Eric Moussambani

Last updated

Eric Moussambani
Personal information
Full nameEric Moussambani Malonga
Born (1978-05-31) 31 May 1978 (age 45)
Malabo, Equatorial Guinea
Sport
CountryEquatorial Guinea
Event(s)
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • 50 m freestyle: 27.9sNR (2004)
  • 100 m freestyle: 56.9sNR (2004)

Eric Moussambani Malonga (born 31 May 1978) 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 (50 meters) swimming pool before, swam his heat of the 100 m freestyle on 19 September in the unprecedentedly slow time of 1:52.72. [1] 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. [2] He later became the coach of the national swimming squad of Equatorial Guinea. [3]

Contents

Career

Moussambani gained entry to the Olympics without meeting the minimum qualification requirements via a wildcard draw designed to encourage participation by developing countries lacking full training facilities. Pieter van den Hoogenband won in a time of 48.30 seconds (setting a world record of 47.84 in the semi-finals); Moussambani took more than twice that time to finish (1:52.72). "The last 15 metres were very difficult", Moussambani said. Because the other two swimmers in his heat made false starts and were thus disqualified, he won the heat unopposed.

Before coming to the Olympics, Moussambani had never seen a 50-metre-long (160 feet) Olympic-size swimming pool. He took up swimming eight months before the Olympics and had practiced in a lake, and later a 12-metre swimming pool in a hotel in Malabo, [4] that he was only given access to between 5 and 6 am. [5]

Moussambani's performance generated spectator and media interest in Paula Barila Bolopa, the only other Equatoguinean swimmer at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Bolopa competed in the women's 50 metres freestyle event, struggling to finish the race with a time of 1:03.97. In setting a record for the slowest time in Olympic history for that event, she also achieved major celebrity status. [6] [7]

In 2001, Moussambani competed in the 50 metres freestyle at the 2001 World Aquatics Championship in Fukuoka, Japan, finishing 88th out of 92 athletes. He set a new Equatorial Guinean record for the distance. He was the first male athlete in the nation's history ever to participate in the event. [8]

Despite eventually lowering his personal best in the 100 metres freestyle to under 57 seconds, [9] Moussambani was denied entry into the 2004 Olympic Games due to a visa bungle. [10] He did not take part in the 2008 Summer Olympics. [11] In March 2012 he was appointed coach of the national swimming squad of Equatorial Guinea. [12]

Similarly acclaimed athletes

In subsequent Olympic Games, international media occasionally referred to Moussambani's potential successors—athletes who might record poor times. Before the 2008 Summer Olympics, media in several countries—including Australia, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom—suggested that Stany Kempompo Ngangola, a swimmer from DR Congo, would be the Olympics' next "Eric the Eel". [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] The media also described ni-Vanuatu sprinter Elis Lapenmal and Palestinian swimmer Hamza Abdu as "potential successors to Moussambani". [18] During the Games, Cook Islands swimmer Petero Okotai compared himself to "Eric the Eel" upon recording a disappointing time in his event. [19] In the 2016 Olympic Games, Ethiopian swimmer Robel Habte was dubbed "Robel the Whale" after finishing half a lap behind his competitors in the 100-meter freestyle. [20]

During the 2009 IAAF World Championships, various media around the world, including La Nación and The Daily Telegraph , described American Samoan sprinter Savannah Sanitoa as "the new Eric 'the Eel' Moussambani". [21] [22] London 2012 Olympic rower Hamadou Djibo Issaka of Niger was compared to Moussambani for his times of 8:25.56 in the men's single sculls qualifying heat and 9:07.99 in the E Semi-finals. [23] [24] Both times were over a minute off the next closest competitor in each race. Moussambani's exploits also triggered comparisons to the 1988 Winter Olympics, when both British ski-jumper Eddie the Eagle and the Jamaican bobsled team became objects of interest and amusement due to their improbable participation in their sports.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics</span>

The swimming competitions at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney took place from 16 to 23 September 2000 at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Homebush Bay. It featured 32 events, and a total of 954 swimmers from 150 nations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimming at the 2004 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle</span>

The men's 100 metre freestyle event at the 2004 Summer Olympics was contested at the Olympic Aquatic Centre of the Athens Olympic Sports Complex in Athens, Greece on August 17 and 18. There were 69 competitors from 62 nations. Nations had been limited to two swimmers each since the 1984 Games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equatorial Guinea at the 2004 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Equatorial Guinea competed at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, which was held from 13 to 29 August 2004. The country's participation at Athens marked its sixth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its début at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The delegation included two athletics competitors: Roberto Mandje and Emilia Mikue Ondo in the long and middle distance disciplines respectively. Mikue Ondo was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. Both athletes did not advance further than the first round of their respective events with Mandje failing to make the start of the men's 3000 metres steeplechase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equatorial Guinea at the 2000 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

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 women's 50 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 22–23 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's 100 metre freestyle</span>

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.

Olympic Spirit is an officially sanctioned programme of the International Olympic Committee. A number of initiatives are underway in Canada, Beijing, London, Japan, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas.

Paula Barila Bolopa, nicknamed 'The Crawler', is a retired Equatoguinean football player and swimmer. She was one of two Equatorial Guinean swimmers to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the other being Eric Moussambani.

Fatema Abdul Majeed Hameed Gerashi,, is a Bahraini swimmer. She was the first woman to represent Bahrain at the Olympics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equatorial Guinea at the 2008 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Equatorial Guinea competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, which was held from 8 to 24 August 2008. The country's participation at London marked its seventh appearance in the Summer Olympics since its début at the 1984 Summer Olympics. The delegation included the sprinter Reginaldo Ndong, middle-distance runner Emilia Mikue Ondo and half-middleweight judoka José Mba Nchama. Ndong and Mikue Ondo qualified for the Games through wildcard places and Mba Nchama entered through his ranking at the 2007 African Judo Championships. Mikue Ondo was chosen as the flag bearer for both the opening and closing ceremonies. Ndong and Mikue Ondo progressed no farther than the first round of their respective events and Mba Nchama was eliminated from contention in the second round of the contest.

Stany Kempompo Ngangola, is a swimmer and electrical engineer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Karim Bare is a Nigerien former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. Bare 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 Farkhod Oripov of Tajikistan and Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea. Before the race began, Bare plunged into the pool, along with Oripov, beating the gun, and were eventually disqualified for a false start, leaving Moussambani as the last man standing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niger at the 2012 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Niger competedwith six athletes in five sports at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, held from 27 July to 12 August 2012. This was the nation's eleventh appearance at the Olympics, having competed at every Summer Olympics since 1964 with the exception of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, and the 1980 Summer Olympics in Moscow because of the African and the United States boycotts.

Hamadou Djibo Issaka is a Nigerien athlete. A competitive swimmer, Djibo Issaka trained as a Men's single sculls rower for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London to take a development spot offered to the Nigerien federation by the International Olympic Committee.

George Gleason is a former swimmer from the U.S. Virgin Islands, who specialized in freestyle and backstroke events. He is a two-time Olympian, a swimming captain for the Yale Bulldogs, and a graduate of sociology (2001) at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Gleason also capped his swimming career by an eleventh-place finish in the 200 m backstroke at the NCAA Swimming Championships in College Station, Texas, earning him All-American honors.

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.

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.

Moe Thu Aung is a Burmese former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle and butterfly events. Aung represented Myanmar at the 2000 Summer Olympics, received a total of ten medals from all editions of the Southeast Asian Games since 2001, and later became a top 8 finalist in a sprint freestyle double at the 2002 Asian Games. During her sporting career, she swam and trained for the MLC School's swimming club, also known as MLC Marlins, under an Australian-based coach John Bladon.

Kyle Chalmers, is an Australian competitive swimmer. He is a world record holder in the short course 100 metre freestyle, 4×100 metre medley relay, and long course 4×100 metre mixed freestyle relay. He is the Oceanian and Australian record holder in the short course 50 metre butterfly and 50 metre freestyle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equatorial Guinea at the 2016 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Equatorial Guinea competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which was held from 5 to 21 August 2016. The country's participation at Rio marked its ninth appearance in the Summer Olympics since its début in the 1984 Summer Olympics. The delegation included two track and field athletes, Benjamin Enzema and Reïna-Flor Okori who both qualified for the Games through wildcard places since their fastest times did not meet the required qualification standards, Okori was selected as the flag bearer for the opening and closing ceremonies. Enzema did not advance beyond the qualification round for the men's 800 metres event and Okori was unable to start the women's 100 metre hurdles contest.

References

  1. ↑ Lord, Craig (19 September 2000). "Courage on the blocks". Sydney Olympics 2000: Swimming News Archive. Retrieved 9 May 2008. Moussambani would plough a lonely lane for his finest 1mins 52.7 sec, 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 1 min 45 sec over double the distance the day before.
  2. ↑ Wallis, Holly (8 August 2012). "London 2012: The Olympic also-rans". BBC News. Retrieved 9 August 2012.
  3. ↑ Decent, Tom (28 August 2020). "'I used to be a very shy guy': What Sydney Olympics cult hero Eric the Eel did next". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 July 2021.
  4. ↑ "Olympian from the Equator wins at a crawl". The Telegraph. 20 September 2000. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  5. ↑ "BBC SPORT | SWIMMING | African novice makes big splash". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "Barila Bolopa paddles her way to Olympic stardom". Agence France-Presse. 21 September 2000. Archived from the original on 10 August 2008.
  7. ↑ "BBC SPORT | SWIMMING | 'Paula the Crawler' sets record". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "9th FINA World Swimming Championships:Heats Results Sunday July 22 – Swimming Day 1". FINA. 22 July 2001. Archived from the original on 24 October 2004. Retrieved 25 January 2010.
  9. ↑ Brown, Alex (6 August 2004). "Struggling to keep himself afloat". The Sydney Morning Herald . Retrieved 31 May 2001. 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.
  10. ↑ "Eric 'the Eel' misses Games". BBC Sport . 9 August 2004. Retrieved 31 May 2001. 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.
  11. ↑ "Famously slow swimmer Eric Moussambani set for Olympic return as Eq. Guinea coach". 30 March 2012.
  12. ↑ "Eric Moussambani nuevo entrenador del equipo nacional de natación". Guinea Ecuatorial Press. 10 March 2012.
  13. ↑ Winther-Rasmussen, Michael (15 August 2008). "Mød Stany the Stingray". Ekstra Bladet.
  14. ↑ "En Sydney fue Mussambani; en Pekín, el congoleño Ngangola". LA NACION (in Spanish). 15 August 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  15. ↑ "Move over Eddie the Eagle and éric the Eel". The Gazette. 15 August 2008. Archived from the original on 21 August 2008.
  16. ↑ "Stany the stingray". The Sydney Morning Herald. 14 August 2008. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  17. ↑ "'The Snail' takes up where 'The Eel' left off". The Independent. 15 August 2008.
  18. ↑ Sands, Neil (6 July 2008). "Lovable losers - the Olympic ideal or waste of space". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  19. ↑ Clarey, Christopher (23 August 2008). "Games also mean coming in last". International Herald Tribune.
  20. ↑ Powell, Tom. "This Ethiopian Olympic swimmer has become an internet sensation after finishing half a lap behind his rivals". Business Insider. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  21. ↑ "World Athletics: shot-putter Savannah Sanitoa overshadows Usain Bolt's sprint exploits". The Daily Telegraph. 16 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  22. ↑ "Sanitoa, la nueva Moussambani". La Nación (in Spanish). 17 August 2009. Retrieved 20 August 2009.
  23. ↑ Anglesey, Steve (29 July 2012). "Issaka The Otter: Novice from Niger is new Eddie The Eagle after super-slow sculls". The Mirror. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  24. ↑ "'Sculling Sloth' back on water at London Olympics". ESPN.com. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for Flag of Equatorial Guinea.svg  Equatorial Guinea
Sydney 2000 		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.