‘Eric The Eel’ goes surfing, meets his hero Klim

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Sydney: Eric the Eel must have thought he had died and gone to heaven. First, he got to go surfing on Bondi Beach, wiping out on the waves with a big grin on his face. Then he met his hero, Australian swimming star Michael Klim.

Eric Moussambani, the most famous loser at the Sydney Olympics, was overwhelmed.

"This really is a very special moment for me," he said after clambering out of the sea to meet Klim, one of a host of Olympic legends all sporting "Eric The Eel" T-shirts for a surfing and beach volleyball festival on Australia's most renowned beach.

"You are a famous man," Klim told Moussambani. "I don't have a T-shirt with my name on it."

Moussambani, who swam one of the slowest races in Olympic history in the 100 metres, just could not believe his luck.

Two weeks ago, he was just an unknown also-ran from Equatorial Guinea. Now he was a cool surf dude hanging out with the superstars of his sport.

Shy and unassuming

This time, the fans were queuing up on the wind-swept golden sands to get autographs from him on their "Eric The Eel" T-shirts.

A shy and unassuming figure, he is enjoying his 15 minutes of fame. But he knows full well that the media circus will be leaving town soon and his brave exploits as a valiant loser will be confined to Olympic history.

"But this has been very important for me and for my country," said Moussambani, politely posing for photographs from a stream of admirers on the beach.

Still coming to terms with instant celebrity, he said, "After my race, I went shopping. I thought I could go along unrecognised in the street. But I had to keep signing autographs. I love the way Australian people have reacted."

Now Moussambani, who trained in a 20-metre hotel swimming pool, is looking for a trainer and would like to go abroad somewhere to improve his swimming.

No firm offers were on the table but he said, "I would definitely like to go for the next Olympic Games in Athens."

He confessed his race in the Olympic pool had been a close run thing, "I was scared in the last 50 metres. I thought I would not make it."

Enjoying the sunshine at Bondi, he stepped out on to the beach for a game of volleyball with American gold medallist Lenny Krayzelburg on the other side of the net. "I really admire Eric. This is what the Olympics is all about," Krayzelburg said.

Then Eric slipped on his wet suit and headed into the waves. At his first attempt, he rose triumphantly on to the board for two seconds and then went splat into the surf. He came up grinning from ear to ear and ready for more.

His surfing instructor Tony Morley was impressed, "He was a natural from the beginning. I am impressed. He was smiling all he way."

Equally impressed was American swimming legend Jenny Thompson, "He got up for two seconds -- that is better than me already," she said as they both headed out for another spin in the surf.

For Eric, the man who became famous for finishing last, life just couldn't get any better.



(c) Reuters Limited.