As far as i remember this is real ... I think this is the guy that learned to swim in crocodile infested waters in his homeland, you couldn't make it up!
Anyone who watched those Olympics will remember him. The reason he qualified was that the Olympic Council gave wild card entries to help developing countries. I think he still set a national record.
It's true alright,. He managed to get his PB down to under 57 seconds after 4 years of training but was denied entry to the 2004 olympics due to a visa bungle! http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Moussambani?wasRedirected=true