Let me tell you one of my favorite inspirational stories to boost your energy\u2026<\/p>\n
It’s the \u201cunderdog\u201d story of Eric Moussambani, a swimmer from Equatorial Guinea who competed at the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000.<\/p>\n
(By the way, the 2000 Olympics were the best ones ever!)<\/em><\/p>\n Anywhoo…<\/p>\n Back to Moussambani.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a sports fan, you might remember this fella who became fondly known as \u201cEric the Eel\u201d.<\/p>\n Coming from one of the most despotic countries in the world, he gained entry into the Sydney Games via a wild-card scheme.<\/p>\n His event?<\/p>\n The 100 meters Freestyle Swim.<\/p>\n But here\u2019s the problem\u2026<\/p>\n Not until 8 months before his Olympic appearance.<\/p>\n And get this\u2026<\/p>\n When wanted to train in his tiny West African country, he either went to a hotel pool or swam in the Atlantic Ocean and braved shark attacks! (which I presume would make you a faster swimmer\u2026)<\/p>\n Believe it or not, before arriving in Australia, Moussambani had never even laid eyes on an Olympic-sized swimming pool.<\/p>\n But that didn\u2019t stop him from making his Olympics debut.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what happened next\u2026<\/p>\n In his heat, BOTH of his competitors were disqualified due to false starts.<\/p>\n So Moussambani, sporting a very fine pair of budgie smugglers, ended up being the ONLY swimmer in his heat.<\/p>\n Can you even imagine?<\/p>\n You can\u2019t even swim\u2026 then all of a sudden\u2026 you\u2019re at the Olympics\u2026alone on the starting blocks\u2026 and EVERYONE is watching you.<\/em><\/p>\n In fact, the whole world was watching this guy. (KV included. I remember watching this race live.)<\/p>\n Talk about nerve wracking.<\/p>\n Now.<\/p>\n Not surprisingly\u2026<\/p>\n …with his dog paddle style stroke, and his barely existent kick\u2026<\/p>\n Eric seriously struggled to finish the race.<\/p>\n All the officials were standing by, getting ready to rescue him.<\/p>\n And the fact that he survived the distance without drowning was an amazing accomplishment!<\/strong><\/p>\n But he ultimately completed it.<\/p>\n “Winning” his heat in a time of 1min 52.72sec. The slowest time in Olympic history. Just to give you perspective, the men\u2019s world record for 100m Freestyle currently stands at 46.91 seconds. You can press play and watch it now..<\/p>\nHe didn\u2019t know how to swim!<\/h2>\n