Australian swim-sensation Ian Thorpe was the one to watch in the pool when the Olympic games were held in Sydney in 2000. Thorpe would win three gold and two silver medals during those games, setting three World Records in the process.
But Thorpe never had the opportunity to swim against my favorite Olympian of the 2000 Games. Even though Eric Moussambani set an Olympic record and won his heat, he would not compete against any other swimmer during those Olympic games.
Eric Moussambani went to the 2000 Olympic Games as wide-eyed as a kid in a candy shop holding a $10 bill--he went representing his tiny African country of Equatorial Guinea with the equivalent of $80 in his pocket. Though given the honor of carrying his nation's flag in the Opening Ceremonies, no one knew him prior to his Olympic performance--yet few who watched him set my favorite Olympic Record will ever forget him.
Eric was at the Games by virtue of a now revoked Olympic Committee privilege that allowed smaller, usually non-competing nations a pass straight to the games in a select events, intending to build the Olympic spirit and encourage participation by all. Equatorial Guinea was given the opportunity to send someone to participate in the 100 meter free-style race.
Eric knew that he would have to swim the length of a 50 meter pool. No such pool existed in his tiny nation--but that was not his biggest problem. No, Eric's biggest hurdle was learning to swim.
Eric began to train and teach himself at the largest pool he could find--20 meters in length at a hotel. The first time he would see an Olympic/competition sized pool would be at his Olympic practice, the day before his race, the first heat. Imagine the awe of this 22 year old African--not just of the pool, but also of the 15,000+ spectators who had began to fill the natatorium for a day of Olympic races!
But this, again, was not his biggest surprise; prior to the heat, he learned that he would not only swim the length of the pool once, but twice for the 100 meters. Prior to the competition and all throughout his training, he only prepared for 50 meters; in fact, he had never swum 100 meters at one time!
The irony and the amazing turn of events never stop in this story.
Eric steps onto his first starting block in lane 5 against 2 seasoned and overly eager swimmers--yes, only 3 swimmers in this first heat. At the first gun, Eric doesn't move, perhaps still out of shock--it's a good thing though because the other 2 were too anxious and BOTH end up false starting.
So there's Eric, alone, on the block, staring at the largest pool he has ever seen, in front of 15,000 fans, at the Olympic games.
Barring a false start, simply finishing guarantees he will win his heat. But Eric would not only finish, he would finish in Olympic Record time...
...the slowest Olympic time ever recorded for 100 meter freestyle. Check it out...
100 meters in 1 minute, 52.72 seconds.
How slow is that? Consider this: Ian Thorpe, the day before, swam 200 meters 7 seconds faster.
UPDATE: New CNN article adds additional info, including:
--he was the only "swimmer" to show up at the "selection event"
--he didn't know how to dive, only learning after watching US team practice
--he did compete at 2002 World competition
--he is still attempting to earn permission from E.G.'s Olympic committee to compete in 2016
--regarding the 2000 Olympics, "It was me against the swimming pool. I didn't care about anything else, I just wanted to finish the race ... When I went to Australia that was the first time I had seen an Olympic swimming pool. I was scared of the dimensions."
Why is this my favorite Olympic record?
Courage.
Most of your Olympic athletes have been competing their whole lives, most because they possess a particular knack or physical ability that sets them a part from their peers. They get discovered, get training, get better. They also get pressure and scrutiny by fans and skeptics as they progress--by the time they reach Olympic level competition they are seasoned and strong, not just physically, but mentally and emotionally. They are not swayed by crowds or critics, not in awe of venues, and never surprised by what their discipline will demand of them.
Eric has no such benefits or conditioning. He teaches himself by his own dedication and gumption in a simple hotel pool. He prepares for the honor of representing his country.
When he learns that everything he has prepared for is wrong, he still steps out of his warm ups.
When his old style, baby-blue, Adidas bikini doesn't match the newer, technologically-advanced Speedo suits, he doesn't flinch.
Though 15,000 people are not there for him, he steps onto the block in front of them.
When the others false start, and it's just him, alone in a pool, he still dives in.
When he doesn't feel he can go on, and the echoing laughter throughout the natatorium, he still kicks and strokes rather than grab the ropes.
When he is seemingly about to drown and the laughter turns to cheers and applause to urge him forward, he digs in and finishes the race.
As a result, Eric can say many things that many of us couch-potatoe, Monday-morning quarterbacks will never be able to say--in fact, even a few Olympians can not make some of these statements:
- "I represented my country in the Olympics."
- "I carried the flag for my country at the Olympics."
- "I won my heat at the Olympics."
- "I finished the race at the Olympics."
In fact, in one of the hundreds of interviews given by Eric after his heat, Moussambani said he had telephoned his mother soon after his win but she was not even aware that he was supposed to be racing. "I told her: 'Mama, I have done it,'" beamed Moussambani. "Many people thought that I would not be able to finish the race. I would have been ashamed had I not been able to finish the race. I would not have been able to live with myself." (This link is to a great, similar article that also shares the after story and his preparation for the Athens Games in 2004).
Eric entered the Sydney games an obscure name in the program, but he left the Sydney games as the darling, earning the nickname, "Eric the Eel"--fellow competitors would even be asked about his effort, and all seemed to praise him as the ideal of the Olympic spirit.
Unfortunately, he returned to his home country not as a hero, but as a laughingstock--his government feeling embarrassed by his representation rather than pride in his commitment and effort. Eric continued to train despite obstacles and ridicule, shaving more than a minute of his time and and raising his ability to world competition status; though he would never compete on the world stage again.
But today, as the Olympics open in London, Equatorial Guinea has a swim team--and they will be coached by "Eric the Eel".
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