UK: OLYMPICS: The novice Niger rower known as "Issy the Oar-ful" says he is glad he didnt fall out of the boat in his first Olympic race

Record ID: 235735

  • Title: UK: OLYMPICS: The novice Niger rower known as "Issy the Oar-ful" says he is glad he didnt fall out of the boat in his first Olympic race
  • Date: 31st July 2012
  • Summary: LONODN, UK (JULY 31, 2012) (REUTERS) HAMADOU DJIBO ISSAKA AND FAYSAL SOULA TALKING TO JOURNALIST (SOUNDBITE) (French) TUNISIAN ROWING TEAM MANAGER, WHO IS LOOKING AFTER ISSY, FAYSAL SOULA, SAYING: "He has never rowed. He just did one day in Alexandria in November to do the qualification for Continental Africa then he went back home where there are is no rowing and there are no boats. And from November to April he did nothing. In April he went back to Tunisia because we got an Olympic scholarship so he came to the international centre in Tunisia to do some training so we really tried to the maximum to work on his balance, the technique, the movements." ISSAKA AND COACH WALKING AWAY
  • Embargoed: 15th August 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: Sports
  • Reuters ID: LVA709JSYRKFJN3YT7XRKZL6E1NM
  • Story Text: Niger's Hamadou Djibo Issaka, a rower of just three months, said on Tuesday (July 31) he was just glad the boat stayed afloat when he entered his first Olympic rowing competition.
    The rower -- dubbed "Issy the Oar-ful" by local media -- was given a rapturous reception normally reserved for gold medallists after struggling to the finish line in the men's single sculls on Sunday.
    Drawing comparisons to swimmer Eric "the eel" Moussambani, who crawled to fame at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Djibo Issaka eventually crossed the line a full minute and 39 seconds after Lithuanian winner Mindaugas Griskonis. His time was 8 minutes 39.66 seconds.

    "When I was on the starting line, I was just glad that I didn't make the boat fall over! (LAUGHS) I am very happy about that. And when I was finishing it really wasn't easy, I had to really work the technique, but what helped me finish was strength and I have a lot of that. So it is good yeah, but it wasn't easy. But there are lots of people who have encouraged me, and I needed a lot of courage to finish the race," he said when asked what was going through his head when he was on the starting line with all these Olympians.

    "You can do it," yelled the announcer at the course on Dorney Lake to the west of London as Djibo Issaka approached the finish while the crowd of 20,000 in the grandstands stood, waved flags and roared him on.
    Hamadou Djibo said he hoped he could be an inspriration to other young African athletes -- and also that his achievement might help them to be able to acquire boats and equipmen.

    "If they saw me on TV, I am very happy. That might encourage them to do some rowing, because they expect lots of people to start training now. At the moment we don't have any boats, but maybe ....inshala... we might have some."
    The 35-year-old from landlocked Niger in West Africa had received a wild card to the Olympics, allocated to ensure all 204 National Olympic Committees can take part even if no athletes have qualified. Niger has sent six athletes to London.
    On Saturday he came last in his heat with a time of 8:25:56 - more than a minute slower than the penultimate sculler from El Salvador - but rowing gives everyone a second chance to progress, or repechage, and he returned on Sunday but added 14 second to his time.
    Grimacing with pain, Djibo Issaka summoned one final push before slumping over his oars and gasping for breath. But he says now he masters the technique, he will not be giving up the sport.

    "It is all about the technique, and I still have that. And if I can keep it up, Inshalla... I will participate in the next Olympics."
    His coach Faysal Soula says Djibo Issaka has only been rowing for three months. He said he started out as a swimmer but switched to rowing this year and spent two weeks training in Egypt, two months in Tunisia, and a week in Belgium.

    "He has never rowed, " said Soula. " He just did one day in Alexandria in November to do the qualification for Continental Africa then he went back home where there are is no rowing and there are no boats. And from November to April he did nothing. In April he went back to Tunisia because we got an Olympic scholarship so he came to the international centre in Tunisia to do some training so we really tried to the maximum to work on his balance, the technique, the movements."
    Djibo Issaka was being compared to one of the Olympic's most famous underdogs, swimmer Eric "the eel" Moussambani from Equatorial Guinea, who became a world sensation at Sydney. Having trained for only eight months in a 20 metre-hotel pool, Moussambani swam his heat on his own after the other two competitors were disqualified for false starts and he flagged near the end, appearing to almost sink near the finish.
    Roared on by the 17,000-strong crowd, his time of 1:52.72, was the slowest seen at an Olympics and more than a minute behind the world record but he received a standing ovation and instant fame.
    Another underdog, ski jumper Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards, soared to fame at the 1988 Calgary Winter Games when the near-sighted British plasterer with thick glasses flung himself off the ski jump with arms flailing. Edwards finished last but won the hearts and imagination of the sporting world for his spirit and determination.
    His performance also caught the attention of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which later tightened qualification standards ruling out the chance of ever seeing the likes of an Eddie on an Olympic ski jumping hill ever again.
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