Stany Kempompo Ngangola, born January 8, 1974, is a swimmer and electrical engineer from the Democratic Republic of the Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...

.

He represented his country

DR Congo at the 2008 Summer Olympics

The Democratic Republic of the Congo competed in the 2008 Summer Olympics which were held in Beijing, People's Republic of China from August 8 to August 24, 2008. The country's delegation consisted of 29 people, including coaches and sports officials...

 at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

 in Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

. Due to a misprint in his personal best time, he was rumoured by the international media to be a potential successor to "Eric the Eel" - a spectacular underperformer. He was prematurely nicknamed "Stany the Snail", until he actually swam and the media conceded that he "wasn't too bad". Kempompo finished last in the 50 metre freestyle event

Swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics - Men's 50 metre freestyle

The following Olympic records were set during this competition.-Heat 1:-Heat 2:-Heat 3:-Heat 4:-Heat 5:-Heat 6:-Heat 7:-Heat 8:-Heat 9:-Heat 10:-Heat 11:-Heat 12:-Heat 13:-Semifinal 1:-Semifinal 2:-Final:...

, with a time of 35.19.

Stuff.co.nz

Stuff.co.nz

Stuff.co.nz is a New Zealand news website owned and operated by Fairfax New Zealand, a subsidiary of the Australian company Fairfax Media. Stuff hosts the websites for Fairfax's New Zealand newspapers, including the country's second and third highest circulation daily newspapers The Dominion Post...

reported:

Wandering off the pool deck Stany ran smack into his 15 minutes of fame and a rabid international press contingent ready for a good news story.

"Stany, Stany" they yelled his name. They knew him, they wanted him. He looked a little bewildered. He stopped. And then he spoke, long and with great thought. On and on, and on and on. And all in French. There was a French to Chinese translator there but she spoke no English. A pack of 20 reporters from all over the world grew restive, then annoyed, then furiously affronted.

"Did you train with Eric the Eel?" they shouted. "Are you proud of your performance?" Still he talked on mysteriously.

He was also nicknamed "Stany the Stingray" in the Danish, Argentinian, British, Canadian, New Zealand and Australian press.

External links

• Biography on the official website of the Beijing Olympics