Swimmer seems sunk before even leaving the blocks

By PETER JESSUP

There's one absolutely sure bet at the 2000 Games - Equatorial Guinean swimmer Paula Barila Bolopa will come stone cold motherless last in the women's sprints.

She had never trained in a real pool until arriving in Sydney on Monday and yesterday was floundering badly, and I mean floundering, spending time near the bottom when her freestyle failed her and looking like she was going to need rescuing.

She could manage only two lengths of the aquatic centre's warm-up pool at a time and had to stop for a rest on a lane marker during the third. She would make it to the end then have to wade home the last 15m after other lane swimmers banged into each other like backed-up motorway traffic.

Bolopa, aged 17, is her country's national champion, beating 26 other women across a river to a pole marker and back. While others in the field had to qualify for the Olympics, Equatorial Guinea was granted entry as part of the IOC's charter requirement to extend the friendly hand of sport around the globe. The IOC assisted her and 1500m runner Jose Ebatela and national sports federation president Enrique Roca Nyuba to Sydney.

Double gold prospect Inge de Bruin of the Netherlands was training a couple of lanes away, and in the finals in 10 days will go under 25s for the 50m and 54s for the 100m.

Bolopa has no idea of time because she had swum only in rivers and the sea until yesterday, her first dip in a 50m pool coming after about 10 minutes standing on the start blocks and looking around, stunned. Yesterday's performance indicated she could crack a minute for the 50m and around 2m 30s for the 100.

Roca Nyuba said the teenage student was overawed by the situation but it was important that the country compete. "She came here to win, she has to have the hope she will win, everybody comes to win."

The Aussie volunteers at the pool have rustled up some goggles, a cap, kickboard and new swimsuit for her. She was embarrassed about the whole thing.

Equatorial Guinea had the standard hour and a half session booked at the pool yesterday morning. Bolopa swam it right out, though obviously exhausted and requiring frequent rests by the end.

Roca Nyuba said they were in Sydney to learn "and we're learning fast."