Today’s quote: “If you want it, go for it. Take a risk. Don’t always  play it safe or you’ll die wondering.”– Tenille Dashwood

Eric Moussambani Malonga (born 31 May 1978) is a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea. Nicknamed Eric the Eel by the media,

He 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 had trouble finishing the race, but he won his heat after both his competitors were disqualified due to false starts.

While his time was still too slow to advance to the next round, he set a new personal best and later became the coach of the national swimming squad of Equatorial Guinea.

Moussambani gained entry to the Olympics without meeting the minimum qualification requirements via a wildcard draw designed to encourage participation by developing countries lacking full training facilities.

Before coming to the Olympics, he had never seen a 50-meter-long (160 feet) Olympic-size swimming pool.

He took up swimming eight months before the Olympics and had practised in a lake, and later a 12-metre swimming pool in a hotel in Malabo that he was only given access to between 5 and 6 AM in the morning.

It just goes to show that you never know what you candor until you give something a go!

Take Action:

What are you going to give a go this week?