"metres, Mari Paz Mosanga Motanga in the women's 100 metres, Eric Moussambani in the men's 100 metre freestyle and Paula Barila Bolopa in the women's 50 metre freestyle. Along with the four athletes, the team was accompanied by their manager Enrique Roca Nguba and attache Derrick Samuel Heywood. Moussambani was selected as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony. José Luis Ebatela Nvo was the oldest person to represent Equatorial Guinea at the Sydney Summer Games at the age of 27. He had not participated in any previous Olympic Games. Nvo qualified for the Games through a wildcard place because"
"who won a rowing gold medal in an unprecedented fifth consecutive Olympics, and Cathy Freeman, an Indigenous Australian whose triumph in the 400 meters united a packed stadium. Eric ""the Eel"" Moussambani, a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, received wide media coverage when he completed the 100 meter freestyle swim in by far the slowest time in Olympic history. He nevertheless won the heat as both his opponents had been disqualified for false starts. His female compatriot Paula Barila Bolopa also received media attention for her record-slow and struggling but courageous performance. The Sydney Games also saw the first appearance of"
"compared to Moussambani for his times of 8:25.56 in the 2000 meter men's single scull qualifying heat and 9:07.99 in the E Semifinals. Both times were over a minute off the next closest competitor in each race. Moussambani's exploits also triggered comparisons to the 1988 Winter Olympics, when both British ski-jumper Eddie ""The Eagle"" Edwards and the Jamaican bobsled team became objects of interest and amusement due to their improbable participation in their sports. Eric Moussambani Eric Moussambani Malonga (born May 31, 1978) is a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea. Nicknamed ""Eric the Eel"" by the media, Moussambani won brief international"
"Hungary, Italy and Canada. It failed to qualify through the repechage to the final. In WWII Ella served in the Australian Army. He enlisted early in the war in 1940 and had the rank of corporal when he was discharged in 1944. Norman Ella Norman Ella (18 June 1910 – 19 January 1987) was an Australian rowing coxswain. He competed in the men's eight event at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Ella rowed for the New South Wales Police club in Sydney. In 1936 the Police Club's eight dominated the Sydney racing season, the New South Wales state titles and won"
"Eric Moussambani Eric Moussambani Malonga (born May 31, 1978) is a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea. Nicknamed ""Eric the Eel"" by the media, Moussambani won brief international fame at the 2000 Summer Olympics for an extremely unlikely victory. Moussambani, who had never seen an Olympic-sized swimming pool before, swam his heat of the 100 m freestyle on September 19 in the unprecedentedly slow time of 1:52.72. This was the slowest time in Olympic history by far and Moussambani apparently had trouble finishing the race, but he won his heat after both his competitors were disqualified due to false starts. While Moussambani's"
"Olly, Syd, Millie and Lizzie Olly, Syd and Millie were the official mascots of the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, representing air, soil and water. Olly (from Olympics) the kookaburra represents the Olympic spirit of generosity. Syd (from Sydney) the platypus, represents the environment as well as the activity and energy of Australia and their population. Millie (from Millennium) the echidna, knows everything about technology and numerical data. The mascots were designed by Matthew Hattan and Jozef Szekeres. The mascot for the 2000 Paralympics was ""Lizzie"" the Frill-necked Lizard. The frill of the Paralympic mascot was coloured in green and"
"Eddie the Eagle (film) Eddie the Eagle is a 2016 biographical sports comedy-drama film directed by Dexter Fletcher. The film stars Taron Egerton as Michael Edwards, a British skier who in 1988 became the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping since 1928. Hugh Jackman, Christopher Walken, Iris Berben and Jim Broadbent co-star. The film had its world premiere at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on 26 January 2016. The film was released by 20th Century Fox in Canada and the U.S on 27 February 2016 and by Lionsgate in the UK on 28 March 2016. In"
"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"
"Eric Boulter Eric Boulter (born 15 October 1952) is an Australian swimmer, athlete, and wheelchair basketball player, who won two medals at the 1972 Heidelberg Paralympics. Boulter was born in Melbourne on 15 October 1952. In 1969 when he was 16, while on a cycling holiday on the Gold Coast, he had a fall at the Nerang Velodrome which left him paraplegic. Boulter temporarily checked out of hospital to represent Queensland in his first National Disabled Championships in 1970. He then returned to the Gold Coast, and searched for a coach. He found Dave Tomlinson, who worked with him for"
"Eddie the Eagle Michael Edwards (born 5 December 1963), known as ""Eddie the Eagle"", is an English skier who in 1988 became the first competitor since 1928 to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping, finishing last in the 70 m and 90 m events. He became the British ski jumping record holder, ninth in amateur speed skiing (), and a stunt jumping world record holder for jumping over 6 buses. In 2016, he was portrayed by Taron Egerton in the biographical film ""Eddie the Eagle"". Edwards was born in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire. His family calls him by his given name,"
"Ella Nicholas Ella Nicholas (born 15 December 1990 in Tauranga, New Zealand) is a Cook Islands slalom canoeist who has competed since 2007. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London she took part in the K1 event, finishing 18th in the heats, failing to qualify for the semifinals. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she finished 18th in the heats of the K1 event and did not qualify for the semifinals. She was the flag bearer for the Cook Islands during the Parade of Nations. Her brother Bryden also represented Cook Islands at the 2016 Summer Olympics"
"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"
"medalists Hester Goodsell and Charlotte Taylor. Paul Reedy Paul Reedy (born 21 January 1961 in Robinvale, Victoria) is an Australian former rower. He is a dual Olympian, an Olympic and Commonwealth Games silver medalist who competed over a seventeen-year period at the elite level. He was a fourteen-time Australian national champion across both sculling and sweep-oared boats and then coached six Australian crews to national championship titles. He later coached at the London Rowing Club and was appointed as British national Head Coach from 2009. He took Great Britain's lightweight women's sculling crews to Olympic and World Championship gold medals"
"seconds, Moussambani was denied entry into the 2004 Olympic Games due to a visa bungle. He did not take part in the 2008 Summer Olympics. In March 2012 he was appointed coach of the national swimming squad of Equatorial Guinea. In subsequent Olympic Games, international media occasionally referred to Moussambani's potential successors—athletes who might record spectacularly poor times. Before the 2008 Summer Olympics, media in several countries—including Australia, Denmark, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom—suggested that Stany Kempompo Ngangola, a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea, would be the Olympics' next ""Eric the Eel"". The media also described ni-Vanuatu sprinter Elis"
"Eric Powell (rower) Eric Walter Powell (6 May 1886 – 17 August 1933) was an English schoolmaster, artist and rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Powell was born at Hornsey, the son of Rev. Robert Walter Powell, and his wife Mary Caroline Hankey. He was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, where he was a member of the Pitt Club. He rowed for Cambridge in the Boat Race in 1906, 1907 and 1908. In the winning crew of 1906, he was No.7 and his elder brother Ronald was No. 6 in front of him."
"Ella Pardy Ella Azura Pardy (born 22 December 1990) is an Australian Para athlete who competes in the T38 100m, 200m and long jump. She represented Australia at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in long jump and the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in athletics where she won a bronze medal. Pardy was born in Roehampton, Great Britain on 22 December 1990. She has an intellectual impairment and trains at the Western Australian Institute of Sport in Perth. Pardy began participating in sport in attempt to 'wear herself out'. She then became actively"
"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"
"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"
"Pither. In ""Ella: The Definitive Biography"" Mark Ella recalled that, ‘Campo was past his best, but in terms of rugby sense and experience he was still miles ahead of the young players.’ The Australian team toured Uruguay, Argentina, France, Hong Kong, Fiji and Jerusalem. In Fiji in the Australian Sevens team were easily defeated in the quarter-finals by Fiji. In Tokyo Australia lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals. In ""Ella: The Definitive Biography"" Mark Ella is quoted saying: The Australian Sevens team then toured Paris and won their first Sevens tournament in 10 years by defeating New Zealand in"
"to set a new world record of 47.84, slashing 0.34 seconds off the mark set by Klim from the relay. One of the most popular highlights in the event took place in the first heat. Dubbed as ""Eric the Eel"", Equatorial Guinea's Eric Moussambani received a dubious honor of being the slowest Olympic swimmer in history. Two other swimmers, Niger's Karim Bare and Tajikistan's Farkhod Oripov, plunged into the pool and were cast out of the race under a no false-start rule, leaving Moussambani as the last man standing. Cheering by a large crowd, he finished a one-man heat in"
"Teresa Poole Teresa ""Terri"" Hilda Poole, OAM (born 28 January 1964) is an English-born Australian Paralympic tandem cyclist with a vision impairment. She was born in the English city of Manchester. She competed at the 1996 Atlanta Games, where she won two gold medals in the Women's Individual Pursuit Tandem open and the Women's Kilo Tandem open track cycling events, for which she received a Medal of the Order of Australia. Her pilot was Sandra Smith. She competed in the Women's 50/60k Tandem open event for road cycling but did not medal. She received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000."
"which seemed to hold the highest promise. Of what he did for drawing at Eton it is impossible to speak too highly; and his success as one of the most popular and best beloved of house masters was so remarkable that it might have been grudged to anyone but him Powell's sister Ellen married fellow Olympian Harold Barker. Eric Powell (rower) Eric Walter Powell (6 May 1886 – 17 August 1933) was an English schoolmaster, artist and rower who competed for Great Britain in the 1908 Summer Olympics. Powell was born at Hornsey, the son of Rev. Robert Walter Powell,"
"In 2001, she held five world records in tandem cycling. She was an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship holder in 1996 and 1997. Teresa Poole Teresa ""Terri"" Hilda Poole, OAM (born 28 January 1964) is an English-born Australian Paralympic tandem cyclist with a vision impairment. She was born in the English city of Manchester. She competed at the 1996 Atlanta Games, where she won two gold medals in the Women's Individual Pursuit Tandem open and the Women's Kilo Tandem open track cycling events, for which she received a Medal of the Order of Australia. Her pilot was Sandra Smith. She"
"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"
"training facilities to participate. Equatorial Guinea has only two pools, neither of them Olympic-sized. She had never swum in a 50-metre pool before. After the race, she commented: ""It's the first time I've swum 50 metres. It was further than I thought. I was very tired."" The BBC commented: ""Bolopa and Moussambani have become two of the stars of the Sydney Olympics much like Eddie ""the Eagle"" Edwards became a hero at the 1988 Calgary Olympics for his brave but laughable attempts at ski-jumping."" ""The Telegraph"" likewise commented that Barila had ""recapture[d] the spirit of Eddie the Eagle"". The Agence"
"that: Four minutes following Ella's ""around-the-body-pass"" he kicked his second drop-goal in international rugby, once again on his non-preferred right foot. The final score of 26-10 marked what was Australia's then largest victory over New Zealand. Following Australia's famous victory over New Zealand in 1980, Ella was dropped from the Australian side for Queensland five-eighth Paul McLean following Queensland's dominance over New South Wales in their interstate contests during 1981. Australian coach Bob Templeton is reported later explaining Ella's omission saying that, ""The French were a far more volatile team than the All Blacks and we had to change our"
"bronze. Eric Boulter was Australia's most successful swimmer. Australia's lone gold medal in the pool came courtesy of his performance in the men's 25m backstroke 2. Boulter won his gold with a world record swim of 24.3 seconds, beating Gerrit Pomp of the Netherlands. Boulter also claimed silver in the 3x25m medley 2 event. Pam Foley was also successful, claiming two silver medals in the women's 25m freestyle 2 and 3x25m medley 2 events. Pauline English won a pair of bronze medals in the women's 50m freestyle 4 and the 3x25m medley 4 events while Russell Morrison claimed bronze in"
"Noel Purcell (water polo and rugby union) Noel Mary Joseph Purcell was a water polo player who represented both Great Britain and Ireland at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics respectively. He was also an Ireland rugby union international and rugby union referee. He was the first Olympic athlete to represent two different nations. He is also the only Ireland rugby union international to ever win an Olympic Gold medal. In 2012 his collection of medals and international caps were donated to Belvedere College by his daughter Rosemary and son Noel. Purcell was born in Dublin. He was the son"
"Eric Russell took a stance against politics at the Paralympic Games when he refused his gold medal in the class 3 discus event as a protest. He later accepted the medal from Dr Guttman after a press conference, explaining his position. For the first time, television coverage of the Paralympics was broadcast daily to more than 600,000 viewers around the world. This Paralympic Games were the first Winter Paralympic Games. Australia was represented by one athlete, Ron Finneran; however, he was disqualified as his disability did not meet event classifications. This is the first Winter Paralympics that Australia competed in,"
"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"
"list. In ice dancing, many of the compulsory moves were developed by dancers from the UK in the 1930s. At the 1984 Winter Olympics, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won gold and became the highest scoring figure skaters (for a single programme) receiving twelve perfect 6.0s and six 5.9s which included artistic impression scores of 6.0 from every judge. At the 1988 Winter Olympics, ski jumper Eddie ""The Eagle"" Edwards gained fame as an underdog. Eddie was portrayed by Taron Egerton in the 2016 biographical sports comedy-drama film ""Eddie the Eagle"". A great number of major sports originated in the"
"Pauline English Pauline Jean English, OAM, is an Australian paraplegic swimmer, who won five medals at two Paralympics. She later became the first person with a disability to swim across Sydney Harbour. English has been paralysed from the waist down since the age of three due to transverse myelitis. In December 1971, shortly after she had finished school at the age of 14, her father encouraged her to take up competitive swimming. He enrolled her at Don Talbot's swimming pool in the Sydney suburb of Hurstville. At that pool, one of Talbot's assistants, Trevor Ellis, taught her how to balance"
"in canoe slalom. Ella Nicholas Ella Nicholas (born 15 December 1990 in Tauranga, New Zealand) is a Cook Islands slalom canoeist who has competed since 2007. At the 2012 Summer Olympics in London she took part in the K1 event, finishing 18th in the heats, failing to qualify for the semifinals. At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, she finished 18th in the heats of the K1 event and did not qualify for the semifinals. She was the flag bearer for the Cook Islands during the Parade of Nations. Her brother Bryden also represented Cook Islands at the"