Funny olympic swimmer and real olympian hero [Archive]

Freeze

08-18-2008, 01:46 PM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Moussambani

Eric Moussambani, nicknamed "Eric The Eel" by the media after the name first appeared in an article by Craig Lord in The Times newspaper in London,[1] 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. 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.

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 50 m (160 ft) long Olympic-size swimming pool. He took up swimming only 8 months before the Olympics and had practiced in a 20 m (66 ft) pool at a hotel in Malabo. I SHOULD ADD THAT WAS THE ONLY POOL IN HIS COUNTRY

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.[2] [3]

Moussambani was denied entry into the 2004 Olympic Games due to a visa bungle,[4] despite the vast improvement in his swimming over the previous four years, with his personal best down to under 57 seconds.[5] He did not take part in the 2008 Summer Olympics.[6]
THIS LAST POINT IS JUST....:depressed

Congrats Eric :toast