Equatorial Guinea at the Olympics
Officially referred to as the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, Equatorial Guinea is a small Central African country of about 28,000 square kilometers. They are one of the smallest smallest country to ever participate in the Olympics.
Their national Olympic Committee (Comité National Olympique Equato Guinéen) was established in 1980 but took four years for the International Olympic Committee to officially recognize their existence just in time for them to participate in the 1984 Summer Games held in Los Angeles, California, USA.
They have never missed the Summer Games since their introduction in 1984 but they are yet to win their first Olympic honor. They however have one of the most well-known athletes in Olympic history. Swimmer Eric "The Eel" Moussambani is in Olympic popular history but not for what most people would expect. He is known for his less than favorable performance in the 100 meter freestyle at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics.
Despite their perfect attendance in the Summer Games, Equatorial Guinea has never been represented in the Winter Games.
Trivia
- In Sydney 2000, Eric "the Eel" Moussambani became the Games' lovable loser. He took 112.72 seconds in the 100m freestyle swim. This is more than twice as long as Pieter van den Hoogenband's gold-winning performance.
Related Pages
- More trivia from each Country at the Olympic Games
- About sport in Equatorial Guinea
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