The Crowd's Favourite Rower Did Not Win a Medal | Strangest Moments

“Not much of an athlete at all...” was a bit much.

I am doing rowing myself and I know it is really hard to keep a boat in balance alone. So it is very remarkable he learnt it in this short amount of time.

Coming in at that time with only 3 months of rowing is actually very impressive. I know people who have dedicated years and still struggle to hit the 8:30 mark. Makes me wonder what he could do if he had significantly more time to train.

He remembers me the Jamaican Bobsled Team (Coldrunners) in Calgary 1988 Winter Olympics. Both stories inspire other athletes in underdeveloped countries to have the opportunity to practice some sport modality and, eventually, have a chamce to represent their countries the Olympic Games. Amazing!

Come on we all start from somewhere, at least he tried.

Tldr: “the medalists grinded for decades, but everyone actually cared about this guy no one knew and was really slow” .......... ok buddy

I think this was a bit disrespectful to this guy, particularly the tail end. But I also think these guys shouldn't be competing if they can't row a respectable time. You should have to medal in a regional regatta (at least) to qualify.

I was there as a military (RAF) volunteer, watching from the stands, the atmosphere was absolutely electric during this race, the main commentator told the crowd about Hamadou and how he had got to the event and even though all the other rowers were in having their showers the crowd erupted with applause and whistles when he finished the race. WE ALL LOVE AN UNDER DOG!

As much as the elites would have preferred to take the slot,its more to do with cultivating a sport.And yes we would all want the best of the pack in the Olympics,but sport should be inspiring of people without access to similar exposure as well as those with the access...so yes those who clocked better times in their 15 teenage selves should be proud and rather get better to get the slots for the elite...while those from countries with zero experience should get inspired to understand the potential of developing an elite team to get on the world stage...again 3months compared to years of experience combined with the right resources to me speaks potential.Lets develop the sport in countries that are new to it...we might be telling a different story in time.Proud Issaka!Well done Brother!

I'm sure his participation increased interest in the sport in his country and the neighboring countries. I love the Olympics because it's about giving people hope and inspiring youth to dream. Also, how often do you see people from poorer countries in rowing, sailing...any other sport that requires quite a lot of money/resources. Although they have A standards for time for the other athletes, I don't think his time was TOO terrible - just a couple minutes off the leading time so I think the wildcard entry was totally fine given what it achieved - didn't interfere with the other athletes' performance and it was hugely inspiring and entertaining to the public. Yay!

As nice as this story sounds, it’s really disrespectful to other rowers that have dedicated years of practicing hours a day almost every day throughout the year. They put so much time and effort and some wildcard that began rowing for 3 months gets to go to the Olympics while others who’ve dedicated their life to the sport can’t compete

he's like that British skiing guy

Look, a bunch of ignorant people in the comment that call the guy disrespectful for being at the Olympics and don't know what Olympic Tripartite Commission Invitation Places are... smh :')

I was very proud to be British watching the 2012 games and seeing the huge support given to the Olympians from other nations who were never going to win medals but competed with pride. The politics of who should compete are another matter. It is hard on whoever missed out, but also important that the Olympics inspires & ensures broad representation. If every sport were decided purely on merit, some events would feature only 1-3 countries, which is not in the spirit of the games.

This is me when I ran distance in track. Painfully slow and clapped in as I finished ever race in dead last. Ugh.....

bruh every j 18 single sculler at nats this year beat his times

Love this storey, just imagine if he had the chance to train young and in the same environments as the other contestants. Reminds me of Eddie the eel! Epic

Nice to know that this guy beat someone who has put thousands of hours into the sport for years... wonderful

I feel like it's unfair to him because the olympic committee invited him to race in the first place so I don't think it's fair to hate on him for being there.

When i started rowing i couldnt even set foot in a single for a year. This time with 3 months training is mind blowing