Olympic hero, Vanderlei Cordeiro recalls beginning 'by chance' in the marathon

The historic achievement of the bronze medal by Vanderlei Cordeiro at the Athens Olympic Games in 2004 made the Brazilian an icon of sport not only for his country, but for the world. Just over 21 years after the deed that consecrated him, the corridor remembered the unusual way he began in the marathon.

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In the 1990s, at age 25, a young Vanderlei at the beginning of his career was a careful planning with his coach Ricardo D'Angelo to compete in the marathon. However, in 1994, earlier than expected, the corridor received an invitation to be “rabbit” in the Marathon of Reims, France. In the universe of the race, Coelho is an athlete hired by the organization to dictate the rhythm of the race.

– I was in France, doing a season of shorter races, which was a maximum of half marathon. On a weekend there was no race, but I had training, and I received the invitation to be rabbit of the race. I asked my coach if I could change the training for being a rabbit and he left. I was more interested in being a rabbit, because if I trained I would not earn anything, but if I was a rabbit would earn 300 euros, besides training, had a money – told, during event and autograph session held at Centauro, on Monday (29), in São Paulo.

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Normally, the rabbits lead the corridors only to a certain part of the total course. But of course with Vanderlei Cordeiro things were different.

– I got excited, when it went from 21km, I was feeling good, I went to run a little more to complete my training, I started to have an advantage over the other athletes, I thought: 'I will run to 30km to see how I will feel', and I opened an advantage. In the 35km no longer saw anyone behind and went at that time of excitement. I ended up finishing the test, I won the test. The guy who stayed second was crazy about life, angry, because the rabbit could not have won the race, ”he recalled.

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The hardest thing was to tell the coach that he had extrapolated in training and breached the planning. But with the good result, the two chose to anticipate Vanderlei Cordeiro's entry into the marathon, where he built his history.

The fateful aggression and the historical bronze

Vanderlei Cordeiro's Olympic Medal is one of the most emblematic in the history of the games. On the last day of events in Athens, the Brazilian would compete for the Olympics for the third time alongside Kenyan Paul Tergat, a great favorite to gold at the time. Overcoming the main rivals in the race, the Brazilian led the race and opened a comfortable advantage to the height of kilometer 35, towards the Panatenaic stadium.

At this point, Vanderlei was attacked and pushed out of the track by former Irish Padre Neil Horan, and received the help of a viewer, the Greek Polyvios Kossivas, to return to the test.

– In a second, a lot passes the head. I didn't know if the guy was with a knife, if he was going to shoot me, if the guy had a bomb … At that moment you get a start, bambered legs, go back to the race was very difficult, I was looking for forces from where I did not – recalled.

Even so, Vanderlei Cordeiro returned to the track. Still shaken by the aggression, he could not keep the pace to lead the race, but remained firm enough to win the bronze medal and forever mark his name in the history of Olympic sport. Ovated by the public present at the Panatenaic Stadium, the Brazilian received from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) the Pierre de Coubertin Medal, one of the greatest honors for the sportsmanship shown.

– I did not expect the reaction (from the public), I arrived third and when I stepped at the stadium, everyone got up and started to applaud. There, I had already forgotten the priest, I had forgotten everything, that joy took over me and was doing the little plane. I was in Athens, in the cradle of the Olympic Games, winning a medal … I will complain about? My conquest of the bronze medal was greater than the frustration of not winning the gold medal, ”he said.

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