Athens Olympics demonstrator barred from London Marathon

[World News]

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Confession may be good for the soul but the former Irish priest who dramatically disrupted the closing stages of the 2004 Athens Olympic marathon has been barred from running in next month's London Marathon. Neil Horan, 66, had been accepted to run in the London event on behalf of the St John's Ambulance charity, having promised to atone for his most notorious act of sporting disruption. That came when he ran out on to the course and grabbed hold of Vanderlei de Lima in Athens a decade ago in an act that almost certainly cost the Brazilian distance runner a gold medal. However, his hopes of completing an "act of redemption" in London were dashed when charity chiefs withdrew their offer of a place in the line-up having discovered his history of interfering in major sporting events and "extremist religious views".

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