It was 2004 Olympics in Athens. Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, a 35-year-old Brazilian, was leading the men's marathon by around 25 seconds at the 34 km mark. With around 8 more km to go, victory was almost certain. But then the unthinkable happened.

A defrocked Irish priest, Cornelius (Neil) Horan ran into the road and pushed de Lima out of the race. According to reports, Greek spectator Polyvios Kossivas helped free de Lima from Horan's grasp and back into his running. But his rhythm was lost and he ended up at the third place.

In 2016, when the Olympics came to Brazil, the legendary footballer Pele announced that he was not fit to attend the opening ceremony. He was thought to be the favorite to light the cauldron. In Pele's absence, there was perhaps only one favorite. De Lima lit the cauldron at Rio.