Eric the Eel gives his critics the slip

13 April 2012

It is difficult to know what to think before meeting Eric Moussambani. If the name is unfamiliar, the words Eric the Eel should help. Three months ago the 22-year-old from Equatorial Guinea lit up the Olympic Games by splashing his way through his 100m freestyle heat in 1min 52.72sec, almost a minute more than the Olympic record. Alone in the pool after competitors from Nigeria and Tajikstan were disqualified, Moussambani appeared in danger of drowning before the cheers of the Sydney crowd carried him to the finish.

He became the toast of the Olympic Village. But some observers also felt uneasy, as they wondered how Moussambani was really so different from Britain's Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards.

Feted at the time of his participation in the 1988 Winter Olympics, the failed ski-jumper was not so loved by competitors from his own shores, who felt he cheapened their efforts.

Moreover, there was a nagging sense the world was treating Moussambani as a pet, to be patted on the head after entertaining the grown-ups.

Meeting Moussambani now provides the antidote to such concerns. Something extraordinary happened to him which he could not possibly have engineered, and while he is occasionally bewildered by it, he is clearly grateful for it. His English is not yet sophisticated - Spanish is his first language - but it is reassuringly evident that he is sanguine about the reality of his story. And what a story it is.

A year ago he could not swim and had never been outside his country. Then swimming's international governing body issued several wild-card invitations to the Games in order to spread the sport, regardless of qualifying standards.

Moussambani was selected when a man from the country's Olympic association visited his college looking for potential athletes - irrespective of their ability in the pool. Only after Moussambani was chosen to compete did he learn to swim.

"I had never heard of the Olympics,'' relates Moussambani. "I thought there would be quite a lot of people because all the countries of the world were represented there. But when I got to Australia I was very scared. It was so big, with so many athletes.

"The opening ceremony was so long. I did not understand before the Games what an honour it was to carry the flag of your country. The president of our federation told me I had to carry the flag. I didn't want to do it because I was busy preparing for the swimming. But one of the Australians told me carrying the flag was a very important job because everyone in the world would see me.''

Moussambani's face was indeed beamed around the world as he walked in the stadium with his three team-mates. But fame came four days later.

"I did not feel good on the day of my race. I was very nervous. I had never swum in a public place with anybody watching. And the pool was so big. We do not have any pools that big in my country, only 20m. I thought I would be swimming only 50m.

"But then the president of my federation, who is a nice man, told me it was 100m. I told him that would be a very long way for me and very difficult. But he told me I had to do it.

"I was even more nervous when I saw I was going to be the only person in the race. But at least I knew I would win. I knew I would be very slow. But it didn't matter to me.

"At home I trained on my own with no coach, so there was no one to hold a watch and I never knew what my time was anyway. I thought I would swim my race, finish, and go home.''

The common phrase was that Moussambani embodied the Olympic spirit. But what of the many thousands of competitors who strove to achieve excellence, only to miss out on a medal or a final or the very team by the tiniest of margins? What of their Olympic spirit? Moussambani agrees.

"I don't like the attention that way because I am not a good swimmer. I am trying to be, but I am not good. I am only just starting.

"If I was fast, I would like the attention. But it is difficult because I almost have to accept interviews to give my country publicity.''

Publicity for Speedo, too. The company signed him up in a two-year sponsorship deal the day after his race, and according to Moussambani they devised the soubriquet Eric the Eel.

"Speedo have helped me a lot. But I have had no time for training since the Games because I have travelled to so many countries. I enjoy it but it feels like I spend all my time in aeroplanes. It can be hard. I miss home.''

Moreover, for all the acclaim he has received abroad, his compatriots are not so enamoured.

"In Europe the people love me, but not in my own country. I don't understand. I didn't go to the Olympics to be famous. I went as the first swimmer from my country ever to compete in the Olympics. I just wanted to finish my race.

''But I am glad it all happened. I want to go to the next Games in Athens.

"I may go to an American university next September. My life has changed a lot. I have become an important person.

"We are not here for a long time. We have to do what we can. Life is good.''

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