Eric 'The Eel' Moussambani

Although he swam at half the speed of the record holder, Moussambani won his heat because the other two swimmers false-started. Before coming to the Olympics, Moussambani had never seen an Olympic-size swimming pool. He took up swimming only 8 months before the Olympics and had practiced in a 20m pool at a hotel in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea.