Eric The Eel Represents The Olympic Ideal

Newcastle Herald

Monday August 11, 2008

Andrew Dodd

THE Sydney Olympics now seem like an age away. As we enjoy the Games of the 29th Olympiad, what are your enduring memories from 2000? For me, the unforgettable image was that of Eric Moussambani from Equatorial Guinea one of the most unlikely sporting heroes of all time. He swam just one race all by himself and entered our hearts and Olympic folklore!

Eric the Eel came out for the first heat of the men's 100m freestyle event and his two rivals were promptly disqualified for breaking the start. Eric, decked out in his Adidas togs (no Fastskins for him), and ill-fitting goggles with flopping strap quickly showed his style: head above the water, arms and legs flaying everywhere, resembling a washing machine in overdrive. He spent most of his energy covering the first lap and the return journey seemed an eternity. The crowd rallied to the cause and sensing a special Olympic moment, went berserk and cheered Eric all the way home.

Why did we embrace Eric Moussambani when we prefer winners and cheering our own athletes to victory? There seems to have been a fundamental and disturbing shift in Olympic ideals since founder Baron Pierre de Coubertin stated: "The important thing in the Olympics is not the winning but the taking part."

His words are noble, but hardly the sentiments portrayed by the athletes themselves, by the media, or even by spectators over a century later. Yet Olympic athletes are the elite of the elite and the top 0.0002 per cent of the world's population.

These days it seems not even getting a medal is enough it has to be gold. And so we hear phrases like, "he who comes second is the first loser" or "you don't win silver, you lose gold". Sadly, the primary emotion upon victory for many is that of relief rather than unbounded joy and those who expect to win but fail are totally devastated.

In many ways the Olympics have adopted a gospel of un-grace it is largely acceptance by performance. If you do not come first you are a nobody, a failure, a loser. And yet in such an environment of un-grace, Eric Moussambani provided a timely glimpse of grace. A nobody, with little skill or training, was plucked from obscurity and accepted on the world stage, but not because of his heroic feats.

The Apostle Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast."

Eric was accepted on the big stage, not by his athletic achievement, but by the generosity and grace of the public who wanted to reach out and embrace him. The gospel story is one of grace: a loving and caring God reaches out and embraces all-comers, not just winners.

Don't get me wrong. I love the Olympics and will be putting in long hours over these two weeks. But sometimes, we need to be reminded that winning is not everything. Thank you Eric Moussambani.

Andrew Dodd is a pastor at Hamilton Baptist Church and chairman of the Churches Media Association.