Eric Moussambani - Hero at Sydney

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. "The last 15 meters were very difficult," Moussambani said.
Before coming to the Olympics, Moussambani had never seen a 50 m long Olympic-size swimming pool. He took up swimming only eight months before the Olympics and had practiced in a 20 m pool at a hotel in Malabo.

He set a new personal best and Equatoguinean national record.

Moussambani was denied entry into the 2004 Olympic Games due to a visa bungle, despite the vast improvement in his swimming over the previous four years, with his personal best down to under 57 seconds.

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