The Brazilian athlete who was attacked by Father Neil Horan while leading the Olympic marathon has said his joy at winning a bronze medal is greater than his anger at Father Horan.
"I hope Mr Horan finds happiness," Vanderlei Codeiro de Lima told a news conference. "I truly don't know if I would have won the race. The incident upset my rhythm. But my happiness is far greater than my hatred."
Father Horan has provoked a national debate in Brazil. Who was he? Why wasn't he stopped? And how can Brazil retrieve the gold medal lost with just three miles of Sunday's Olympic marathon remaining? These are among the questions being raised.
"I feel no real resentment towards him," said de Lima, who was interrupted four miles from the finish line. "But some day he'll end up dying, or killing someone, if he carries on like this."
In a statement, the Brazilian Athletics Federation attacked the Greek security arrangements: "The lead athlete should have been accompanied by motorcycle outriders. It is incredible that this should have been overlooked in the most prestigious race of the Olympics," it said.
The federation described the actions of Father Horan as a "cowardly aggression". Brazil has formally requested that the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) reconsiders the result of the race, on the grounds that security was inadequate.
"We hope that, in the cold light of day, they will reconsider," said Mr Carlos Nuzman, Brazilian Olympic Committee president.
Brazil is not trying to strip Sunday's winner, Italian Stefano Baldini, of gold. Rather, it argues that a second gold medal should now be awarded to de Lima, who eventually finished third.
"In troubled times, great men take momentous decisions," said Mr Nuzman, appealing directly to IAAF president, Mr Lamine Diack, to intervene. If the appeal fails Brazil will take its case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne. The IAAF's initial review on Sunday declared that the result should stand.
The incident has dominated news coverage in Brazil, with the press offering front-page photographs of Father Horan's stunt. "Fanatic ends Brazil's dream of marathon gold" was the headline in the Rio de Janeiro daily O Globo. The former priest has been portrayed here (with some sympathy) as an eccentric figure, with a history of disrupting sporting events while clad in "traditional Irish costume".
"I joked about it to my congregation at Mass last night," said Father Tiago Henegan, an Irish priest based in São Paulo. "I think Brazilians understand that things like that happen. They'll take it but they'll feel it."
Father Henegan suggested that the Irish embassy here might make a gesture of goodwill towards the Brazilian athlete on his return.
Embassy officials offered no immediate comment on the suggestion, adding that Ireland's ambassador to Brazil, Mr Michael Green, was travelling at the moment.
Meanwhile, the Brazilian ambassador to Ireland has said the people of Brazil "don't grudge anything against Ireland" because of the attack.
It was "just an accident, some special blip" that Father Horan is Irish, Ambassador Stelio Amarante said. "It is impossible to foresee all these acts of madness by human beings."
Speaking to The Irish Times yesterday, Mr Amarante said: "We don't grudge anything against Ireland. In Brazil, the press is not emphasising that the former priest was Irish. We are very sorry that we lost an important gold medal for us, but we are satisfied that this was the best performance we had in an Olympics. We won four gold medals."
The special Pierre de Coubertin medal awarded to de Lima by the International Olympic Committee "was a good consolation". The ambassador said he had received an apology from Father Horan's family in Kerry. "I received a phone call from the family. They were very kind - they offered their apologies for the act of their relative."
Mr Amarante said he believed Father Horan was a "good man" who had "perhaps read too much of the sacred scriptures".
Meanwhile, in a statement yesterday following the Horan incident, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Mr O'Donoghue, said: "The Athens Olympic Games were amongst the finest ever held and it was extremely unfortunate that this regrettable incident should have occurred on the last day of the Games.
"However, this should not mask the fact that the Greek government and people can take enormous pride for the wonderful celebration of athleticism that the Games were over the past two weeks."