Amid the ongoing trouble at the Paris Olympics this year, here's a thread to remind you what the Olympics is really about, and it's a story you may or may not have heard before (this writer certainly hadn't heard it):
You probably know the start of this Olympic story, but do you know how it finished?
— Aaron Smith (@Aaronsmith333) July 28, 2024
This photo is of Eric Moussambani, aka 'Eric the Eel' from Equatorial Guinea, competing in the 100m Freestyle event at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, alone.
Why?
/1 pic.twitter.com/wKMEk9tNvY
The backstory is wild:
Eric's heat started with 2 other competitors; one from Niger and the other from Tajikistan. Eric's competitors however both broke, and were disqualified, leaving him to swim this event alone.
— Aaron Smith (@Aaronsmith333) July 28, 2024
Eric hadn't completed a full length of a 50m pool before, but he dived in anyway.
/2 pic.twitter.com/ZoJHjy0DCV
He dived in anyway.
Took guts and determination.
It seemed like he wasn't going to make the distance. Touching a lane rope would've been automatic disqualification.
— Aaron Smith (@Aaronsmith333) July 28, 2024
He completed in 1:52.72, the slowest time in Olympic History, and for comparison, 47 seconds slower than I did recently, in my late 40s. Remember these times.
3/ pic.twitter.com/8OhThS8i4o
But he finished.
Why was Eric there?
— Aaron Smith (@Aaronsmith333) July 28, 2024
The IOC's wild card strategy aimed to boost sports in developing nations like Equatorial Guinea.
Eric heard the call for swimmers on the radio, and since he was the only one to show up, he made the team!
The only issue was, Eric couldn't swim.
/4 pic.twitter.com/IZwsbvjZPm
He. Couldn't. Swim.
But he showed up anyway.
So a few months out from the games, Eric started his training, partly with the assistance of fisherman in a lake.
— Aaron Smith (@Aaronsmith333) July 28, 2024
He was also given access to a 12M long hotel pool for up to 1hr, three times a week.
Equatorial Guinea had no 50m pools.
/5 pic.twitter.com/fGacFwo0vt
For us Americans, 12 meters is about 40 feet and 50 meters is about 164 feet.
When Eric turned up to Sydney, and swam in a 50M pool for the first time, he couldn't have been less prepared.
— Aaron Smith (@Aaronsmith333) July 28, 2024
The blue speedos he raced in were given to him by the South African swimming coach just prior to his race, who noticed Eric training in shorts.
What happened next?
/6 pic.twitter.com/z3rEiBgb87
A kind gesture.
After Sydney, Eric kept swimming. In 2004 he swam a 100 free time 56.9s (compared to 1:52.72 in Sydney).
— Aaron Smith (@Aaronsmith333) July 28, 2024
Two years later, he achieved a PB of 52.18 (5 seconds off the winning time Sydney 2000), and would've been fast enough for a Gold Medal at the Melbourne 1956 Olympics!
/7 pic.twitter.com/0oQgHG5EW3
He shaved a minute off of his time.
Amazing.
The IOC's wild card initiative, designed to nurture sport in developing nations, arguably found success in Eric's story.
— Aaron Smith (@Aaronsmith333) July 28, 2024
He became an icon for swimming in Equatorial Guinea, which now features two Olympic-size pools, and Eric became the national coach in 2012.
/8 pic.twitter.com/AmEPB6iBHk
He went from just a regular citizen to the national coach.
Here is Eric's iconic swim on YouTube.
— Aaron Smith (@Aaronsmith333) July 28, 2024
The conclusion of his story is arguably more important than its beginnings. #Olympics
/endhttps://t.co/oYeMOsa3DI
Give it a watch.
Thanks Aaron, that is such a great story, of course, I knew the race, but I didn't know the rest!
— 💧Bee🐝🐀 (@BelindaJones68) July 28, 2024
🐝
It is a great story that more people should know.
Me, being tremendously old: This thread would have made a great Paul Harvey “Rest of the Story” installment. https://t.co/BS3KYKZazh
— Norm Charlatan (@normcharlatan) July 29, 2024
This writer used to listen to Paul Harvey with her dad, and this is correct -- it would've been a perfect story for Harvey's show.
I did NOT know the aftermath of the story re Eric the Eel, and I LOVE IT SO MUCH. https://t.co/7dmyQjqrWx
— Yassmin Abdel-Magied (@yassmin_a) July 29, 2024
We love it, too.