It is not often that athletes who fail to qualify in the heats get to international fame. This happened in the case of Eric Moussambani in Sydney 2000.
The swimmer from Equatorial Guinea had taken to the sport only eight months prior to the Games and had received an invitation to take part through a wildcard, provided by the IOC to athletes from those countries which lack in training facilities.
Moussambani had never seen an Olympic size pool before he got to Sydney. Imagine his plight when he was forced to compete in his heat all alone after his two rivals Nigeria’s Karin Bare and Farkhod Oripov of Tajikistan in the 100 men’s freestyle heats were disqualified for false starts.
It was only at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre where Eric saw an Olympic-sized swimming pool for the first time. | Photo Credit: Sportstar Archives
A crowd of more than 17,000 lent their moral support to Eric by cheering him on, as he struggled to complete the race after wasting his energy in the first 50m. He finished the race in 1:52.72, the slowest timing in the 100m freestyle ever recorded in Olympic history.
Naturally, he failed to advance despite the fact that the time was a personal best and also bettered the existing National record.
However, his fighting qualities of competing alone and finishing the race did gain Moussambani international recognition.
Eric’s swimming journey did not end with Sydney, in 2004 he swam 56.9s and further improved two years later with a personal best of 52.18. A passport issue stopped him from competing at the 2004 Olympics.
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