Isolated Incident Does Not Mar Olympic Success

Sep 1, 2004 12:00 PM

As Brazilian marathoner Vanderlei de Lima of Brazil ran through the streets of Athens in the Olympics, he never expected the event to become a full-contact sport.

But when crazed spectator Cornelius Horan tried to tackle de Lima with three miles to go, that's exactly what he got. Officers were able to free de Lima from Horan's clutches, and the Brazilian — who was leading at the time — went on to finish with a bronze medal.

“I was very afraid,” de Lima said; however, he did not blame organizers for the security lapse, calling it “an isolated incident.”

The incident seemed to be the only blip on the radar screen for the entire Olympiad — one that was feared to be vulnerable to terrorist attack. The Athens Olympics broke records as the most expensive and the most fortified international sporting event ever staged — one that could become the prototype for securing other major gatherings against the omnipresent threat of terrorism.

Government estimates over the past two weeks have put the Olympics price tag at nearly $10 billion. Officials say that the bill for police training, bonuses, surveillance equipment and other security is expected to come to at least $1.2 billion, The New York Times reports.

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