On 29 August 2004, at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, de Lima was attempting to become the first Brazilian to win an Olympic gold medal in the marathon. Soon after the mark, holding a lead of around 25 seconds, de Lima was halted and grappled with by spectator Neil Horan, an Irish priest who was later defrocked. Horan had previously disrupted the 2003 Formula One British Grand Prix by running onto the Silverstone track. Greek spectator Polyvios Kossivas helped free de Lima from Horan's grasp and help de Lima resume running. Horan said "I wasn’t doing it as a prank, I was doing it to spread the gospel and to prepare people for the second coming.”