The Olympics often highlight the incredible value of perseverance and teamwork, and few stories capture the Olympic spirit as well as that of Eric Moussambani, also known as Eric the Eel.
In preparation for the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, Equatorial Guinea announced trials for athletes to join its squad.
One of the respondents was the 22-year-old Eric Moussambani, who attended the swimming team trials.
In actuality, Eric made the team by default because he was the only man to show up for the swimming trials, alongside Paula Barila Bolopa, who competed in the women’s category.
However, there was a significant issue – Eric didn’t know how to swim properly.
Additionally, Equatorial Guinea lacked the facilities for him to train adequately.
The athlete recounted his journey to becoming an unlikely Olympic swimmer, saying: “I started swimming when I left school. We didn’t have a swimming pool.”
Ultimately, the aspiring Olympian had to train in a small hotel pool, which was only about 13 meters long.
As for coaching? Eric trained by himself in the pool.
He noted: “I trained on my own and I had no swimming experience. The pool was only available from 5am to 6am and I was only able to train for three hours a week.”
Fortunately, he supplemented this limited training by swimming in rivers and the sea, aided by local fishermen.
He remembered, “The fishermen would tell me how to use my legs and how to swim. There was nothing professional about it at all.”
Eric arrived at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 having never swum in a full-sized Olympic pool, which is 50 meters long.
He admitted: “I was scared by the sight of the first pool I’d be racing in.”
To add to his challenges, Eric had to borrow a pair of trunks from the South African coach, as he had brought only swimming shorts.
In an unexpected turn, the two other athletes in his heat were disqualified, meaning Eric only needed to complete the 100-meter swim to win his heat.
The crowd cheered him on during his race.
On the return length, it appeared he might not make it and even had to grab the lane rope to avoid sinking, but he managed to finish the race amid the cheering spectators.
He remarked: “I knew that the whole world was watching me – my family, my country, my mother, my sister and my friends. That’s why I was telling myself that I had to keep going, that I had to finish, even if I was alone in the pool. I wasn’t worried about the time. All I wanted to do was finish.”
He clocked a time of 1:52 but remained undeterred.
After Sydney, Eric continued training and eventually achieved a personal best of 57 seconds, fast enough to have won gold in Helsinki in 1952.
Eric eventually became the coach for the Equatorial Guinea swimming team, and since his remarkable Olympic appearance, the country has constructed two full-sized Olympic swimming pools.