The Slowest 100m Freestyle in Olympic History Won Its Heat
Eric Moussambani's 1:52.72 in Sydney is a punchline until you learn his only training pool was a hotel's, three hours a week.
On 19 September 2000, Eric Moussambani Malonga of Equatorial Guinea climbed onto the blocks for heat two of the men's 100m freestyle in Sydney, looked at the water, and went. His two heat-mates had been disqualified for false starts, so he swam alone. The clock stopped at 1:52.72 — slower than the women's 200m freestyle world record at the time, and the slowest 100m freestyle ever swum at an Olympics.
He won the heat. Since the other two were out, Moussambani's time only had to clear the wall.
The details that turned the swim into something other than a joke came out afterward. Equatorial Guinea had no 50m pool. The country's swimming federation had been formed six months earlier. Moussambani had been swimming for eight months. He trained three hours a week at a private hotel pool from 5 a.m. to 6 a.m. He got into the Sydney heats through a wildcard slot that the IOC and FINA used to bring small national federations into the Games.
The clip became famous on its own terms — "Eric the Eel," the second 50 of which he swam visibly afraid he wouldn't finish — and he didn't qualify for round two. But he kept swimming, brought his time down to around 57 seconds, and later took over as Equatorial Guinea's national coach. The slowest swim in Olympic history seeded the country's swimming program.
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