Chennai: It was neither Pele nor Gustavo Kuerten. The once-in-a-lifetime honour of lighting the cauldron during the 2016 Rio Olympics opening ceremony on Friday fell on the 47-year-old underdog, Vanderlei de Lima.
Many viewers would have found it difficult to identify De Lima because the marathon bronze medallist at the 2004 Olympics was nobody’s idea of a celebrity.
The underwhelming choice, however, met with approval in sporting circles as the Brazilian had won the bronze in Athens after being pushed down to the ground by a madcap Irishman when he was in the lead with five kilometres to go.
Not only did De Lima make light of the incident to finish third; he also accepted the bizarre behaviour of his tormentor with stoicism, grace and fortitude. He was later bestowed with the Pierre de Coubertin award for “exceptional demonstration of fair play and Olympic values.”
Lighting the cauldron is the highlight of the opening ceremony and the identity of the person who is chosen for the honour is always kept as a closely-guarded secret.
The balding De Lima has joined the exalted company of Muhammad Ali and Cathy Freeman after putting the torch into the cauldron at the Maracana Stadium.
The unalloyed joy on his face said all. His transformation from a marathon bronze medallist to a fixture in Olympic history was complete in a matter of seconds.
Pele, who needs no introduction, was the original choice to light the cauldron but he backed out citing health reasons. Many thought tennis ace Kuerten, a three-time French Open champion, would be the next option but the local organising committee of the Olympics zeroed in on De Lima, probably taking into account the misfortune that had befallen on the marathon runner 12 years ago.
