We had Eddie the Eagle. Then came Eric the Eel. And the Rio Olympics have thrown up another anti-hero — “Robel the Whale”.

The burly swimmer has made headlines at  Rio after a splashy performance that has won hearts.

Ethiopia’s Robel Kiros Habte didn’t break any records but did become a social media sensation when he competed in the 100m freestyle heats.

He clocked a time of 1:00.495secs in Wednesday’s (AEST) heats, ranking 59th of the 59 competitors.

But it wasn’t just his efforts in the pool that inspired the viral reaction.

His considerably less chiselled-than-your-average swimmer figure sent Olympic fans into meltdown, as pictures and videos of a shirtless Mr Habte emerged.

And despite his last-placed finish, he took a defiant tone to the lacklustre result.

Ethiopia’s Robel Kiros Habte became a social media sensation in Rio. Photo: Twitter.

“I don’t know why I was slower today, but it didn’t matter where I finished,” he said, claiming a personal best of 59.08secs.

He also brushed aside the body-shaming remarks with a comeback not many can claim.

“I want to be an Olympic swimmer doing it for my country. And there was just me — Olympic swimmer.”

Mr Habte, 24, outdid Eric ‘the Eel’ Moussambani’s infamous time of 1:52.72secs at the 2000 Sydney Games, more than double that of the top swimmers, thereby earning him the nickname.

He is also coincidentally the son of Ethiopian Swimming Federation’s president Kiros Habte Kinfe.