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OLYMPICS SPORTS TRIVIA
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The worst Olympians ever:
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'Faster, higher, stronger' has been the Olympics mantra for 114 years, but throughout the illustrious history of the Games some athletes have adopted a different philosophy. 'Slower, lower, weaker' neatly sums up the efforts of some of these tragi-comic Olympic failures...
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No.10. Jean-Olivier Zirignon
No.10. Jean-Olivier Zirignon
When: 1996
Event: 100m
The Ivory Coast sprinter (although that's a generous term) lined up for his country in the 100m at the Atlanta Olympics heats. However, he went no further than that after clocking a time of 22.69 seconds - that's slower than almost every competitor over double the distance in the 200m. He later claimed he was injured at the time but decided to compete anyway. We don't buy it.
The Ivory Coast sprinter (although that's a generous term) lined up for his country in the 100m at the Atlanta Olympics heats. However, he went no further than that after clocking a time of 22.69 seconds - that's slower than almost every competitor over double the distance in the 200m. He later claimed he was injured at the time but decided to compete anyway. We don't buy it.
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No. 9. Elis Lapenmal
When: 2008
When: 2008
Event: 100m
This is a bit of a cheat as it's not actually happened yet, but the form book before these Games sees Lapenmal comfortably make our top ten. Watch this space for the Vanuatu athlete in the women's 100m heats. She's a bit quicker than good old Zirignon but she's already caused a stir with her 13.10s best at last year's World Championships. Worringly, she's not improved since then.
This is a bit of a cheat as it's not actually happened yet, but the form book before these Games sees Lapenmal comfortably make our top ten. Watch this space for the Vanuatu athlete in the women's 100m heats. She's a bit quicker than good old Zirignon but she's already caused a stir with her 13.10s best at last year's World Championships. Worringly, she's not improved since then.
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No.8. Hamza Abdu
When: 2008
When: 2008
Event: 100m freestyle and 100m butterfly
Again it's a case of what will probably happen and what's very clear from his form this year is that Palestinian swimmer Abdu won't be setting any records. Ahead of the Games, he's been practising in an 18-metre pool - smaller than a lot of local pools in the UK. He may find the Olympic distance of 50m something of a culture shock.
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No.7. Philip Boit
When: 1998/2002/2006
When: 1998/2002/2006
Event: Cross-country skiing
The first of our Winter Olympic entries, Boit was Kenya's sole representative at the 1998 Games in Nagano. He entered the 10km event and finished 92nd and last. In fact, he was so slow that the medal ceremony had to be delayed in order for winner Bjorn Daehlie to hug an exhausted Boit as he crossed the line. Boit was so moved he later named one of his sons Daehlie. He competed at two subsequent Games and plans to retire at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
The first of our Winter Olympic entries, Boit was Kenya's sole representative at the 1998 Games in Nagano. He entered the 10km event and finished 92nd and last. In fact, he was so slow that the medal ceremony had to be delayed in order for winner Bjorn Daehlie to hug an exhausted Boit as he crossed the line. Boit was so moved he later named one of his sons Daehlie. He competed at two subsequent Games and plans to retire at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
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No.6. Abdul Baser Wasiqi
When: 1996
When: 1996
Event: Marathon
Wasiqi flew the flag for Afghanistan at the Olympics 12 years ago, lining up in the men's marathon. The leaders need not have worried unduly as he promptly clocked a time of four hours 24 minutes and 17 seconds, placing him an unsurprising last out of the 111 competitors. Like Zirignon, he blamed it on a hamstring injury. For the record, that makes your author Olympic class as Wasiqi's time was about half an hour slower than mine for last year's London Marathon.
Wasiqi flew the flag for Afghanistan at the Olympics 12 years ago, lining up in the men's marathon. The leaders need not have worried unduly as he promptly clocked a time of four hours 24 minutes and 17 seconds, placing him an unsurprising last out of the 111 competitors. Like Zirignon, he blamed it on a hamstring injury. For the record, that makes your author Olympic class as Wasiqi's time was about half an hour slower than mine for last year's London Marathon.
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No.5. Charles Olemus
When: 1976
When: 1976
Event: 10,000m
The Haitian athlete was something of a superstar in his home country when he entered the 10,000m. That still didn't make him any good. He finished last in the race in a time of 42 minutes, more than 15 minutes slower than the current world record. He won worldwide acclaim as the under-achiever of that year's Games, being praised for his "courage and spirit shown in his insistence on competing and finishing".
The Haitian athlete was something of a superstar in his home country when he entered the 10,000m. That still didn't make him any good. He finished last in the race in a time of 42 minutes, more than 15 minutes slower than the current world record. He won worldwide acclaim as the under-achiever of that year's Games, being praised for his "courage and spirit shown in his insistence on competing and finishing".
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No.4. Jamaican bobsleigh team
When: 1988
When: 1988
Event: Four-man bob
The quartet's story is well known having been the subject of the film Cool Runnings. It started courtesy of two Americans who had business ties in Jamaica and decided to put together a bobsleigh team after witnessing a pushcart derby on the island. They recruited sprinters and got a team together for the 1988 Olympics. They duly flipped their bob at speed and carried it over the finishing line for a classic Hollywood ending. A Jamaican team has been a regular bobsleigh feature ever since and are expected to take part in Vancouver.
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The quartet's story is well known having been the subject of the film Cool Runnings. It started courtesy of two Americans who had business ties in Jamaica and decided to put together a bobsleigh team after witnessing a pushcart derby on the island. They recruited sprinters and got a team together for the 1988 Olympics. They duly flipped their bob at speed and carried it over the finishing line for a classic Hollywood ending. A Jamaican team has been a regular bobsleigh feature ever since and are expected to take part in Vancouver.
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No.3. Paula Barila Bolopa
When: 2000
When: 2000
Event: 50m freestyle
Better known as Paula the Crawler, she managed a time of one minute and four seconds in her 50m freestyle heat, which was actually twice as slow as the next worst time - quite a remarkable achievement. She was greeted to a standing ovation by the crowd and was later described as having "gained Olympic hero status". One reporter wrote about the supermarket cashier: "She brought out the spectators' affection for a courageous, have-a-go hero who dared to compete knowing she would probably be the worst-ever Olympian in that event."
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Better known as Paula the Crawler, she managed a time of one minute and four seconds in her 50m freestyle heat, which was actually twice as slow as the next worst time - quite a remarkable achievement. She was greeted to a standing ovation by the crowd and was later described as having "gained Olympic hero status". One reporter wrote about the supermarket cashier: "She brought out the spectators' affection for a courageous, have-a-go hero who dared to compete knowing she would probably be the worst-ever Olympian in that event."
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No.2. Eddie 'The Eagle' Edwards
When: 1988
When: 1988
Event: Ski jumping
Michael Edwards was Britain's unlikely Olympic hero as he qualified for the ski jumping final at the Calgary Games 20 years ago. At the time, he was working as a plasterer in the west country. He was self-funded, short sighted and wore glasses that fogged up so badly he couldn't see when he competed. The other problem was that he was afraid of heights.
Unsurprisingly, Eddie finished last but was singled out by the president of the Games at the closing ceremony who said: "Some have won gold, some have broken records and one has even flown like an eagle", leading to chants of "Eddie, Eddie".
Michael Edwards was Britain's unlikely Olympic hero as he qualified for the ski jumping final at the Calgary Games 20 years ago. At the time, he was working as a plasterer in the west country. He was self-funded, short sighted and wore glasses that fogged up so badly he couldn't see when he competed. The other problem was that he was afraid of heights.
Unsurprisingly, Eddie finished last but was singled out by the president of the Games at the closing ceremony who said: "Some have won gold, some have broken records and one has even flown like an eagle", leading to chants of "Eddie, Eddie".
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No.1. Eric Moussambani
When: 2000
When: 2000
Event: 100m freestyle
Eric the Eeel, as he later became known, started on the blocks in Sydney alongside Karim Bare and Farkhod Oripov for his heat of the 100m freestyle. But after that duo were disqualified for false starts, Moussambani was left to swim alone and took an absolute age to finish.
His time was 1 minute 53 seconds and was cheered all the way to the line despite looking like he was on the verge of drowning at one point. Afterwards, he said: "The last 15 metres were very difficult." He'd practised for the Games in a 20m hotel pool in Equatorial Guinea and had never seen a 50m pool before. He won worldwide acclaim as a result.
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Eric the Eeel, as he later became known, started on the blocks in Sydney alongside Karim Bare and Farkhod Oripov for his heat of the 100m freestyle. But after that duo were disqualified for false starts, Moussambani was left to swim alone and took an absolute age to finish.
His time was 1 minute 53 seconds and was cheered all the way to the line despite looking like he was on the verge of drowning at one point. Afterwards, he said: "The last 15 metres were very difficult." He'd practised for the Games in a 20m hotel pool in Equatorial Guinea and had never seen a 50m pool before. He won worldwide acclaim as a result.
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