it to spread the gospel and to prepare people for the second coming.” De Lima lost about 5–10 seconds in the incident, and he was passed by Italian Stefano Baldini (2:10.55) and American Meb Keflezighi (2:11.29) later at the mark. de Lima ultimately finished third with a time of 2:12.11, winning the bronze medal. The Brazilian Athletics Confederation launched an appeal on behalf of de Lima with president Roberto Gesta de Melo claiming that "someone took him out of the race and we are asking for a gold medal for our athlete... solutions like that have been done in the past for other events." The appeal was rejected. At the closing of the event, the International Olympic Committee awarded de Lima the Pierre de Coubertin medal for the spirit of sportsmanship. The medal was officially presented to de Lima on 7 December in Rio de Janeiro, during a formal ceremony organized on a yearly basis by the Brazilian Olympic Committee (COB) during the Prêmio Brasil Olímpico. De Lima was also named Brazilian Athlete of the Year in 2004, receiving the trophy presented by the COB at the same time as the Pierre de Coubertin medal. His award was the first occasion in which the winner was selected by online popular vote. Post-Olympic career De Lima ran at the world championships for a second time, but did not finish in the 2005 World marathon race. He took part in the 2005 Saint Silvester Road Race that same year but only managed to finish in 14th place. De Lima attempted to defend his title at the 2007 Pan American Games, but dropped out with muscular problems at the 37-kilometer mark. He retired as a marathoner after running the Paris Marathon in April 2009. De Lima's biography was written by Renata Adrião D'Angelo, Vanderlei de Lima - A Maratona de uma Vida (A Marathon of Life), printed in Brazil by Casa da Palavra, in 2007. De Lima took part in the 2016 Summer Olympics torch relay in Brasília. In August 2016, he received the honor of lighting the Olympic Flame at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro during the Opening Ceremonies. References External links marathoninfo The complete biography by Renata Adrião D´Angelo| before = Callum Airlie, Jordan Duckitt, Desiree Henry, Katie Kirk, Cameron MacRitchie, Aidan Reynolds, and Adelle Tracey | after = TBA 2020 Vanderlei de Lima - the story of