"Paula Barila Bolopa Paula Barila Bolopa (born 12 October 1979), nicknamed 'The Crawler', is a retired Equatoguinean football player and swimmer. She was one of two Equatorial Guinean swimmers to compete at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, the other being Eric Moussambani. Originally a footballer, who played for women's first division side E Waiso Ipola, she was submitted to a swimming trials to participate at the 2000 Olympic Games and was selected after a month and a half of training. Following Moussambani's struggling but courageous performance in the men's 100 metres freestyle event, the media turned their attention to"
"Moussambani as the last man standing. Farkhod Oripov Farkhod Oripov (; born April 9, 1984) is a Tajik former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. Oripov qualified for the men's 100 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, by receiving a Universality place from FINA without meeting a standard entry time. He participated in an unprecedented first heat against two other swimmers Karim Bare of Niger and Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea, later dubbed himself as ""Eric the Eel"". Before the race began, Oripov plunged into the pool, along with Bare, beating the gun, and were eventually"
"Farkhod Oripov Farkhod Oripov (; born April 9, 1984) is a Tajik former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. Oripov qualified for the men's 100 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, by receiving a Universality place from FINA without meeting a standard entry time. He participated in an unprecedented first heat against two other swimmers Karim Bare of Niger and Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea, later dubbed himself as ""Eric the Eel"". Before the race began, Oripov plunged into the pool, along with Bare, beating the gun, and were eventually disqualified for a false start, leaving"
"Moussambani as the last man standing. Karim Bare Karim Bare (born October 28, 1983) is a Nigerien former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. Bare qualified for the men's 100 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, by receiving a Universality place from FINA without meeting a standard entry time. He participated in an unprecedented first heat against two other swimmers Farkhod Oripov of Tajikistan and Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea, later dubbed himself as ""Eric the Eel"". Before the race began, Bare plunged into the pool, along with Oripov, without beating the gun, and were eventually"
"Lapenmal and Palestinian swimmer Hamza Abdu as ""potential successors to Moussambani"". During the Games, Cook Islands swimmer Petero Okotai compared himself to ""Eric the Eel"" upon recording a disappointing time in his event. In the 2016 Olympic Games, Ethiopian swimmer Robel Habte was dubbed ""Robel the Whale"" after finishing half a lap behind his competitors in the 100-meter freestyle. During the 2009 IAAF World Championships, various media around the world, including ""La Nación"" and the ""Daily Telegraph"", described American Samoan sprinter Savannah Sanitoa as ""the new Eric 'the Eel' Moussambani"". London 2012 Olympic rower Hamadou Djibo Issaka of Niger was"
"minute 40 seconds behind the winner. The British press gave Djibo Issaka a wave of attention following his first appearance, comparing him with Equiguinean swimmer Eric ""the Eel"" Moussambani from the Sydney games in 2000, and giving Djibo Issaka headline nicknames of ""Issaka the Otter"", ""Hamadou The Keel,"" and the ""Sculling Sloth"". While crowds and the press cheered him, British former Olympic Gold Medal rower Steve Redgrave criticised Djibo Issaka's inclusion. Despite these comments, the IOC explained Djibo Issaka had not taken the place of any other qualified rower, but was one of a number of Olympians added to additional"
"for the 2011 World Cup in Germany. In June 2016, Equatorial Guinea was chosen to host the 12th African Games in 2019. Equatorial Guinea is famous for the swimmers Eric Moussambani, nicknamed ""Eric the Eel"", and Paula Barila Bolopa, ""Paula the Crawler"", who had astoundingly slow times at the 2000 Summer Olympics. Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea (; ; ), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (, , ), is a country located in Central Africa, with an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name evokes its location near both the Equator and the Gulf of"
"Karim Bare Karim Bare (born October 28, 1983) is a Nigerien former swimmer, who specialized in sprint freestyle events. Bare qualified for the men's 100 m freestyle at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, by receiving a Universality place from FINA without meeting a standard entry time. He participated in an unprecedented first heat against two other swimmers Farkhod Oripov of Tajikistan and Eric Moussambani of Equatorial Guinea, later dubbed himself as ""Eric the Eel"". Before the race began, Bare plunged into the pool, along with Oripov, without beating the gun, and were eventually disqualified for a false start, leaving"
"was also nicknamed ""Stany the Stingray"" in the Danish, Argentinian, British, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian press. Stany Kempompo Ngangola Stany Kempompo Ngangola, born January 8, 1974, is a swimmer and electrical engineer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He represented his country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Due to a misprint in his personal best time, he was rumoured by the international media to be a potential successor to ""Eric the Eel"" – a spectacular underperformer. He was prematurely nicknamed ""Stany the Snail"", until he actually swam and the media conceded that he ""wasn't too bad""."
"Eric Thomas (hurdler) Eric Ashley Thomas (born December 1, 1973 in Carthage, Texas) is a male hurdler from the United States, who represented his native country at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia. He set his personal best (47.94) in the men's 400 m hurdles event on June 13, 2000 in Rome, Italy. Eric Thomas founded Champion Trainers, LLC in 2005 to train young athletes for success in their chosen sports activities. Champion Trainers provides individualized fitness and athletic programs to improve endurance, speed, agility, flexibility, mechanics and overall performance. The Eric Thomas Foundation, a 501(c) (3) non-profit charitable"
"the race, and almost eight seconds slower than second-slowest Mohammed Al-Habsi, of Oman. This prompted Okotai to comment: ""I hope I'm not Eric the Eel."" Petero Okotai Petero James Moeava Okotai (born 3 August 1981) is a Cook Islands swimmer. He grew up in Papua New Guinea where he began swimming at the age of 5, then stopped upon returning to the Cook Islands at the age of 11, due to the absence of a pool. He then resumed swimming in 2006, while studying for an honours degree in business management at the University of Auckland, in New Zealand, which"
"Stany Kempompo Ngangola Stany Kempompo Ngangola, born January 8, 1974, is a swimmer and electrical engineer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He represented his country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. Due to a misprint in his personal best time, he was rumoured by the international media to be a potential successor to ""Eric the Eel"" – a spectacular underperformer. He was prematurely nicknamed ""Stany the Snail"", until he actually swam and the media conceded that he ""wasn't too bad"". Kempompo finished last in the 50 metre freestyle event, with a time of 35.19. Stuff.co.nz reported: He"
"Eric Fonoimoana Eric Fonoimoana (born June 7, 1969) is an American former volleyball player of Samoan descent most notable for winning the gold medal in the 2000 Olympic Games. He has earned over 1 million dollars playing beach volleyball. He has played professionally for more than 16 years, and has entered over 200 tournaments. Fonoimoana won at least one tournament for seven straight years between 1998 and 2004. He is a former AVP Most Valuable Player and is in the top 10 in terms of all-time tournaments played. He was born in Manhattan Beach, California, and attended UCSB, where he"
"placed fifty-third overall out of 60 swimmers on the first day of preliminaries. Eric Williams (swimmer) Eric Williams (born 27 November 1977) is a Nigerian former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He represented Nigeria at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and in all three editions of the FINA World Championships since 2003. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Williams competed only in the men's 100 m breastroke, qualifying under a Universality place from FINA in an entry time of 1:09.60. He blasted a Nigerian record of 1:07.69 to lead the first heat against Zambia's Chisela Kanchela, Kenya's Amar Shah,"
"Eric Namesnik Eric John Namesnik (August 7, 1970 – January 11, 2006), nicknamed ""Snik,"" was an American competition swimmer and Olympic medalist. Namesnik was born and raised in the town of Butler, Pennsylvania, and swam for the Butler YMCA Swim team while he was growing up. After high school, he attended the University of Michigan, and swam for coach Jon Urbanchek's Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving team from 1989 to 1993. He later spent seven years as an assistant with the men's team there under Urbanchek. He then was a volunteer assistant coach at Eastern Michigan University for two years"
"Eric Mueller Eric C. Mueller (born November 6, 1970) is a former Olympic and National team rower, representing the United States at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. He was born in Kansas City, Missouri. Mueller, one of the most successful men’s rowers in Wisconsin history, begins his third season as the Badgers' freshmen coach. Mueller returns to Madison for the second time as an assistant coach. He spent 1998–99 as the assistant varsity coach, before leaving to train for the 2000 Olympic Summer Games in Sydney, Australia. During his previous stint, he was responsible for the Badgers' small boats and"
"Elka Graham Elka Graham (born 20 October 1981), now known by her married name Elka Whalan, is an Australian former competition swimmer who swam in the 2000 Sydney Olympics and 2004 Athens Olympics. Graham specialised in the 200-metre and 400-metre freestyle events, also swimming the 800-metre freestyle. She represented Australia at numerous international meets, including the Pan Pacific Championships, World Swimming Championships in 2001 and 2003, and the 2002 Commonwealth Games. She was a member of Australia's 4×200-metre freestyle relay team that finished first at the 2001 World Championships in Fukuoka, only to be disqualified when she and the rest"
"Eric Williams (swimmer) Eric Williams (born 27 November 1977) is a Nigerian former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events. He represented Nigeria at the 2004 Summer Olympics, and in all three editions of the FINA World Championships since 2003. At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Williams competed only in the men's 100 m breastroke, qualifying under a Universality place from FINA in an entry time of 1:09.60. He blasted a Nigerian record of 1:07.69 to lead the first heat against Zambia's Chisela Kanchela, Kenya's Amar Shah, and Nepal's Alice Shrestha. Williams failed to advance into the semifinals, as he"
"team earn a gold medal with her 4 goals in the final game. Lorenz also won a gold medal at the 2001 World Junior Championships in Perth, Australia. When not competing for Team USA, Lorenz is now a professional water polo player for an Italian team, Ortigia-Siracusa. Ericka Lorenz Ericka Denise Lorenz (born February 18, 1981) is an American water polo player, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She also won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Lorenz was born in San Diego, California. Nicknamed ""E"", she attended Patrick Henry High School (San Diego,"
"James Elmer James ""Jimmy"" Andrew Elmer (born 8 May 1971 in Melbourne, Victoria) is a former field hockey striker from Australia, who was a member of the team that won the bronze medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney He was nicknamed ""Jimmy"" by his teammates. Elmer made his senior debut for ""The Kookaburras"" in 1993. He played in every Champions Trophy since 1991, but always missed ""the big ones"", until the Sydney Games. There he finished his career after 102 international matches, in which he scored 30 goals. James is currently captain for Doncaster in the Victorian Masters"
"the women's K1 event at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. They now own a brewpub in Kernville, California. Eric Giddens Eric M. Giddens (born 8 May 1973 in Atlanta) is an American slalom canoeist who competed from the early 1990s to the early 2000s. Giddens finished 20th in the men's K1 slalom event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. Giddens has been the NBC analyst for both disciplines of canoeing during the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. A native of Atlanta, Giddens graduated with a degree in environmental biology from Georgia Tech and earned a Ph.D. in oceanography"
"won an Olympic championship. When he appeared in the heats of the 400m at Paris in 1924, his huge sprawling stride, his head thrown back and his arms clawing the air, moved the Americans and other sophisticated experts to ribald laughter."" Rival Harold Abrahams said in response to criticism of Liddell's style: ""People may shout their heads off about his appalling style. Well, let them. He gets there."" Eric Liddell Eric Henry Liddell (; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish Olympic Gold Medalist runner, rugby union international player, and Christian missionary. Liddell was born in China"
"Eric Liddell Eric Henry Liddell (; 16 January 1902 – 21 February 1945) was a Scottish Olympic Gold Medalist runner, rugby union international player, and Christian missionary. Liddell was born in China to Scottish missionary parents. He attended boarding school near London, spending time when possible with his family in Edinburgh, and afterwards attended the University of Edinburgh. At the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, Liddell refused to run in the heats for his favoured 100 metres because they were held on a Sunday. Instead he competed in the 400 metres held on a weekday, a race that he won."
"Ericka Lorenz Ericka Denise Lorenz (born February 18, 1981) is an American water polo player, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She also won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Lorenz was born in San Diego, California. Nicknamed ""E"", she attended Patrick Henry High School (San Diego, California) and was named first team All-American in water polo in 1997, '98 and '99. She was also two-time first team All-California Interscholastic Federation in volleyball and a four-time team offensive MVP in softball. She attended UC Berkeley in the fall of 1999 and was selected to"
"Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's 400 metre freestyle The men's 400 metre freestyle event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 16 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia. At only 17 years of age, Australia's overwhelming favorite Ian Thorpe, dubbed by his fans as the ""Thorpedo"", made his Olympic debut by claiming the first gold medal for the host nation at these Games. Cheered by a massive home crowd and rocketed to the chants of ""Thorpie"" by his swimming fans, Thorpe maintained a strong lead from start to finish before hitting the"
"Namesnik is memorialized with a statue outside of the Butler County YMCA, along with his childhood coach John ""Pump"" McLaughlin. Eric Namesnik Eric John Namesnik (August 7, 1970 – January 11, 2006), nicknamed ""Snik,"" was an American competition swimmer and Olympic medalist. Namesnik was born and raised in the town of Butler, Pennsylvania, and swam for the Butler YMCA Swim team while he was growing up. After high school, he attended the University of Michigan, and swam for coach Jon Urbanchek's Michigan Wolverines swimming and diving team from 1989 to 1993. He later spent seven years as an assistant with"
"in the prelims. Aleksandr Yegorov (swimmer) Aleksandr Yegorov (; born June 16, 1976) is a Kyrgyz former swimmer, who specialized in backstroke events. Yegorov competed only in the men's 200 m backstroke at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. He posted a FINA B-standard entry time of 2:07.11 from the Russian National Championships in Moscow. He challenged five other swimmers in heat one, including Hong Kong's Alex Fong, who later became one of city's most popular singers. He rounded out the field to last place with a slowest time of 2:13.85. Yegorov failed to advance into the semifinals, as he"
"Klaas-Erik Zwering Klaas-Erik Zwering (born 19 May 1981 in Eindhoven, North Brabant) is a former Dutch swimmer and an Olympic medalist. He is currently studying MBO entrepreneurship as he trained in Eindhoven with the PSV Eindhoven swim club. His personal coach was Jacco Verhaeren, who is also coach for Dutch swimming phenom Pieter van den Hoogenband. Zwering originally specialized in the 200 meter backstroke, coming in seventh place in his first senior competition at the European Championships in Istanbul. In the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, he came in tenth place in the same event. Recently, however, he's been focusing"
"seven other swimmers in the same heat, including Guam's 28-year-old Daniel O'Keeffe and Bosnia's three-time Olympian Janko Gojković. He held off a fast-pacing O'Keeffe by a hundredth of a second (0.01) to snatch a third spot and forty-fourth overall in an Algerian record of 56.04. Mehdi Addadi Mehdi Addadi (; born February 13, 1978) is an Algerian former swimmer, who specialized in sprint backstroke and butterfly events. He collected two medals, a gold and a bronze, from the All-Africa Games, and later represented Algeria, along with Salim Iles, at the 2000 Summer Olympics. While studying in the United States, Addadi"
"Erica Morningstar Erica Rachelle Morningstar (born March 3, 1989) is a Canadian swimmer who has competed in international events including the 2008 Summer Olympics, and 2012 Summer Olympics. Morningstar was born in Regina, Saskatchewan. She began swimming at the age of 9. Initially she was unsure about the sport and her parents had to give her a small push to join a competitive club. She joined the Calgary Patriots and continued to swim with them until the 2008 Olympic Games, when afterwards she joined the University of Calgary Varsity Swim Team. The 2006 Commonwealth Games, held in Melbourne, Australia, were"
"Swimming at the 2000 Summer Olympics – Men's 200 metre breaststroke The men's 200 metre breaststroke event at the 2000 Summer Olympics took place on 19–20 September at the Sydney International Aquatic Centre in Sydney, Australia. Domenico Fioravanti emerged as a major force on the international swimming after effortlessly winning his second gold at these Games. He maintained a lead from start to finish and posted a European record of 2:10.87, the second-fastest of all time, making him the first ever swimmer in Olympic history to strike a breaststroke double. South Africa's Terence Parkin, a deaf mute since birth, enjoyed"
"Eric Ebert Eric Ebert (born August 27, 1984) is an American soccer player who last played for Chivas USA. He is the son of Don Ebert, who played professional soccer for the New York Cosmos (NASL), St. Louis Steamers (MISL) and Los Angeles Lazers (MISL), and was the captain of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team. Ebert was a three-time All-Sea View selection, a two-time all-CIF pick, and was named Irvine World News ""Athlete of the Year"" in 2003 while playing for Woodbridge High School in Irvine, California, prior to attending the University of California, Berkeley. Ebert appeared in over 70"
"Ellen Estes Ellen Marie Estes (born October 13, 1978 in Portland, Oregon) is an American water polo player, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Summer Olympics. She also won a bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Estes scored three goals during the bronze medal game against Australia. Estes played for Stanford University. She was a senior on the 2002 NCAA National Championship Team; was a two-time All-American; and broke a Stanford scoring record with 93 goals in her sophomore year. She graduated with an Engineering degree at Stanford, and interned for studied roller-coaster design as an intern"