男子马拉松比赛可谓是本届奥运会的收山之作，然而神话迭现的雅典又在最后时刻让人们大跌眼镜——在离终点还有约7公里时，一个头戴绿色贝雷帽、身着红色短裙、腿裹一双绿色及膝长袜的男子突然冲出人群，将当时处于领先位置的巴西队员范德莱·利马连扭带拽推到了观众群中。虽然利马最终仍坚持完成了比赛，但心神大乱的他只获得了铜牌。外电报道如下：Everyone knew the marathon was going to be tough, but having to dodge¹ a would-be tackler in a kilt, green beret and matching knee-high socks wasn't an expected obstacle. It was definitely a bizarre way to end the Olympics. Even the highly unusual fact that an American won a silver medal paled in comparison. Bizarre表示“奇异的，古怪的”，例如：bizarre clothing（奇装异服）；The story has a certain bizarre interest.（这个故事听起来别有风趣。）

据悉，国际奥委会事后发表声明称：由于利马的坚忍不拔突出体现了奥林匹克公平竞赛的原则和精神，我们打算为他颁发一枚“皮埃尔·德·顾拜旦勋章”。