This is a list of notably uncompetitive athletes, or individual sportspeople who gained significant media or sporting attention due to their performance being dramatically worse than those of other competitors. Notable results of this nature have often been due to inadequate preparation or an athlete entering a discipline different from what they usually compete in.
List Athlete Nationality Sport Event DescriptionLakdar BouzidHabib Ben AzzabiAhmed EnnachiModern pentathlon1960 Summer OlympicsPlaced last far behind other competitors in the individual and team events. The team became notable both for their poor performances, which included one athlete almost drowning in the swimming portion, and attempts at cheating in the fencing portion.Maurice FlitcroftGolf1976 Open ChampionshipScored 121, the worst score ever recorded in the Open Championship. Flitcroft had very little experience playing golf but entered the qualifying round under an assumed name and lied about being a professional.Eddie EdwardsSki jumping1988 Winter OlympicsPlaced last far behind other competitors in the men's normal and large hill events. He subsequently achieved worldwide fame and was nicknamed "Eddie the Eagle". Edwards had only begun ski jumping in 1986 after switching from alpine skiing.Ali DiaFootball1996–97 FA Premier LeaguePlayed one game for Southampton F.C. as a substitute, but was substituted himself after 53 minutes after a noticeably poor performance. It later emerged that Dia had falsely convinced Southampton manager Graeme Souness that he was the cousin of famed player George Weah and a successful Senegal international, when in actuality he had never played top-level football.Eric MoussambaniSwimming2000 Summer OlympicsFinished last in the men's 100 meter freestyle with a time of 1:52.72, over a minute behind the fastest time. Moussambani had never before swum in an Olympic size pool. The result earned him the nickname "Eric the Eel".Paula Barila BolopaSwimming2000 Summer OlympicsFinished last in the women's 50 meter freestyle with a time of 1:03.97, almost 40 seconds behind the fastest time. A teammate of Eric Moussambani, Bolopa stated after the race that she had never swum 50 meters before.Trevor MisipekaAthletics2001 World Championships in AthleticsFinished last in the 100 meters with a time of 14.28. Misipeka was a shot putter who ran the 100 meters due to a last-minute rule change.Sogelau TuvaluAthletics2011 World Championships in AthleticsFinished last in the 100 meters with a time of 15.66. Tuvalu was trained as a shot putter but did not qualify for that event.Hamadou Djibo IssakaRowing2012 Summer OlympicsFinished hundreds of meters behind competitors in each of his races. Issaka took up rowing three months before the Olympics.Vanessa VanakornAlpine skiing2014 Winter OlympicsFinished last in the giant slalom event 50.10 seconds behind the winner over two runs and 11.35 seconds behind the second-last placed finisher. Vanakorn, better known as the British violinist Vanessa-Mae, qualified in events organized at the last minute by her management to earn her the required points, which were later annulled due to irregularities.Adrian SolanoCross-country skiing2017 FIS Nordic World Ski ChampionshipsFinished last by a wide margin in the cross-country skiing freestyle sprint, and failed to finish the qualification for the 15km classical, both times experiencing significant difficulties completing the course. Was dubbed by various outlets as the "world's worst skier". Solano had never trained skiing on snow before the event.Elizabeth SwaneyFreestyle skiing2018 Winter OlympicsCompeted in the halfpipe event with runs that contained virtually no tricks. Swaney qualified for the Olympics by going to events and getting ranking points simply for completing races without falling.Artem BahmetTennis2019 Men's World Tennis Tour Doha tournamentLost every single point in a 6–0, 6–0 qualifying round game, with his opponent achieving a rare "golden match". There was evidence that the match had been set up by Russian gamblers.Nasra Ali AbukarAthletics2021 Summer World University GamesFinished last in the 100 meters with a time of 21.81. The incident resulted in allegations of nepotism and the suspension of the Somali Athletics Federation chairwoman.Jolien BoumkwoAthletics2023 European Athletics Team ChampionshipsRan the 100 meter hurdles despite being a shot putter to replace an injured teammate. Finished with a time of 32.81, running at a relaxed pace to avoid injury. She nonetheless earned two points for Belgium due to another hurdler being disqualified, and received widespread recognition for her efforts to help the team.Rachael GunnBreaking2024 Summer OlympicsScored zero points in three rounds and became the subject of global attention and ridicule for her routines, which included unorthodox dance moves.Hajar AbdelkaderTennis2026 Women's World Tennis Tour Nairobi tournamentLost 6–0, 6–0 while scoring only three points in the entire game, two of which from her opponent's double faults. Abdelkader told organizers she played at an appropriate level and was accepted as a wildcard, which organizers later said had been a mistake.
See also Blowout (sports) – notable uncompetitive results by teams Tourist athlete
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