PARIS: Move over 'Eric the Eel'. Here comes 'Sharon the Snail'.
The Olympics' habit of granting a moment in the spotlight to lovable no-hopers was on full display at the Paris Games on Friday.
Twenty-fours years after Equatorial Guinea's hapless swimmer Eric Moussambani thrashed his way to infamy at the Sydney Olympics, the Solomon Islands' Sharon Firisua kept the tradition alive at the Stade de France in the opening rounds of the 100 metres.
Firisua's selection for the event had raised eyebrows given that she normally runs the marathon, and has never run the 100m in a top-level competition before.
Unsurprisingly, Firisua's heat went pretty much as expected.
After stumbling out of the starting blocks, she trundled across the finish line in a time of 14.31sec – nearly three seconds adrift of heat winner Zahria Allers-Liburd of Saint Kitts and Nevis, who won in 11.73sec.
Yet while Moussambani's exploits in Sydney had a heroic, fairytale quality to them, Firisua's Olympic 100m experience remains shrouded in intrigue.
Afterwards, the 30-year-old distance runner was whisked past waiting journalists without commenting. An Olympics media official said simply she "was not doing press."
It was unclear if Firisua had been instructed not to speak by the Solomon Islands Olympic Committee, who had controversially ignored the wishes of the country's athletics federation by selecting her for the 100m.
The Solomon Islands Athletics Federation had recommended two sprinters take up coveted wildcard spots at the games.
Instead, the 100m berth went to Firisua, who finished 72nd in the marathon at the Tokyo Olympics but failed to qualify for her chosen event this time round.
Firisua's nomination drew the wrath of 22-year-old Solomons' 100m and 200m champion Jovita Arunia who had dreamt of racing in Paris.
"We're the sprinters. I don't know what went wrong, it's unbelievable," she told ABC before Friday's heats.
Arunia threatened to quit athletics over the decision.
"I will not compete anymore because of what they did," she said. - AFP