police officer yesterday. Photograph: Reuters
Irish ex-priest Cornelius Horan has been given a 12-month suspended sentence today for disrupting the men's Olympic marathon in Athens yesterday.
The former Catholic priest (57), who lives in London, appeared before a Greek judge this morning, local police said. He was sentenced and released from custody but his whereabouts are unknown.
Horan, originally from Kerry, dashed from the sidelines to obstruct the marathon front-runner during yesterday's event. He told officers he staged the disruption to "prepare for the second coming".
A police spokesman said: "He has got mental problems. He is not very well. His only explanation for his behaviour was that it was for the second coming."
Horan also disrupted last year's Silverstone Formula One Grand Prix by dashing across the track.
Leslie Broad, of Deunant Books, which publishes Mr Horan's books on its website, said: "We publish two of his books on biblical prophecies and he seems to be fairly convinced that the second coming is due fairly shortly.
"After the incident at Silverstone, he did say he would never do anything like that again.
He comes across as a shy, very intelligent and compassionate man but as is often the way with people who are very intelligent, it sometimes manifests itself in very strange ways.
"I think he found prison a fairly uplifting experience. He came out feeling that he had met a lot of people he wouldn't normally have met, people who had committed serious crimes."
Vanderlei De Lima from Brazil was at the head of the race just three miles from the finish when Horan grabbed him and bundled him into spectators at the side of the road.
After a scuffle, the runner managed to get away, but he was clearly ruffled and finished third.
The Brazilian Olympic Committee put in an official complaint to the Greeks and at one point the final medal ceremony during the closing ceremony was in doubt.
Relatives of Horan have said they want to apologise personally to the man whom he may have cost the gold medal. Mr Dan Horan, the Kerryman's brother, said his family were upset by his actions and wanted to say sorry to the Brazilian people.
Mr Horan said his family deeply regretted his brother's actions. "We are looking to see if we might be able to contact Brazilian television at some stage to apologise to the people over there and to this man personally, if possible, because if the role was reversed and it was a Brazilian cost Ireland we'd say we want total recourse.
"I think we, as a country, would be very, very mad with Brazil. The family are totally shocked and appalled by what he is doing.
"It's bringing a pile of hurt to the family because some of my brothers and sisters have young children going to school and they're worried that they will be taunted about this," Mr Horan said.
"It's very hard for the family, very, very difficult. He has this belief that the world hasn't that much time left to go and the imminent return of the Lord.
"I keep saying to him: 'Everybody would respect anyone to have their views on anything, no matter what it is. Nobody can deprive you of that, but you don't force it down people's throats.'"
PA