"Eric the Eel" | An apt reminder of why we work with sports at Bendelta

Yesterday's article by Tom Decent in the Sydney Morning Herald scratched an itch I didn't realise I had. More importantly it further crystalised a truth that had become all too apparent over the course of 2020...

Let's start at the beginning: Who is "Eric the Eel"?

Simply put, "Eric the Eel" (Eric Moussambani Malonga) is Equatorial Guinea's most famous swimmer who competed in a 100m freestyle heat in what was arguably one of the most memorable moments from the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Memorable for the fact that he:

A) Had never been in an Olympic-sized swimming pool before coming to the Sydney Olympics (He took up swimming 8 months before the Olympics and had gained entry to the Olympics via a wildcard draw under an Olympic Development Program)

B) Had never been outside of Equatorial Guinea and trained in a 20m hotel pool (he also trained in crocodile and snake-infested rivers)

C) Won his 100m freestyle heat in lane five on the morning of Day Four having barely stayed afloat and recording the slowest time in Olympic history of 1:52.72 - more than 50 seconds behind the slowest swimmer in the rest of the heats (his opponents were also both disqualified for false starts leaving Moussambani as the last man standing in his heat)

Beyond the individual feat itself, it was the atmosphere this moment created that was truly remarkable. For those of you who remember - that crowd was absolutely captivated. 17,500 fans in the Sydney Aquatic Centre (let alone at home) cheering him on with such passion, conviction and unity that it quite honestly is difficult to describe in words...

“In that last 50 metres, to be honest, I was so tired I was going to stop. I couldn’t feel my legs or arms, everything was very heavy. When I had people clapping and cheering my name, that gave me more power to finish."

Cool story... So what's new?

According to yesterday's SMH article, Eric was invited to a swimming meet in Germany in 2006 and clocked 52.18 for the 100m.

52.18 seconds.

That's more than 60 seconds shaved off his PB. In 6 years.

This would have not only put him less than 4 seconds behind gold medallist Pieter van den Hoogenband in 2000, it would have also earned him a gold medal at the 1968 Olympic Games, let alone every single Olympic Games before that!

THAT. IS. HUGE.

What's more inspiring is his motives: "People didn't know about my country... and now everybody knows about Equatorial Guinea and I'm very proud."

His dream? To see a swimmer from his country win an Olympic medal in his lifetime.

Wow. Inspiring. What does that have to do with why you what you do?

Well, taking what has largely been a shithouse year for much of humanity as an opportunity to "purposefully pause", my colleagues and I have been exploring our 'why' at Bendelta and what sport means to us.

Our conversations have revealed how we see sport as the manifestation and expression of realising human potential. We value the foundational role that sport plays in building skills for life. We are continuously inspired by the ability of sport to unite, bring hope and spark joy across humanity.

Fundamentally, we believe that sport has the potential to transform humanity through people, communities and ideas.

This is why we do what we do for our clients in sport - doing whatever we can to help sport achieve its own potential.

Reigniting the distant memory of "Eric the Eel", learning about how far he has come and remembering the roar of the crowd cheering him on not only gave me shivers down the spine for remembering that moment and feeling pride to see a fellow human strive in realising their own potential - it became yet another apt reminder of the power of sport.

After all, through all the turmoil that 2020 has thrown at us, sport has remained one of humanity's constant source of hope, joy and connection whether that be in the stands, on the TV, on the sidelines at a local game, or simply at the park.

As the geniuses at Nike identified #YouCantStopUs #YouCantStopSport.

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Sucheta Gorolay is an organisational psychologist and inclusion specialist who co-leads Bendelta's sport industry services. She has an intense passion for understanding why people behave the way they do and empowering others, be it individuals, teams or organisations unpack this themselves to achieve their own definition of success. Sucheta is particularly passionate about leadership and culture in sport and is driven to enable the entire sport ecosystem (be it athletes, teams, leaders, governing bodies and beyond) to achieve its potential to transform humanity.