Athletics
Thwarted De Lima to run Japan Marathon
Monday, 3 January 2005 10:10Brazil's Olympic bronze medallist Vanderlei De Lima will take part in Japan's Lake Biwa Marathon in March, organisers said today.
De Lima chose the March 6 race as his first marathon since battling to third at the Olympics in August after being attacked by defrocked Irish priest Neil Horan while leading in Athens.
The 35-year-old lost about 20 seconds with about six kilometres to run and Italian Stefano Baldini went on to win gold.
Since the Olympics, De Lima has become a household name in Brazil, where he has been paraded with world leaders and deluged with advertising offers from around the world.
De Lima, honoured as Brazil's sportsman of the year by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) last month, won the 1996 Tokyo Marathon.
