years later Italian Dorando Pietri collapsed five times near the end of the 1908 London Games and was helped across the line by British race officials.
The Americans lodged a protest, saying Pietri had received unfair assistance, and the Italian was stripped of his gold.
Perhaps the greatest of all marathon runners was the slight Ethiopian Abebe Bikila, the first black African to win an Olympic title, who used to run barefoot.
The marathon's history is littered with such personalities and on Sunday, on a warm Athens evening, the unfortunate de Lima and his assailant in a kilt joined that history.
