Eric Moussambani, a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, made Olympic history in 2000 by competing in the 100m freestyle despite only starting to swim eight months prior. He set a national record with a time of 1:52.72, but was unable to participate in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics due to visa issues.
When it comes to making Olympic history there are a variety of records and statistics that athletes strive to match. However, some who make the journey to the Olympic Games create a different kind of legacy of their own. This was certainly the case for swimmer Eric Moussambani during the 2000 Summer Olympic Games held in Sydney, Australia.
Eric Moussambani’s path to the Olympics has not been in accordance with the traditional training methods that most athletes must undergo in order to qualify for their events. In fact, the young swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, rather than starting his training from a young age, took up the sport just eight months before the start of the 2000 Games. His inclusion in the ranks of athletes in Sydney was due to a new program that was designed to encourage the expansion of the sport in developing nations around the world. Thus, Moussambani was not required to meet the minimum qualifications that Olympic participants are generally required to meet. Instead, he was elected to enter the competition following a wild card draw among various applicants from a number of developing countries.
The Olympic swimmer was born in Equatorial Guinea on May 31, 1978 and only started swimming in January of 2000. He entered the Sydney Olympic Games having never seen a 160-foot (50-meter) Olympic-sized pool before. His workout had taken place in a 200-foot hotel pool with unmarked lanes. He was scheduled to swim the 20m freestyle heat with swimmers Karim Bare and Farkhod Oripov. The freestyle event took a strange turn, however, when both Bare and Oripov were disqualified early in the race for false starts. This left Moussambani alone to complete the 100m event.
It took a total of one minute and 52.72 seconds for Eric Moussambani to complete the entire 100m, which is double the distance of his longest run at the Olympics. His time placed him over a minute ahead of the fastest swimmers and seven seconds ahead of the world record set by Pieter van den Hoogenband in the 200 metres. However, it was not only a personal best for Moussambani but he also set a national record in his home country. The wild card swimmer continued to train in his sport and hoped to return to the 2004 Olympic Games. Unfortunately, he encountered a mishap regarding his visa which prevented him from participating. He was also absent from the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.
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