César Rwagasana is a Rwanda

Rwanda

Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...

n competitive swimmer.

He was the first person to represent Rwanda at the Paralympics

Rwanda at the Paralympics

Rwanda made its Paralympic Games début at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. It was represented by a single competitor, male swimmer Cesar Rwagasana. In 2004, Rwanda sent two runners: Olive Akobasenga and Jean de Dieu Nkundabera. Nkundabera won bronze in men's 800m race...

, when he was the country's sole representative at the 2000 Summer Paralympics

2000 Summer Paralympics

The 2000 Paralympic Games were held in Sydney, Australia, from 18 October to 29 October. The eleventh Summer Paralympic Games, an estimated 3800 athletes took part in the Sydney programme. They commenced with the opening ceremony on 18 October 2000...

 in Sydney

Sydney

Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...

. He had trained in Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika

Lake Tanganyika is an African Great Lake. It is estimated to be the second largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, and the second deepest, after Lake Baikal in Siberia; it is also the world's longest freshwater lake...

. He competed in the 50m freestyle (S10 category), and swam the length of the pool in 42.39s, finishing last, 13.7s behind the second slowest swimmer. It was his only participation in the Paralympic Games

Paralympic Games

The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...

.

Although Kyodo News International incorrectly reported that he had lost his left leg during the Rwandan genocide

Rwandan Genocide

The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...

, he was actually missing his right leg, and Rwagasana himself told the Daily Telegraph that he had been born without it.