Eric Moussambani Malonga, known as “Eric the Eel,” became an Olympic sensation at the 2000 Sydney Games—not for speed, but for his determination. Representing Equatorial Guinea, he had never seen an Olympic-sized pool before and had trained alone in a small hotel pool for just eight months. On September 19, 2000, during the men’s 100m freestyle heats, both his competitors false-started, leaving him to swim alone. He finished with a time of 1:52.72—the slowest in Olympic history—but set a persona