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Eric Moussambani Malonga is an Equatoguinean swimmer. Nicknamed Eric the Eel by the media, Moussambani won brief international fame at the 2000 Summer Olympics for an extremely unlikely victory. Moussambani, who had never seen an Olympic-sized swimming pool before, swam his heat of the 100 m freestyle on 19 September in the unprecedentedly slow time of 1:52.72. This was the slowest time in Olympic history by far, and Moussambani had trouble finishing the race, but he won his heat after both his competitors were disqualified due to false starts. Although Moussambani's time was still too slow to advance to the next round, he set a new personal best and an Equatoguinean national record. He later became the coach of the national swimming squad of Equatorial Guinea.
Bahrain sent a delegation to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, which were held from 15 September to 1 October 2000. This was the fifth consecutive Summer Olympics the Kingdom took part in. The delegation consisted of four athletes: sprinter Mariam Mohamed Hadi Al Hilli, middle-distance runner Mohamed Saleh Naji Haidara and short-distance swimmers Dawood Yosuf Mohamed Jassim and Fatema Hameed Gerashi. Al Hilli and Gerashi's inclusion in the Bahraini delegation was the first time in history a Gulf Arab nation had sent female athletes to the Olympic Games. All four did not progress beyond the initial heats of their respective competitions. Bahrain's best performance came from Haidara and Jassim who placed seventh in the heats of the men's 800 metres and the men's 100 metres freestyle. Gerashi was disqualified for a false start in the women's 50 metres freestyle and Al Hilli came eighth in her heat in the women's 100 metres.
Equatorial Guinea participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, which was held from 15 September to 1 October 2000. The country's participation in Sydney marked its fifth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its debut at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The delegation included one middle-distance runner, one short-distance sprinter and two swimmers: José Luis Ebatela Nvo, Mari Paz Mosanga Motanga, Eric Moussambani and Paula Barila Bolopa respectively. All four athletes qualified for the games through wildcard places. Moussambani was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. The four athletes were unable to advance beyond the first rounds of their respective events, with Moussambani and Bolopa attracting attention for their poor performances, but were applauded by the crowds.
The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 19–20 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia. There were 73 competitors from 66 nations. Nations have been limited to two swimmers each since the 1984 Games.
Ravil Nachaev is an Uzbek former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. He is a three-time Olympian, and a gold medalist in the 50 m freestyle at the 2002 Asian Games in Busan, South Korea.
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Emery Nziyunvira is a Burundian former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Nziyunvira was elected by the Burundi National Olympic Committee to carry the nation's flag in the opening ceremony. He qualified for the men's 100 m freestyle, by receiving a Universality place from FINA in an entry time of 1:09.84. He challenged six other swimmers in heat one, including 34-year-old Mumtaz Ahmed of Pakistan. He rounded out the field to last place in a lifetime best of 1:09.40, exactly 43 seconds faster than a historic record time of 1:52.72, held by Equatorial Guinea's Eric Moussambani in 2000. Nziyunvira failed to advance into the semifinals, as he placed sixty-ninth overall out of 71 swimmers in the preliminaries.
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Farkhod Oripov is a Tajik former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. Oripov qualified for the men's 100 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, by receiving a Universality place from FINA without meeting a standard entry time. He participated in an unprecedented first heat against two other swimmers Karim Bare of Niger and Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea, later dubbed himself as Eric the Eel. Before the race began, Oripov plunged into the pool, along with Bare, beating the gun, and were eventually disqualified for a false start, leaving Moussambani as the last man standing.
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Thierry Wouters is a Belgian former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. He is a single-time Olympian (2000) and a former Belgian record holder in the 50 and 100 m freestyle.
Tamer Hamed Ali Zinhom Muhammad is an Egyptian former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. He is a two-time Olympian, and an Egyptian record holder in the 50 m freestyle.
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Monique Rachelle Robins is a New Zealand former swimmer, who specialised in sprint freestyle and backstroke events. She represented New Zealand, as the youngest swimmer of the team, at the 2000 Summer Olympics, and also formerly played for Takapuna Swim Club under her personal coach and mentor Brett Naylor.
Mark Stevens is an English former competitive swimmer, who specialized in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events.
Carlos Santander is a Venezuelan former swimmer, who specialized in sprint and middle-distance freestyle events. He represented Venezuela in two editions of the Olympic Games, and also swam for the Fort Lauderdale Swim Team in Florida, while residing in the United States. During his college career, Santander trained for the NC State Wolfpack swimming and diving team, under head coach Beth Harrell, at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, North Carolina.
References
- ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Karim Bare". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ↑ "Swimming – Men's 100m Freestyle Startlist (Heat 1)" (PDF). Sydney 2000 . Omega Timing. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
- ↑ "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Men's 100m Freestyle Heat 1" (PDF). Sydney 2000 . LA84 Foundation. p. 113. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2013.
- ↑ Penner, Mike (19 September 2000). "Eric the Eagle Leaves a Lasting Impression". The Philadelphia Inquirer . Retrieved 23 May 2013.
- ↑ Lord, Craig (20 September 2000). "Eric The Eel". Swimming World Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2013.
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