Eric Moussambani

Eric Moussambani (born May 31 1978) is a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea. Nicknamed "Eric The Eel" by the media after the name first appeared in an article by Craig Lord in "The Times" newspaper in London, Moussambani won brief international fame at the 2000 Summer Olympics when he swam his heat of the 100m freestyle in 1:52.72 and won, because the two other competitors Karim Bare and Farkhod Oripov were disqualified for taking a false start. [ cite web | url = http://www.times-olympics.co.uk/archive/swimmings19o.html#story2 | title = Courage on the blocks | accessdate = 2008-05-09 | last = Lord | first = Craig | date = 2000-09-19 | work = Sydney Olympics 2000: Swimming News Archive | publisher = The Times | quote = Moussambani would plough a lonely lane for his finest 1mins 52.7sec, though it felt like an hour. Equatorial Guinea’s aquatic answer to Eddie the Eagle - Eric the Eel - churned the lane in which Ian Thorpe had raced to a silver medal in 1min 45sec over double the distance the day before.] His time was more than twice that of his faster competitors, and outside even the 200m world record. However he had set a new personal best and national record.

Career

Moussambani gained entry to the Olympics without meeting the minimum qualification requirements via a wildcard draw designed to encourage developing countries without expensive training facilities to participate. While Pieter van den Hoogenband set a world record of 47.84 seconds to win the gold medal, Moussambani splashed his way to the finish to the cheers of the crowd in slightly more than twice that time. "The last 15 meters were very difficult," Moussambani said.

Before coming to the Olympics, Moussambani had never seen a convert|50|m|adj=on|abbr=on|lk=on long Olympic-size swimming pool. He took up swimming only 8 months before the Olympics and had practiced in a convert|20|m|adj=on|abbr=on pool at a hotel in Malabo.Fact|date=August 2008

His performance generated spectator and media interest in the only other Equatorial Guinean swimmer at the Sydney Olympics, Paula Barila Bolopa, who competed in the women's 50 metres freestyle event. Barila struggled to finish the race with a time of 01:03.97, setting a record for the slowest time in Olympic history for that event, and in turn achieved minor celebrity status. [ [http://cgi.cnnsi.com/olympics/newswire/2000/09/21/1072266015154_afp/ "Barila Bolopa paddles her way to Olympic stardom"] , Agence France-Presse, September 21, 2000] [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/olympics2000/swimming/937133.stm "'Paula the Crawler' sets record"] , BBC, September 22, 2000]

Moussambani was denied entry into the 2004 Olympic Games due to a visa bungle, [cite news
title = Eric 'the Eel' misses Games
publisher = BBC Sport
date = 2004-08-09
url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/olympics_2004/swimming/3545074.stm
accessdate = 2001-05-31
quote= Eric 'the Eel' Moussambani's chances of competing at the Athens Olympics have been scuppered by problems over his application form. Officials were unable to locate his passport photograph, preventing him from competing for Equatorial Guinea.] despite the vast improvement in his swimming over the previous four years, with his personal best down to under 57 seconds. [cite news
first = Alex
last = Brown
title = Struggling to keep himself afloat
publisher = The Sydney Morning Herald
date = 2004-08-06
url = http://www.smh.com.au/olympics/articles/2004/08/05/1091557999380.html
accessdate = 2001-05-31
quote= Despite cutting his personal best for the 100m from 1 minute 52.72 seconds in Sydney to under 57s today, a sponsorless, near-broke Moussambani fears that failure to compete in Athens will force him into retirement.] He did not take part in the 2008 Summer Olympics. [ [http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24075202-10389,00.html "The A-Z of watching Olympics"] , "Courier Mail", July 25, 2008]

Similarly-acclaimed athletes

In subsequent Olympic Games, international media occasionally referred to Moussambani's potential "successors" - athletes who might record spectacularly poor times. Prior to the 2008 Summer Olympics, media in several countries -including Argentina, Australia, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom- suggested that Stany Kempompo Ngangola, a swimmer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, would be the Olympic's next "Eric the Eel". [ [http://ekstrabladet.dk/sport/ol/ol-svoemning/article1044538.ece "Mød Stany the Stingray"] , Ekstra Bladet, August 15, 2008] [ [http://www.lanacion.com.ar/nota.asp?nota_id=1039890 "En Sydney fue Mussambani; en Pekín, el congoleño Ngangola"] , "La Nacion", August 15, 2008] [ [http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=a9660bee-6b7e-4bf0-b985-d70a5f5153bf "Move over Eddie the Eagle and éric the Eel"] , "The Gazette", August 15, 2008] [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/swimming/stany-the-stingray/2008/08/13/1218307003128.html "Stany the stingray"] , "Sydney Morning Herald", August 14, 2008] [ [http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/olympics/aquatics/the-snail-takes-up-where-the-eel-left-off-897425.html "'The Snail' takes up where 'The Eel' left off"] , "The Independent", August 15, 2008] Also prior to the Beijing Games, some media described ni-Vanuatu sprinter Elis Lapenmal and Palestinian swimmer Hamza Abdu as "potential successors to Moussambani". [ [http://www.france24.com/en/20080706-lovable-losers-olympic-ideal-or-waste-space "Lovable losers - the Olympic ideal or waste of space"] , AFP, July 6, 2008] During the Games, Cook Islands swimmer Petero Okotai compared himself to "Eric the Eel" upon recording a disappointing time in his event. [ [http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/23/business/23olylose.php "Games also mean coming in last"] , "International Herald Tribune", August 23, 2008]

See also

* Eddie 'the Eagle' Edwards
* Philip Boit
* Paula Barila Bolopa

References

External links

* [http://web.archive.org/web/20060903073747/http://moussambani.com/ Archive of a fansite]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zjCc_VyxM4 Video of Moussambani's 2000 Olympic heat] featuring commentary by Roy and HG on their program The Dream