Aaron Smith
@Aaronsmith33321h • 9 tweets • 4 min read • Read on X
You probably know the start of this Olympic story, but do you know how it finished?
This photo is of Eric Moussambani, aka 'Eric the Eel' from Equatorial Guinea, competing in the 100m Freestyle event at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, alone.
Why?
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Eric's heat started with 2 other competitors; one from Niger and the other from Tajikistan. Eric's competitors however both broke, and were disqualified, leaving him to swim this event alone.
Eric hadn't completed a full length of a 50m pool before, but he dived in anyway.
/2
It seemed like he wasn't going to make the distance. Touching a lane rope would've been automatic disqualification.
He completed in 1:52.72, the slowest time in Olympic History, and for comparison, 47 seconds slower than I did recently, in my late 40s. Remember these times.
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Why was Eric there?
The IOC's wild card strategy aimed to boost sports in developing nations like Equatorial Guinea.
Eric heard the call for swimmers on the radio, and since he was the only one to show up, he made the team!
The only issue was, Eric couldn't swim.
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So a few months out from the games, Eric started his training, partly with the assistance of fisherman in a lake.
He was also given access to a 12M long hotel pool for up to 1hr, three times a week.
Equatorial Guinea had no 50m pools.
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When Eric turned up to Sydney, and swam in a 50M pool for the first time, he couldn't have been less prepared.
The blue speedos he raced in were given to him by the South African swimming coach just prior to his race, who noticed Eric training in shorts.
What happened next?
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After Sydney, Eric kept swimming. In 2004 he swam a 100 free time 56.9s (compared to 1:52.72 in Sydney).
Two years later, he achieved a PB of 52.18 (5 seconds off the winning time Sydney 2000), and would've been fast enough for a Gold Medal at the Melbourne 1956 Olympics!
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The IOC's wild card initiative, designed to nurture sport in developing nations, arguably found success in Eric's story.
He became an icon for swimming in Equatorial Guinea, which now features two Olympic-size pools, and Eric became the national coach in 2012.
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Here is Eric's iconic swim on YouTube.
The conclusion of his story is arguably more important than its beginnings. #Olympics
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