Eric the Eel (Try Not to Cry Like I Did!)

Eric the Eel (Try Not to Cry Like I Did!)

This one gives me a lump in my throws. No one was watching this Olympic race.
It was the 2000 Sydney Olympics. And it was A heat for the slowest qualifiers in the 100-meter freestyle.Nothing to see.
Then… 2 of the 3 swimmers false-started.
Suddenly, the pool belonged to one man.
An unemployed 20-year-old from Equatorial Guinea. All Alone.
Swimming by himself on the biggest stage in the world. His name was Eric Moussambani.Here’s the part that matters.He had only found out two days earlier that he’d even be swimming the 100 meters. Before that week, he had never swum in a 50-meter pool.
Ever.His country had only formed a swimming federation months earlier.
Their “national trials” weren’t races — just a few laps in a 20-meter hotel pool.
No times.No clocks.
When Eric dove in, some people were having a laugh at his expense. By halfway, you could see he was exhausted. Later, he admitted he wanted to stop.Badly. But Then the crowd started to shift.They stopped laughing.
They started cheering because it was clear that this man was brave and was doing something special.

#EricTheEel #Sydney2000 #Olympics #Swimming

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