The Niger rower who's actually getting slower! JANE FRYER meets the star of London 2012 who doesn't care that he keeps coming last



The Mail's Jane Fryer with Nigerien rower Hamadou Djibo Issaka

The roar begins about 30 seconds after the first three boats have powered over the finishing line.

It starts from the sea of cagoules and umbrellas in the cheaper seats, nearly a kilometre away, far down the lake at Eton Dorney.

‘Come on, Niger!’

‘You can do it, Niger!’

Another ten seconds and it reaches the far end of the grandstand. Soon, it’s deafening. Everyone’s on their feet. Flags are waving. Hats are twirled in the air.

The highly exuberant delegation from the Niger High Commission jumps up and down.

‘Come on, Niger! Don’t give up!’

Louder and louder.

And the object of their support?



Hamadou Djibo Issaka, a 35-year old gardener and swimming pool attendant from Niamey, the capital of Niger in West Africa.

Four months ago, Hamadou had never been in a boat.

But right now – over a minute after the other competitors have finished - he is battling frantically towards the end of his third Olympic rowing race in four days.

Hamadou won a place at the Games courtesy of a wild card from the IOC ‘in the spirit of universal representation’. Previously a keen swimmer, he was chosen by the Niger Swimming Federation who sent him off to train, first to Egypt and then the International Rowing Development Centre in Tunisia. Niger's Hamadou Djibo Issaka smiles after his men's rowing single sculls semifinal on Tuesday

Getting slower: Yesterday's time of nine minutes and 7.29 seconds today was 28 seconds worse than his performance in the repechage

His experience until then consisted of watching rowing on television. Much of his training was done in a traditional fishing boat.

‘The first time I got in a proper boat I fell in the water, so it was lucky I can swim.’

On Saturday, in the 2km heats, he crossed the line in a time of eight minutes and 25 seconds, last by a long stretch and one minute 36 seconds after the race winner.

‘The first time I got in a proper boat I fell in the water, so it was lucky I can swim.’

Since then, his times have steadily worsened.

On Sunday, in the repechage - or ‘second-chance’ heat - his time was eight minutes 39 seconds.

Today, visibly tired and looking a bit lonely on his own in the middle of the grey water, he looks even slower.

But as his times have plummeted, his support has grown. And grown.

Undoubtedly it’s because the public love an Olympic underdog. How could we forget Sydney 2000’s Eric ‘the Eel’ Moussambani, the swimmer from Equatorial Guinea who’d never seen an Olympic-size swimming pool and finished last in the 100 meters freestyle.

He's enjoyed London so much, Issaka plans to travel to Rio in 2016, where he'll be a rowing veteran, at the age of 39

Or our very own Eddie the Eagle’, the ski-jumper from Cheltenham whose spectacles clouded up every time he jumped and in the 1988 Winter Games came further behind the second from last competitor than the latter came behind the winner.

Now we have Hamadou ‘the Hippo’ Issaka.

To be fair, there isn’t much call for rowers in Niger. More than 80 per cent of the country is Sahara desert; there is no coastline, no flat-water lakes, no rowing clubs and no specialist rowing boats.

But all of that could be set to change if the large delegation from the Niger High Commission (shivering in the drizzle) gets its way.

‘There are 11 of us,’ says Ahmadou Youssouefou. ‘There’s the President of the Commission, the Secretary General, the President of the Niger Rowing Federation...’

In fact, the federation has just one member (‘because we only have one rower’).

The truth is that Hamadou is a pioneer. Indeed, with his bulging shoulders in his green, white and orange lycra, the 5ft 7in tall oarsman doesn’t look quite like the other rowers.

‘I don’t have any technique, I have only strength. I think I prefer swimming!’

At 35, he is not only shorter but a good decade older than his opponents. His goatee is specked with grey, his eyes are crinkled and he looks completely knackered at the finishing line, but has no truck with ageism.

‘It’s all about courage,’ he says.

He also hasn’t taken his pre-race preparation quite as seriously as some Olympic athletes.

Despite having a morning race last Saturday, he joined Niger’s three-man Olympic team in the athletes’ parade at Friday night’s opening ceremony and didn’t make it to bed until after 3am. But he has no regrets.

The unknown Issaka was cheered home in his first repechage by the bewildered crowd on Sunday

‘It was brilliant! I’ve seen so many new things in Britain that I have never seen before – like fireworks!’

Unlike his rivals, he has no special training diet.

Asked what he had for breakfast before his race, he said: ‘Meat - just beef and chicken.’

On the river, his last 100 metres look really painful. He’s starting to lurch a bit from side to side, his arms are losing their rhythm and his jaw is set in a mad gurn.

After Hamadou’s first race, five-times gold medal winner Sir Steve Redgrave was dismissive about him taking part, saying: ‘There are better scullers from different countries who are not allowed to compete.’

But today, Sir Steve seems to be joining in the Hamadou spirit.

‘For somebody who has only done three months of rowing, he was very, very impressive.’

As he crossed the line a full 100 seconds after the winner, Issaka's progress was beamed onto a giant screen

When Hamadou finally crosses the line - nine minutes and seven seconds behind the winner and more than 300 metres after the other slowest rower (who is from El Salvador), 25,000 spectators go mad.

TV crews from all over the world swarm towards him. The delegation from the High Commission is wreathed in smiles and the great man himself is beaming tiredly.

‘I’m very happy with the crowd because they encourage me, and they help me finish the race.

‘I usually do gardening, and I work at a children’s swimming pool, so this is very different.’

The official Niger delegation looks delighted. ‘Tonight we will have a very big celebration,’ says Mr Youssoefou. ‘This is the start of great things for rowing in Niger. We will be back for the Rio Olympics in 2016.’