The Irish priest who attacked the Olympic marathon leader during the race walked free from a Greek court yesterday.
Father Neil Horan (57), who caused chaos by running on to the track during last year's British Grand Prix, was given a one-year suspended sentence.
During the Athens court hearing, he apologised for pushing the then leader, Brazilian Vanderlei de Lima, into the crowd and said he hoped to be forgiven on Judgment Day.
The three-member court found Father Horan guilty of violating Greek laws by disrupting a sports event outside of a stadium.
He was told that he would have to serve the sentence if he violated any laws in Greece for the next three years.
The court could have sentenced Father Horan to a maximum of five years, but apparently gave him the suspended sentence because of his questionable mental state.
Father Horan was jailed for two months last year when he caused Formula One drivers to swerve at high speeds when he invaded the track.
He has been barred from practising as a priest for the past decade. He once published a book called A Glorious New World Very Soon to Come that predicted the world would soon end.
Leslie Broad, of Deunant Books, which publishes Father 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 said 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."