Eric Moussambani Malonga (born May 31, 1978) is a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea. Nicknamed "Eric the Eel" by the media after the name first appeared in an article by Craig Lord in The Times newspaper in London, Moussambani won brief international fame at the 2000 Summer Olympics when he swam his heat of the 100 m freestyle in 1:52.72.[1] His time was more than twice that of his faster competitors, and outside even the 200 m world record. However, he set a new personal best and Equatoguinean national record.
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Moussambani gained entry to the Olympics without meeting the minimum qualification requirements via a wildcard draw designed to encourage developing countries without expensive training facilities to participate. While Pieter van den Hoogenband set a world record of 47.84 seconds to win the gold medal, Moussambani splashed his way to the finish to the cheers of the crowd in slightly more than twice that time (1:52.72). "The last 15 meters were very difficult," Moussambani said. However, because the other two swimmers in his heat false-started twice, and were thus disqualified, Eric progressed to the second round where he came last but set a slightly faster time of 1:49.63.
Before coming to the Olympics, Moussambani had never seen a 50 m (160 ft) long Olympic-size swimming pool. He took up swimming only eight months before the Olympics and had practiced in a 20 m (66 ft) pool[2] at a hotel in Malabo.[3]
His performance generated spectator and media interest in the only other Equatoguinean swimmer at the Sydney Olympics, Paula Barila Bolopa, who competed in the women's 50 meters freestyle event. Barila struggled to finish the race with a time of 1:03.97, setting a record for the slowest time in Olympic history for that event, and also achieved minor celebrity status.[4][5]
Moussambani was denied entry into the 2004 Olympic Games due to a visa bungle,[6] despite the vast improvement in his swimming over the previous four years, with his personal best down to under 57 seconds.[7] He did not take part in the 2008 Summer Olympics.[8]
In subsequent Olympic Games, international media occasionally referred to Moussambani's potential successors — athletes who might record spectacularly poor times. Prior to 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 the Democratic Republic of the Congo, would be the Olympics' next "Eric the Eel".[9][10][11][12][13] The media also described ni-Vanuatu sprinter Elis Lapenmal and Palestinian swimmer Hamza Abdu as "potential successors to Moussambani".[14] During the Games, Cook Islands swimmer Petero Okotai compared himself to "Eric the Eel" upon recording a disappointing time in his event.[15] 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".[16][17]