I told myself, even if I was swimming alone in the pool. That’s why. The time was of no concern to me. I just wanted to get it done. Even though he finished in 1:52, he remained unfazed.
Eric kept training after Sydney and set a new personal best of 57 seconds, which would have given him the gold in Helsinki in 1952.
Following his impressive performance, Equatorial Guinea constructed two full-sized Olympic swimming pools, and Eric went on to become their coach.
