At the age of 22, Eric Moussambani was the sole male swimmer to compete for Equatorial Guinea at the Sydney Summer Games. He had not taken part in any previous Olympic Games. Moussambani attained qualification to the Games through a wildcard place because he did not meet the minimum qualification standards for the men's 100 metre freestyle, and was the first Equatoguinean athlete to compete in the discipline at an international level. Before the Games Moussambani had never seen a long Olympic-size swimming pool. He took up swimming eight months before the Olympics and had practised in a lake, and later a swimming pool in a hotel in Malabo, and trained by himself early in the morning for three days a week. After arriving in Sydney, Moussambani trained with the United States swimming team and received additional assistance from a South African coach in order to improve his technique.