Games of the XI Olympiad—roleplaying thread

[Taeshan]

Almost Nearing the End of Having to Hear my Voice

http://chirb.it/dsbayA

[North Eurasian Unified Sporting Team]

XI Olympiad: Day 14

Aeropag, Paripana - (NEIC) The North Eurasian Unified Sporting Team won its 15th medal yesterday, a gold medal in wrestling. Jack Brennan in 74kg freestyle wrestling beat Timucin Zaman from Amnarei-asud 3-1 for the gold medal. On his road to the gold medal, Brennan beat Sang Deuk Yi from the Royal Kingdom of Québec in the quarter final and Sergio Perez from Electrum in the semi final. In 57kg, Mike Gutierrez lost in 8th finals and lost again in repêchage.

Synchronized swimming - women, the North Eurasian Unified Sporting Team finished 12th.

Athletics, Ryan Buchanan finished 11th in hammer throw. Lena Wojtkowiak finished 13th in women 5000m. In 4x 400m relay (women), Kasandra Sokolowska, Wiktoria Jakubowicz, Anne Jefferson and Roksana Czarnowska finished 2nd in their heat and 3rd overall and are qualified for the final. Emilia Gruszczynska finished 10th, tied with two other contestants in pole vault.

Boxing, Eilidh McArthur, from Dundrennan, Great Caledonia, lost her semi final againt Teresa Jentzsch from Kelssek and will receive her bronze medal tomorrow.

Canoe, Pawel Strzalkowski and Tomasz Zurowski won their semi final in men C-2 1000m and made it to the final A. In women C-2 500m, Aleksandra Wisniewska and Julia Kwiatkowska won their semi final and will be in the final A.

Equestrian jumping individual, Cynthia, clan Castonguay and Prince Zygmunt VIII both made it to final round B. Clan Castonguay finished 10th and Prince Zygmunt VIII finished 20th. In les Pays d'en Haut, where cars don't exist, people have to ride an horse or a carriage to transport themselves, but women who ride horses are frowned upon, so Cynthia, clan Castonguay had to exile in Prusy Krolewskie to practice her sport.

Taylor Anderson finished 12th tied with two other contestants in women's golf.

Rythmic gymnastics, Garret Schwartz is 3rd in men's qualification and advanced to the next round. Frederique Esposito is 3rd in women's qualification.

Women's football, Vilitan Union beat Thatius 2–1 in the final to win the gold medal. Valanora won the bronze.

Kacper Zuckermann apologizes for twerking on Redd Zeeland from Electrum

The North Eurasian Unified Olympic Comittee (NEUOC) have forced Kacper Zuckermann to apologize for twerking on Redd Zeeland from Electrum. Zuckermann finally apologizes in this statement:

I'm really sorry, I had no intention to taunt Reed Zeeland or the whole Electrum team, I was just happy to make the final and I didn't think and I did what I did, I'm really sorry. I know the Electrumites are facing taunting such as condom throwing and boob flashing and other stupid stuff from stupid athletes but I swear my intention wasn't to taunt. I had no intention at all, I was just happy and I wanted to share my happiness but I think it was the wrong way. Lol, I'm sorry again.

Kacper Zuckermann named flagbearer for closing ceremonies

Following Kacper Zuckermann's apology for twerking on an Electrumite athlete, he has been named the North Eurasian flagbearer for the closing ceremony. Kacper Zuckermann is the first multiple medallist in North Eurasian Unified Sporting Team's history.

[Fluvique]

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BASKETBALL

Stairway to dreams

Twelve players were jumping, singing and hugging after get the achievement of a lifetime, which seemed hard and unlikely, but they reached it giving more than expected, showing that they are more than expected. This so called Golden Boys, is a Golden Generation instead. Is the revival of the Fluviquean basketball. Is the proof that, with talent and hard work, anything is possible. Four years ago, it was the celebrated Bronze medal. Today is an olympic final. Who could imagine it prior the start of the qualifiers? Maybe a few. Maybe only this twelve men and their coaching staff. But today, this celebration with tears belong to them and glad hundreds of thousands, maybe millions, of Fluviqueans at home.

The national side thrilled again. In a long waited rematch, not against the rival but the context, the Golden Boys did their best and overcame Cosumar with a clear 73-59 and qualified for the Aeropag olympic final and secured the second consecutie medal for the paysan basketball. Their performance and the emotions of this match, will live in the fans memory for a long time, remembered as a new milestone of this amazing group of players.

At the start of the match Fluvique was overwhelming, but Cosumar managed to settle in the court and get close to end a first quarter of 20-12 in favor of Fluvique. Severin Kerr le the scoring in the first half with 14 points, but he also was sharp in defence and had 3 steals in the halftime. Thanks to the accurate shots of Luke Bram and Daniel Villa, the national side was able to hurt in every attack.

The superiority was more mental and Fluvique put it on the scoreaboard. They had more hungry. They were desperate to win. The first half ended 38-26 and the tricolors used that interal desire to keep the lead in the third and fourth quarter, despite the substitions. All the players seems to be equal, enhancing their skills, giving it all and showing that the twelve want to be starters. That is the real fuel of this boys.

What they dreamed now is true, is already in their hands. The eyes, the photos and videos will keep this eternal moment of euphoria, won with a pure basketball and courageously. They can see the podium. Now they want to be in the higgest spot, hear the national anthem sounding while the tricolor flag is raised. They will face Vangaziland for an even glowing place in history. In our hearts, the memories will shine forever.

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INDOOR VOLLEYBALL

They did it again

Another final. The second in-a-row for the men's volleyball. The amazing opportunity to revalidate the tittle won in the last Olympic Games. Fluvique beat Wray 3-0 (27-25, 25-17 and 26-24) in the first semifinal and heard the scream of all Olympic Tower: "allez la Fluvique, we want the Gold"

With the victory, the team of Miguel Angel Jantje will face Swibia, who defeated Thatius by the same score as The Long Ones (25-17, 25-21 and 25-18). The players fell to the ground, celebrating together with the staff and the supporters. The Fluviquean volleyball is living an amazing dream.


"Be in the final again is something unbelievable"-said Jantje-"When all work and planification is a sucess, you could not be more proud. Be played a great tournament, always giving it all. Now we need to rest and continue focused. We'll need all our energies to write history again"

The team used intelligence to succeed in every match. They see, also, in hard work, the key to reach their dreams. They don't only train hard. They study the movements of their rivals, their strenghts and weakness, trying to find the path to hurt them. With Mario Cayden confident with his service and a great work in blocking, Fluvique stopped the recovery of Wray and maximized their errors to win the first set by 27-25.

That seemed to be a punch for their rivals and Fluvique continued with the same strategy. Wray controled the second set in the scoreboard, but with only two points ahead. Fluvique equalized (12-12) and played with more confidence. The difference, again, was due to errors. Wray had many in attack and Fluvique was focused to know how to react. Thanks to an amazing streak and the good job of Preston and Clayd, Fluvique easily took the second set.

The last set was a copy of the first. Hard for both sides, with the comprehensible nerves of the tricolors and some anxiety in the definitions. There, the more experiended appeared. Making a job of mentoring and psychologists, Ragnvald and Stij led the team to the two needed points to advance to the big final. Again. Like four years ago.

"We had a lot of time to think prior the Olympics. We though about this. About this match. Who will be there?What about us? And how we are here. I'm very happy now, I think that we still don't realize what we did-said Arsène Maurice-Sincerely, to all the Fluviqueans, and all the people who supports us, this is time to enjoy. This is something unexplainable. We do everything with our hearts and that help us to face the big powers in this sport. But we'll defend our title. It's magic"

[Mattijana]

Superb Relay Performance and Surprise Bronze Shape Day 14 for Mattijana

Mattijana ended the long wait for their 6th gold medal of the Aeropag Olympics as the women's 4x100 relay team produced a stunning performance to win their final. Having qualified fastest in the semi-finals, the team were undoubtably one of the favourites, pulling it off was another matter however. Into the final leg, things looked pretty tight, but Esmé Arcalis delivered a superb final leg to win a fairly comfortable victory.
The win is Mattijana's third ever athletics medal and the second gold. It's also Mattijana's first medal on the track as the other two came in the hammer throw and the marathon.

Mattijana have a couple of medal hopes tomorrow with Sami Šakov competing in the men's shot-put final and Emeli Felan and Mathilde Leku going in the women's high-jump. Felan qualified in first position for that event and is a sure favourite for a medal in the final.

Mattijana also took a bronze in a more unexpected situation at the BMX track. Dana Junisovič had looked confident and comfortable in qualifying, but was never really expected to win anything. That changed as an early crash split the field and left the front 4, including the Mattijanan, out in front. She rode hard and managed to edge the bronze by around a tenth of a second on the line.

Mattijana missed out on a medal for the second consecutive Olympics in the hockey however. They were defeated 3-1 in their bronze medal match by Kernansquillec.

[Electrum]

Obscure Sports Weekly - Equestrian Section

Jumping - Qualifying Round 3 and Final Rounds A, B recap
by Marion Cartwright-Jacobson

The end of the jumping discipline sees Electrum come home with a gold and silver medal, whilst The Sarian will come home with a silver medal, in the individual event. As always, the third round of the individual round coincided with the second and final medal round for the team competition. For Electrum, there were three competitors left in the individuals, Greg Gregor, Omar Abdullah, Gyla Arrente, with only Li Lin competing in the team competition, but not the individual competition. Electrum was tied with Judea in the gold medal position with zero points, after discarding Omar's score of two points. Because of her non-participation in the individual competition, Lin on the ten year old Westphalian Diamontina would be first out of the gates for Electrum, aiming for the least time penalty as possible, to give her team the best shot in defending their medal.

Lin had come from a perfect clear round in the first stage of the team event, but things really became unstuck for her. Going into the triple combination, Lin just jumped off far too late in the first jump, which meant some of the rails fell, which meant the horse slowed down... and it became a domino effect with the horse just unable to jump over the two other oxers ahead without knocking them down. Already, the Electrumite team, looking from the stands new straight away that Lin's score in the second round would have to be the discard score. But more trouble appeared, coming into the open water jump, Diamontina was spooked, perhaps Lin was waiting one more stride to jump and left it too late, but Diamontina stopped right before the jump, Lin became off balance and fell over the horse, an instant elimination. From that point on, no more mistakes could be made.

Luckily for the other Electrumites, they didn't have any more oxers or rails fall. But unluckily for them, they rode around the course a lot more conservatively, adding in too many unnecessary strides and so forth. Although they give extra time for the horse to prepare for the jump, it pushed Electrumites over the time. Up next was Abdullah on lost two more points in the time fault, on the Dutch warmblood Are You What You Say?, with two more penalty points in additional to the two he accrued yesterday for a total of four. As Lin was eliminated, all of his points in round 2 would count for full value. Meanwhile, Molderswide of Paputu was just over the time limit, pushing Paputu to equal first place with Electrum on two total penalty points. Next was Gregor on Fortissimo, and he rode much better than the previously few days (perhaps taking the advice of this very columnist!) with a clear round and being under time. Finally, Arrente was up on Constellation. She was one of the last team riders to go, with Paputu sitting on two points, it would come down to Gyla's performance. Unfortunately for her, she was over time by three seconds, pushing Electrum to second place with five points, meaning Paputu would win gold and Electrum, silver. As a result of their cumulative performances, all three remaining Electrumite individuals advanced to the next round.

Just below Paputu and Electrum was another contest. There was a tie for third and fourth place, with The Sarian and Kernansquillec on 7 penalty points. Both teams were far over time, trying to avoid knocking down the oxers. It is very important that the riders don't knock those down, as given the skill of the field, dropping four penalty points is almost certain to exclude you from the next round of competition. Hence, some riders see it as a trade-off in going slightly over time, to avoid that penalty. By the end of the jump-off, Kernansquillec accrued a cumulative total of 3 time penalties, whereas for the Sarian, it was Charlotte Rees-Mogg's horse which just touched the red tape at the end of the open water jump, which gave the Sarian four penalties, and Kernansquillec the bronze medal. Therefore, the team competition would end with Paputu as Olympic champions, then Electrum and then Kernansquillec.

In Round A of the Individual Finals competition, both Gregor and Arrente scored clear rounds. By this point of the competition, the oxers were now made very difficult. There were lots of square oxers, a double and a triple combination, oxers with very funky designs, etc. all to throw off the rider and horse. The colours became more brighter, which could easily distract the horse from taking their eyes off the next jump. Any mistake, whether time penalties or obstacle would be very costly. It is the nature of the Olympic competition that if you want to be in the running for a medal, you must not make any mistake at all. There tends to be five or six people with a perfect score that advance to the jump-off, and that's exactly what happened that day. Arrente would be one of those in Round A which would qualify for Round B, but she was just over the optimal time by 0.15 seconds, just taking too long in one of the jumps. If she had cut down by one or two strides, she would have had a clear round as well. Despite a little rub on one of the jumps, Abdullah survived with 0 penalty points. Gregor was simply sublime, and the three-time Olympian showed off his experience to the world. He was a light weight on his horse, and you could see that during the jumps, he stuck very closely to Fortissimo, gently guiding him over the course.

It was a shock to see Frederick Rees-Mogg being eliminated from The Sarian. The pre-tournament favourite had been perfect so far, he and his horse not making a single mistake so far in the competition. But, it was the horse just acting up which cost Rees-Mogg a spot in Round B. For whatever reason, perhaps it was too inexperienced, or was distracted by the cheering in the crowd, or the strange colours on the oxers, but it kept swaying back and forth, even rearing just after its first jump. In the end, that rearing, as well as the constant swaying back and forth which cost Rees-Mogg valuable time. In the end, he would be penalised three time penalties with just that bad beginning leading him to lose out on time. In Round B, again, Arrente would accrue three more penalty points for a total of four, and was relegated down to an overall individual position of 17th. Meanwhile, for both Gregor/Fortissimo and Abdullah/Are You What You Say?, they were two of six pairs to have perfect rounds in Rounds A and B. They were joined by Colbert from The Sarian, Angelfish and Howe from Taeshan, and Krystkowiak from Cosumar.

With all six riders of those riders tied for equal first, it would take a good old-fashioned jump-off to determine the three medallists. The tiebreakers were the amount of penalty points accrued in the shortened course, then the time it took to clear the course. This meant that there truly was no time for dilly-dallying. The optimal time was reduced even further, so that even the slightest mistiming would result in penalties. It was a true fight to the death. The jumping would start in reverse order from the qualifying performances. First up was Taeshan's Angelfish, and Angelfish was just lucky to be there: He was the last one to qualify into the competition, and now somehow miraculously made it into the final round. Unfortunately, the fairy tale ended there, as the pairing knocked down two oxers (the spread just being too wide for horse and rider than the previous rounds) and two more time faults for ten penalty points.

Up next was Percival Colbert from The Sarian. Despite a few rubs here and there, Margaret was smiling down on him, as none of planks were released from their jump cups and fallen to the ground. He ran an excellent time, just half a second off the optimal time. Up next was Cosumar's Krystkowiak, who had unfortunately just gone overtime by one second, meaning the Cosumarite pairing had one penalty point. It would finally be Abdullah's term. This was where the Electrumites, watching the television in 2 in the morning would be holding their breath -- could Abdullah hold a clear round? No, he couldn't. It was the very last rail -- perhaps Abdullah wasn't thinking straight because of the pressure, but the line he entered with his horse was at an angle, and he jumped off to early... and the oxer fell. That and also being late saw him with six penalty points and out of medal contention. So far the rankings were:

Rk Rider                              PP
 1 Percival Colbert (TSA)             0
 2 Alvin Krystkowiak (COS)            1
 3 Omar Abdullah (ETM)                6
 4 Xavier Angelfish (TAE)             10

The second last to ride was Ellen Howe. The Taeshani was also another sublime rider. She rode her horse like a true professional -- if you had simply removed the horse, it would look like she would land on her two feet. Perfectly well balanced and poised. But that does not give you time. And unfortunately for her, despite also having 0 penalties, she was a tenth of a second behind Colbert, bumping her to the silver medal position. By this point, both Colbert and Howe were guaranteed a medal. The last rider would be Greg Gregor on the grey Holsteiner Fortissimo. The best qualifier remaining, he was the person which would change everything. Like a true champion, he was exemplary. Other than his first round, he had jumped four clear rounds to make it all the way to the final. With no rubs, and managing an excited audience, he guided his horse through all the obstacles, taking the right lines to finish half a second under Colbert to snatch gold.

Overall rankings
Rk Rider                              PP
 1 Greg Gregor (ETM)                  0
 2 Percival Colbert (TSA)             0
 3 Ellen Howe (TAE)                   0
 4 Alvin Krystkowiak (COS)            1
 5 Omar Abdullah (ETM)                6
 6 Xavier Angelfish (TAE)             10

Overall, it has been a successful campaign for the Team Electrum in the equestrian. Although they couldn't defend their two gold medal and silver medal haul in the eventing from the last Olympiad in New Gelderland, they have won their first ever gold in the individual competition, and stayed on the podium for the team competition in the show jumping. Electrumite Equestrian just seems to be gravitating more and more towards eventing and jumping. It will be interesting to see how the team goes in the next Olympics.

OOC: RP written with permission from The Sarian

[The Sarian]

THE SUNDAY GAZETTE

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Olympic Games - Day Fourteen

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With every passing day, just one question lingers - can Team Sarian stay second in the Olympic Medal table? As always, The Gazette has the full round-up of all the Olympic news that you need to know to kickstart your morning.

Day fourteen began in the Aeropag Natatorium, where Tom Petit finished fourth in the preliminary round of the Men’s 10 m Platform. It has been a disappointing Olympics for Petit - with the 10 m platform being the young divers last chance of winning a medal. Crashing out of the preliminary round of the 10 m synchronised diving was a particular disappointment, along with a semi-final exit after finishing an impressive fourth in the preliminary round of the 3 m synchronized springboard. Francis Tyrell also competed in the event for The Sarian, and will have been disappointed not to have done better after finishing 25th.

Perhaps more disappointing, however, was the continued lack of success in the Synchronized Swimming for Team Sarian. Originally highlighted as a sport where The Sarian could potentially do well, it has been a depressing Olympics for Synchronized Swimming fans. This was added to yesterday, with the Women's team finishing eleventh - someway off their hopes for a medal finish. Team captain, Louisa Osborne spoke to the Gazette (full interview, page 34) saying that the side were "obviously upset that we didn't perform as well as we knew we could" but that they were "ready to train every day for the next four years."

Albert Windsor-Smythe was the only sari finished in a controversial 20 km race walking event. 21 athletes were disqualified, including The Sarian's George Henry Herbertson and Nicholas Harnaman after refereeing that was described as "overzealous" and "mind-boggling". Harnaman, one of the pre-Olympic favourites hit out at the event-organizers in an interview on SariTV which has since achieved viral status. A visibly angry Hanaman rants, stating that his "Olympic dream had been ruined by brain-dead judges". Harnaman had been leading the race, at Olympic Record pace, before his disqualification for allegedly losing contact.

In the women's event, Priscilla Marquess won her second medal of the games, winning silver in the 20 km after winning gold in the 50 km event. Marquess, who finished just a second behind Quebec's Victoria Han initially thought she had finished third. It wasn't until she was being led to the medal ceremony that she realised that the medal around her neck would be silver not bronze, creating one of the most heartwarming Olympic clips of the week. Elizabeth Jorgensen, a bronze medalist in the 50 km, and Victoria Persephone-Reid finished eighth and tenth respectively.

As the Olympic Games starts to draw to a close, so did the Badminton. In the semi-finals of the men's event Maximilian Nash fell to impressive Electrumite Alex Cliffton. Despite going 8-1 down in the first rally, Nash managed to pull back though could not prevent a narrow loss of 22-20. In the second rally, Nash looked visibly exhausted, allowing Cliffton a comfortable 21-11 victory. Nash will face off against Andreo Fellows of Eastfield Lodge in the bronze-medal match.

Mitigating the disappointment of Sari badminton fans fell to Gaétan Dickens and Zakchaios Georgeson as they faced off in the Men's Doubles final. In a nerve racking game, the Team Sarian duo recovered from a first rally loss to win the second rally 21-13. The final rally would prove to be a tense affair, with some fantastic badminton on show from all four players involved. Eventually, however, the pair from The Sarian held on to defeat Opeyemi Hatheway and Themba Norwood of Ndaku 22-20 to win the gold medal.

If bad judging went against The Sarian in the race walking, the karma was clearly at work for Jürgen Cole in the Boxing Men’s Flyweight to defeat the Gregoryisgodistani boxer (keeping with editorial standards, the Gazette will not print the forced names for which Gregoryisgodistani people are required to live under). Losing the first round heavily, Cole was lucky not to be KO'd. A disappointing second round followed, from which Cole expected to be eliminated - he was not. Cole improved in the final round, leaving little dispute about who the winner could be. However, for Cole to get to said round was extremely lucky - and the judges can expect to find themselves on the enemy list quicker than one of Cole's 1-2s!

In the Men's BMX Cycling, Loyd Sharrow managed to win the bronze - and The Sarian's first ever medal in BMXing. Finishing second in his heat, Sharrow turned on the style in the final, and finished just narrowly behind Porter Quinones of Taeshan. Sherley Kennard finished last in the final of the women's event.

Frederick Rees-Mogg suffered a heartbreaking collapse in the Jumping. After a flawless performance in the earlier rounds, Rees-Mogg - a twice Olympic medalist - suffered three penalty points, leaving him with no chance of taking home a medal. Percival Colbert survived a nervous jump-off, however, to claim a silver medal. The medal made Colbert the first Sari Olympian in history to win a medal of all shades.

The Sarian won their second Taekwondo medal of the games after a stunning (not to mention surprising!) performance by Obadiah Peak in the Men's 80 km. Peak, who was on nobody's radar before the games won gold after a 7-4 victory over Jack King. Peak, who trailed for the majority of the match, rallied in the closing seconds to snatch victory.

At the end of the day, The Sarian remained second in the medal table with fourteen golds - behind the Paripana Sporting Council and Royal Kingdom of Québec who both sit on eleven. Can Team Sarian hold on? Only time will tell.

[Commerce Heights]

Day 15 results are now available (part 1 · part 2).

[The Serbian Empire]

Beograd Journal Letters to Editor

I have been pleased with our 32 medals this year even though we fell short of initial targets. Why? We had only 24 the previous effort and more nations competed in this Olympiad. We have set a new high in all but gold medals which still holds at the record from last go around at 9. We have medals in almost every major category of medal with rowing and badminton being the exceptions as we didn't send athletes in those categories to compete. We have to fine-tune training efforts as we've noted a lack of medals in cycling when compared to usual along with more medals in athletics than we expected. I am not sure if this is our final day, but it has been a pleasure for me to see our athletes achieve success.

Minister of Sport,
Vlade Drinac

[Vangaziland]

All eyes in Vangaziland were pointed towards their Olympic Basketball team. The Empire had sent a relatively small delegation. Basketball is a medal the Vannish Sports Commission has been eyeing.

"Vannish basketball has hit the scene in a major way", said Wan Lu from the VSC. "We had amazing group performances in both the NSCAA and IBC. Two editions ago, our IBC team was in the Championship game. Now we get to add an Olympic Championship match to our resume. A silver medal would mean a lot to our nation, being just the third medal for our delegation. But Gold would mean so much to a nation that has come close to winning a few basketball tournaments but ran out of steam."

The team was split on their opinions of a silver medal.

David Larson, the center from Imperial Military Academy felt the silver medal would not mean enough. "We came here with one goal, and that was to bring the gold home for Vangaziland. Now that we are so close, we can't fail."

Larson was a cadet in a college where Army and Marine cadets studied side by side. The mentality to win was pushed onto him from the military. Steven Eaglesen also spoke on the topic. He was from Overglade University, Vangaziland's most prestigious college.

"Our sights are set on gold", Eaglesen said. "But a silver medal would still validate our season. We have to admit. The team from Fluvique has put up a major effort. They are one of the top teams in the Olympics. I think it should be an interesting match. Hopefully we'll catch a break."

The team had a light practice on their day off. They ran warmups and a quick shooting drill. Then they retired to the briefing room to watch video of Fluvique's last game. They found out their opponent had garnered the nickname 'Golden Boys'. Eaglesen was asked what he thought of the nickname.

"I'm just glad nobody has given us a nickname", was his reply. "That's not really the Vannish style of things, but it works for them."

The Vangazi players seemed a lot calmer about reaching the gold medal match. They showed emotion after their last win against Swibia, but didn't overreact. It was a close game where Vangaziland won 81-75. But there was no strong outpouring of surprise. It seemed they expected to make it into the next stage.

This team was made of Vangaziland's top college basketball players. In the latest edition of the NSCAA tournament, Vannish teams dominated, winning almost every conference they participated in. They put up stellar numbers, but all 8 teams failed to win the championship. A gold medal would validate their performance not only in the Olympics, but in the NSCAA.

Meanwhile, the pros from the Vangaziland Royals and the domestic leagues were watching. IBC team captain and starting point guard Hectare Yulssen said, "I have nothing but love for the Olympic team. I would have loved to play on that stage as a college kid. It's amazing that they made it this far. Hopefully luck will bless the Vangazi."

However, the tournament started some controversy. A topic hit sports radio and went viral. An irate basketball fan brought up the idea that maybe the coach of the Olympic team should take over for Tim Tomasson on the IBC. Vangaziland failed to reach expectations in the past 2 tournaments after reaching the Championship game.

When Chip Maydress and Deter J. Piff brought up their topic on their talk show, the topic reached some of the people involved with making decisions. Nobody said anything besides support for the current coach. But the topic rung quite true. The Royals did not want to separate with Tomasson. After all, Coach Tim promised to make sweeping changes to his team after their lackluster performance. It would be ironic if he was switched for Karl Limmerick. If Karl brought home the gold, it might make him the top coach in Vangaziland.

Coach Tim refused to speak. In the following week, he flew to the Svennish Isles for a vacation in the Vannish Empire's tropical island. The Svennish Isles were quite far from Vangaziland. Apparently, the coach wanted to get away.

Meanwhile, there was basketball at hand. It was almost time for Vangaziland versus The Golden Boys. The game was set to break Olympic viewing ratings throughout the Vannish Empire. The game would be on national television, reaching even more homes than a cable broadcast. Many Vangazi were flying in for the game.

The most famous Vangazi showing up was Prince Fritz. The heir to the Vannish Throne scheduled leave time from his Army unit to watch the game. The officer spoke to journalists asking him about the Olympics. "We had a few good stories this year, in biking and the pentathlon. But the basketball team has done well to get past some tough teams. If they end it with the gold, it will be amazing. A silver will mean a lot too."

The women's team failed to make it to the playoff round. It showed just how tough international basketball was.

"I was really hoping the women could make some noise", Prince Vang said. "They had a few good games though."

Now all eyes were on the 12 Vangazi. Everything led up to this coming moment.

[Ferkas]

Carter Grabs Bronze as Athletics Struggles

(Aeropag) Expectations were high going into day 15 of the Olympics, as Ferkas had entrants in key athletics finals being held throughout the day. Most businesses, excluding pubs and bars which reported record turnouts, closed for the day. Businesses that chose to stay open reported frequent work interuptions and delays, timed with the start of each new race. Most schools allowed teachers to show at least some of the races during class time.

But when it was all said and done, Ferkas would leave the track after day 15 almost empty handed.

Yes, Ellen Carter did put up an inspiring performance in the high jump. But even that performance was dulled somewhat by the fact that two other bronze medals were also awarded. True, it is the Olympic final and the level of talent is incredible. Yes, it took a jump of 2.02m with only one missed jump before to get a medal. But watching a third of the field take home a medal almost has a bit of a youth community games feel to it. Nice to watch, but you don't really find out who the best of the best is.

Not that we should complain too much about that. Because in events where things were clearer the results didn't give us anything to get too excited about. Ken Figueroa, whose magic season had caught the attention of the entire Ferkian sporting world, came up short in the final of the 1500m and finished a distant 10th. While Figueroa, who began the 2016 season unsponsored and barely made the FNAA Outdoor Track Championships should be pleased with his progress this year it seems doubtful he will find much to be pleased with in today's 3:37.05 performance that left him more than five seconds behind the winner.

The sole Ferkian in the 5000m final, Garth Murray had the cards stacked against him from the start. The expectations were impossibly high - while Ferkas didn't medal in the 5000m at Orean, it's last Olympic appearance, it has been a strong contender. At Orean, Abby Elsat finished forth, and Ferkas had both Colton Matthews and Benjamin Leram in the final. The cycle before the Ferkian dominance was undenialbe though, and has set the standard for every Olympic 5000m to be measured by. Kyle Reper secured his second gold medal, while Christopher Noversky took home the silver. Jennifer Delmont made sure it would be nothing but domination, as she took home the women's gold medal as well, along with her silver in the 1500m. It was the sort of final that makes legends, and it was a legend which haunted Murray in the lead-up to today's race.

Again though it would be a 10th place finish, this time in 13:12.38 in a race won in 12:58.37. One must wonder how much Murray has been thinking about the 5000m win at the FNAA Outdoor Track and Field Championship earlier this year, where he ran 12:54.15, opening a gap over the last four hundred meters in a race which saw a 12:59 performance not make the team.

What else? The 4x400s or the women's 800, where no Ferkian reached the finals? Or maybe the javelin, where Barrett Nava eeked out an eighth place finish? Are those the results we should be getting excited for?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Domination!

Ferkas Crushes Gridiron in International Debute

(Aeropag) It may not come with a medal ceremony, but the Ferkian gridiron team could not be more excited about their dominating win in today's demonstration final.

"Making it through the qualifying games was seen as a big deal. Going undefeated in the group stage - that was a big deal. Making the finals? Huge. Winning the finals? Damn, I couldn't imagine anything better. And then we win by a margin like we did and it's just the icing on the cake." Was the response of Head Coach Adam Caine, who was quick to credit both sides of the team for today's huge, 47-14, victory. "Earlier in the competition it was all about the defense, and the defense came to play today, no doubt. But at the same time the offense has carried us through rough spots too, and the score today clearly shows that. This is a team with excellent players on both sides, and they showed it today. That's what makes this such an exciting final. Not just that we won, in our first international tournament. But that we won in a way that showcased our entire team."

Grant Herring completed an impressive 28 of his 34 passes for a 82% completion rate and 335 yards to go with his three touchdown passes. While he did throw an interception late in the third quarter it didn't really matter at that point. Meanwhile the defense played some lights out football and the running game, injected early with energy after Marcus DuPree turned what was supposed to be a simple 3 yard first down conversion into a 61 yard touchdown run, kept the team from East Saintland off balance.

With this first international tournament now concluded, the question is - What next for Ferkian football? Several colleges have expressed a desire to apply for the NSCF league, which would take Ferkian football to a more consistent international stage. Sources have indicated that, should a university make such a bit it would have significant support from both the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Sport, as well as the Ferkian Football League. Meanwhile, the Ferkian Football League has indicated that it will look for ways to get its teams more international competition and exposure.

[Kelssek]

When Nate Frolík finally got the goal it was all too simple. His check had overcommitted with a slough into the centre-forward position, on the 2-metre line directly in front of goal, to double-team the hole set. So instead of passing into the hole the pass came to 'Fro instead, and he slotted it inside the near post with the goalie flailing desperately. And then he got a second one from an outside shot on a powerplay. Maybe the media would call him a clutch player now.

Like the coach had kept telling him, he'd kept his mental focus in the moment in the moment in the moment all game and it was only halfway through the national anthem that it really sunk in.

Wow. I just won an Olympic gold medal.

It was the kind of thing that was far off in the distance when you were just playing as a kid, and the objective was to win regionals, make provincials, do 10 chin-ups after every practice... Something you said you wanted if you got to the elite level, with lots of smaller but more immediate steps prior: get a pro contract, have a good training camp, make the roster, finish top 3, make the national team.

The anthem was over and he raised his arms to wave to the crowd as his teammates were doing. The backslaps and hugs resumed. Harry Sponner got him in a headlock and flexed his other arm, in a photo that the Thunderbirds would tweet minutes later.

Nate grabbed the medal around his neck and held it up as the pack of photographers clicked away. Of course, most of the photos that would really appear in the media would not be of him but the team's stars, Luke Warrener and Éric Biron and Nathan Cavendish, the ones who got asked for selfies and autographs on the street. That didn't matter - this was everyone's victory; that's what teams are.

This really is mine.

---

DEVASTATION BECAME INSPIRATION FOR WATER POLO TEAM
by: Yusuf Tarik Amin

As the men's water polo team celebrated its gold medal triumph in Aeropag, the contrast with the scenes witnessed by the women's team in their overtime loss to Vekaiyu the day before was stark. But the victorious players revealed that it was words by the women's captain Amber Linsdale before their own gold medal game which inspired their win.

"It's not just the boys and girls, since we've been spending the last two weeks living together we kinda see ourselves as one team, just with different games to play. It's a bit of a different dynamic than before," said Éric Biron.

"A few hours before the game, you know, Amber came in and basically just told us to seize the moment, because if you lose the way they did, it's just a horrible feeling and you'll always be thinking what else you could have done. You could have heard a pin drop when she was talking. It really helped the guys focus on what we're here to do, and it definitely helped us."

After the women's gold medal match, the team retreated behind closed doors for several hours. Emotions were raw because the team felt they had let their chance slip away, said Amber Linsdale afterwards.

"After what happened, to lose the gold medal in overtime, I honestly make no apologies for that. We had to process that ourselves and come together as a team first."

"I saw the boys were having their pre-game meal in the cafeteria. So I went in and just spoke from the heart, I told them how crushing it felt to lose that way and to make sure they make their opportunity count. As a team we were devastated because that was our game to win and we let it slip away. To lose in overtime like that is crushing. So I basically said, think of how hard you worked to get here, make it count, make sure you have no regrets out there."

Teammate Alice Ching meanwhile wanted to put the focus on the progress the team has made.

"The pressure has always been there and will always be there. It is what it is. It doesn't feel like an accomplishment right now but we have come a long way and we will look forward to taking the next step."

[Todd McCloud]

The Heated Rivalry that is Vekaiyu vs Kelssek in Water Polo
Reporting for V3 News Services, Rin Slakori

AEROPAG - As nations continue to win medals and as the two perennial Olympic competitors from The East Pacific realm rack up medals for their own particular glories, choosy Olympic fanatics know that as each Summer Olympiad draws to a close, the Women's or Men's Water Polo final or bronze match will typically feature at least one team from Vekaiyu and one team from Kelssek (since the Fifth Summer Games, a medal match with Kelssek or Vekaiyu has occured 47% of the time). Sometimes, if they're lucky, they'll face off head-to-head, which has happened a total of four times. It's rare, but when the two face off when a medal is on the line, you know it's going to be a good game.

Before we get into the specifics of the match, it may be prudent to go over the history of this rivalry, which dates back to the Fifth Summer Olympiad but didn't officially take root until one year later, in Lasft. Prior to the Fifth Summer Games, Kelssek had already established itself as a master in the pool, especially in men's, where the team accumulated one gold and one bronze through three Olympiads. The women's team netted a bronze in that same span. As Vekaiyu entered the picture in Outineau, the women's team did not qualify, while the men's went on to be defeated by Cassadaigua in a tight 7-6 contest. Kelssek would win gold on their home soil via a dominant victory over Quintessence of Dust. The next year, Vekaiyuns were no longer rookies and made a name for themselves with the men's team beating last year's gold medalist by a tight overtime score of 9-8, eliminating Kelssek from gold medal contention. Vekaiyu would need to settle for a silver after losing in another overtime game. The Women's team for Kelssek managed their first ever gold, easily taking victory against Southern Cynocephali by a score of 10-4. Krytenia would be a "rare miss" for both nations as three of four squads failed to qualify for the 16's. Only the Kelssek women's team managed a medal, but they could not repeat for gold as they settled for a bronze. The Eighth Summer Olympiad in Orean was tough for both women's teams, but a tough 8-6 loss for Vekaiyu at the hands of eventual gold-winner Kelssek stifled their hopes for a medal in the 16's.

It wasn't until the Ninth Summer Games in Zube where the two nations would really turn up the heat on each other. A stunning 11-4 loss by Kelssek at the hand of Vekaiyu relegated the dominant men's team to a bronze match with Bears Armed. The Vekaiyun men's team seemed destined for gold, but would grab another silver after an 8-10 loss to The Greater Vakolicci Haven. For the women, Vekaiyu would take their first gold after defeating Wray by a score of 10-8, while Kelssek would exit the contest early on with a loss to Avissian Union. One year later in Electrum, the Kelssek men's team would lose to the host nation and eventual medal finalist, but Vekaiyu would deny the host glory with their first ever gold medal in men's water polo. The Vekaiyun women's team, flushed with success after their gold during the Ninth Summer Games, could not repeat and would lose the bronze medal match to Kriegiersien.

We now advance to the Eleventh Summer Olympiad, in which Kelssek regained the gold in a thrilling match with Taeshan, while the Vekaiyun men's team lost to The Licentian Isles in the semifinals. The women's team, on the other hand, would have to clash with Kelssek in the finals match. Despite Vekaiyu being undefeated throughout the entire Olympiad, rival Kelssek made every bit of the game tough as a 9-9 regulation score again went to overtime by a final of 11-10 OT, capping what was a thrilling match attended by a sellout crowd at the Aeropag Natatorium by fans from both nations.

"I didn't even think [the ball] made it into the net," left-winger Livikia Naseri commented on the difference-making goal, which seemed to almost go through the arm of Denise Williams. "It was one of those things where you just kind of sit there and don't know what to say or do." Livikia Naseri, traditionally a more assist-generating player for stronger scorers like Rin Kesuru or Selvala Useveli, made the deciding goal after the game survived through two three-minute overtimes.

"I need a cup of some of that coffee for my nerves," reserve Xa Revesasistre said after the game. "It's not really going to sink in until sometime tomorrow night, or maybe on the plane."

Many were critical of the Vekaiyun women's team for adopting uniforms with gold Olympic rings printed on them after the Eighth Summer Olympiad, but two golds through three years can put to rest any kind of criticism. The fact of the matter is these teams were almost equally-matched, and they provided perhaps the best game in what has become an intense rivalry between the two nations.

For what it's worth, all Olympiads except for the 1st Summer Games featured at least one medal won by either Vekaiyu or Kelssek in Water Polo. Between the two nations, the men's team from Kelssek has won seven medals (four gold, three bronze), while Vekaiyu has managed a respectable 3 medals (one gold, two silver). On the women's side, Kelssek has taken four medals (one gold, one silver, two bronze), while Vekaiyu has nabbed two gold medals. In all head-to-head matches, Vekaiyu has a 3-1 lead, with two of those matches ending in overtime.

Although this year's water polo contest is now over, and although our classic sports network will continue to play this match from time to time, and although there is no underwater hockey in the Olympics (perhaps as a demonstration sport one day?), one can safely assume both the athletes and the fans alike will look forward to the next installment of this rivalry.

[The Sarian]

THE SUNDAY GAZETTE

---

Olympics: Medal Chances, Final Day

---

The race for second is close. Very close. So close, infact, that everyone who cares (which is everyone) is desperately googling the remaining events - and the Sari athletes competing in them, to see if we can hold on. To save you the trouble, the Gazette has the lowdown on all our chances of finishing in the magical silver place.

Men's Marathon

Good news! Delaiah Northrop could potentially challenge for a medal, registering some impressive times all season - including a win in the Lavington Marathon early this year. Although an outsider, a good run for Northrop could see him make the podium. Even better news is that Happy Kone could potentially even reach the gold medal position. Kone has had an impressive two years,and the Chippenham-born runner will look to top that off with an Olympic medal. Of course, anything could happen, but the marathon is one to watch.

Basketball

Team Sarian were eliminated a long, long time ago.

Boxing

The sole Team Sarian competitor in tomorrow's boxing bouts will be Jürgen Cole. Cole, who is already guaranteed at least a silver will be facing off against Anton Crucio of Taeshan in what will be a close fought match. We don't know how this one will go, but statistically Cole has a 50/50 chance of winning a gold medal - which aren't the worst odds in the world!

Mountain Biking

It seems unlikely that The Sarian will add to their medal haul in this event. Lovell Garland, Reilly Tuft and Angus Rakes will all be competing, but neither looks to have what it takes to beat the world best. Garland, a BMXer by trade, perhaps has the best shot at an unlikely medal, but unlikely proves to be the key word. A small glimmer of hope, however, is that nobody expected Loyd Sharrow to triumph in the BMX, where he won a bronze medal.

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Although disappointing in the individual competition, both the men's and the women's team have a fantastic opportunity to make their way into the medal spots - maybe even gaining the gold medal. The Men's Team, who finished third in the qualifying, will look to build on this whilst the women have to recover from a disappointing eighth if they want to win a medal. On paper, the Men's Team are stronger, but there is nothing to say that both squads can't come home with a medal round their necks.

Handball

See basketball.

Indoor Volleyball

The Sarian performed very well in the Beach Volleyball. As for the indoor variety, we were knocked out yonks ago.

Freestyle Wrestling

I'm not competing in the wrestling, but I feel that I have around the same chance as Shemer Mills (Men's 65 kg) and Cornelius Howe (Men's 97 kg) of coming home with an Olympic medal. In truth, the best the pair can hope for is to not get hurt. Not a medal opportunity.

So there you have it, this is what you need to watch if you want to cheer The Sarian on to an historic second place. The best case scenario is that The Sarian finish the day with four or five new medals - though, as always with the Olympics, you never know quite what will happen. There is only one guarantee: that it shall be magical.

[Fluvique]

---

ATHLETICS—Men’s 1500 m

Fran Horsfall to the infinite

When Fran Horsfall crossed the finish line of the 1,500 meters on Saturday night, becoming the first Fluviquean to win the event, his eyes were looking around. He quickly went to the press zone, not with the intention to talk with the reporters but hug his mother. Afterward, he told press that he was only thinking in give her a big hapiness and 'to run to the infinite', like in his neighborhood, Barracks.

'I always did everything for her and vice versa' said Horsfall 'Helping my family was my fuel and look how high I am now. I'm amazed about what happened. Carrying this medal is surreal'

This could be a fary tale, where a poor child overcomes obstacles and becomes medalist. Because Fran had to suffer a lot to not turn his life into what the context proposed: a torment. Too he had to suffer. So, that it will never stop hurting. And write it as a fairly tale would be support the stupid theory of meritocracy, the idea that "with effort, everything is possible" Bulshit: try eating once a day some rice and a bowl of stew. You go to get water every time there is a failure in the system, in midwinter, two blocks from your home, to the only reservoir in Long Irons neighborhood. You can try to wake up and see your mother crying, alone, in a corner of the tiny house. Try approach and ask her what's wrong. And try to listen, as Fran Horsfall heard, to your mom saying: "I cry because I don't know if we could eat tomorrow"

The story of Fran is the story of thousands of kids in the Mevossian megalopolis, in Fluvique and in Rushmore. He rebuilt it because he had a miraculous gift to be an athlete. But it is not fair to just demand to our kids, those who sleep in shantytowns or in the steeet, to be Fran Horsfal. To be heroes. There are a lot of social programs created after the liberal 80s and 90s, who killed our economy and the future of million of kids. Despite the great improvements, these stories reminds us that there is a lot of work to do and, beyond the results of the Olympics Games, there is an unfair society punishing the lower classes, blinded for bread and circuses.

His time to be Olympic champion was 12:58.37, above the 13:01.97 of Sacrana Aladista (VLT) and 13:03.76 of Searlas Coleman (LLA), who won silver and bronze respectively. Based in a brilliantly executed strategy by Horsfall, moving cleverly and taking advantage of his rivals' mistakes, some of them faster but erratic and suffering the pressure of be in an Olympic final. He specially took the lead after two costly mistakes of Aladista and, thanks to a amazing final lap, conquered the golden medal.

This kind of finals usually are slower and more tactical in an Olympic Game than in the other competitions around the multiverse. Thus, Horsfall was ready, trained and prepared for any eventuality and to counterattack any strategy of his rivals.

"My mom Rose had me at 20. She worked all her life of what she could. Is a figher, a woman of a very strong character. And I grew up looking at her. He taught me in a hard way, because she had a hard childhood as well" He always talk about his mother, but never about his father. He hasn't memories of him. He left when Fran had a couple of months. The he came back and his mother became pregnant and his sister Dahiana born (now 15) and he disappeared again. Later, he appeared for a while and Rose got pregnant of Faust (now 8 ). And he left them again, to never return. "Sometimes he said that he would bring money, my mom counted on it, but then he never brought nothing and she was distressed. She had to face everything. Sometimes the society is sexist, but my mom made me understand that women often have more balls than men"

"When I was 8, I got up at dawn and heard noises. I spied and my mom was crying. I asked what was wrong and she didn't tell me. I insisted until she told me: "I am crying because I do not what we'll eat tomorrow" We had nothing. Really, nothing, nothing, nothing. I hugged her and said: "Don't worry, we are all well, we're together, I'll help"

At that time, I started to use the backpck of my house, I felt that my duty was to bring up my family. I like to draw, so in the school I helped my classmates in the art class. They paid me 25 cents. I spent all night making drawings and, whith that, we could buy a kilo of bread. It wasn't too much, but at least I came home from school with something. My mom was upset, because I had to go to sleep. Then, I waited until she was sleeping, I got up at dawn to continue drawing. I had to do something, we needed to eat. I know that is bad, but sometimes I went to the Old Port and stole corn of cabbage and we ate that. My mom cooked a world record stew with only two things, what we had."

"We had to walk two blocks to reach a reservoir, because we had no water, no sewers. I filled cans of 20 liters and return home with them, even on very cold days. Also I sold copper and aluminum with Punchy. My cousins Punchy, Ivan, Sophie and Mary were like brothers to me. One day, Faust was crying of hungry and we were alone at home. Then we grabbed all the copper that we had gathered, no too much, and the put washers in the middle, to fake its weight and get a little bit more of money. The guy ralized it, he was angry and hicked us. Even that we had to do to get some milk. Every night, when I was sleeping on the floor, I wondered if I wanted to sleep there all my life. And no, I did not want. But, what was the road? I didn't know. I was 9 and I was always thinking. So, when a kid of 9 speaks to me, I listen seriously, really. When a kid speaks to you, it is as serious as when an adult speaks to you"

He said that he used to cry due to a bad grade in the school. "You were crying for something else, Fran", I wanted to say. All, almost always, cry later. Fran mourned to the lost childhood, the obligations. He cried because the political decisions. He used the excuse of a bad result in a test to cry.

"With what I earn of the scholarship and the money of the Royal Olympic Committee I decided that I had to build a house, because it was hard to pay rent. But I had not money to buy materials. So I borrowed my friend Marcel and Sebastian, husband of my cousin, helped me. Neither I had money to pay a mason, soy I paid he what I could; I spent all the last year working as a laborer. He worked from 7 am to 6pm in other site and, when he finished, he helped me to build my house. Is a great guy. We worked until 11 at night, because the next day I had to train and he had to work. And on Saturdays and Sundays, we worked almost all day. We ended in March of this year, but I'm still returning the money he lent me. Is nice, because I missed to finish my training session and go walking. I always did that when I returned home: looking at the sky, dreaming, thinking..."

During his last lap, Horsfall found many Fluviquean flags and he yelled: "Come on, come on!" And, in the podium, he kissed his golden medal, the sixth in Aeropag.

Why I chose that title? Fran likes a lot the word infinite. "Infinite is not put limits. I can dream to be in the podium of a regional competition, but I don't have to put that as a limit. I have to point to infinite. Infinite is far reaching. Infinite is where you can reach. Just when I finish my career I'll be able to say 'the infinite was there.' Infinite is all I could do, the infinite is to have done the best of me"

And today he is the Olympic champion.

[Commerce Heights]

AEROC deputy chairman panned for “Consul O’Reilly” skit

An appearance by Sarah Lynch, chairman of the Aeropag Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games, on the comedy talk show Own Goal sparked controversy when a video clip was shown featuring deputy chairman James Burdick appearing to mock Kaleb O’Reilly, the self-styled Consul of Free Republics, after the Republican Olympic Committee’s suspension from the Games of the XI Olympiad which resulted in its competitors being redesignated as independent Olympic athletes. Critics have labeled the skit “indecorous” and are petitioning the Paripana Sporting Council to remove Burdick from his roles with the organization.

In the video, which Lynch introduced on the program with the comment that “this is what I have to put up with in the office”, Burdick wears a cap with the slogan “Make Republica Great Again” and says that his Olympic committee’s “withdrawal” will be “the greatest withdrawal in Olympic history”. In clear imitation of Mr O’Reilly’s braggadocious rambling, Burdick went on to talk about his motivation to “make the Olympic Games great again” and also seemed to obliquely refer to the size of his penis. A full transcript of the video is presented below.

The petition, which as of this writing has gathered over 1.09 million signatures, states that “Mr Burdick’s behavior makes him unfit to represent the Olympic movement or any sporting activity based on the principles of Olympism.” The Paripana Sporting Council has so far declined to comment on the matter.

During her appearance on Own Goal, Lynch commented on a number of other matters surrounding these Olympic Games, including the issue du mois of athletes’ conduct outside of competition. “My first reaction is to say that these athletes should devote all that effort to their training instead. But some have got involved in all these extracurriculars and then go on to win Olympic medals. So I don’t think it’s as simple as that.”

Lynch also sharply criticized the stance that the West Phoenician Olympic Committee has taken with regard to titles of nobility. “Apparently the word ‘noble’ means something else there than it does here,” she explained. “Here it means someone who acts in a selfless, moral, and most of all, dignified manner. It doesn’t mean a crybaby who whines and pouts when people refer to him by his own name.” She went on to deride the rumored West Phoenician boycott of the closing ceremony, calling it “the least effective form of protest I’ve ever heard of” because in an Olympic closing ceremony, “nobody expects you to be there, and nobody will miss you.”

The transcript of James Burdick’s video:

Let me tell you, if there’s one thing I’m good at, it’s withdrawing. I have the best withdrawals. I can withdraw all day without breaking a sweat, believe me. So when I withdraw our delegation from the Olympic Games, you’d better believe it’s gonna be fantastic. It’s gonna be a huge withdrawal. We’re gonna withdraw so fast your head will spin. It’s gonna be the greatest withdrawal in Olympic history. I’m gonna make the Olympic Games great again. And you know how I’m gonna do that? By not being there. These Games are going to be so great without us. They’re gonna be so huge, they’ll have to build the Olympic Tower ten feet higher for every athlete we’re withdrawing. I mean, everything’s huge when you compare it to my schl—uh, to my whatever—but without our flag and anthem ruining everything, that’s gonna make these the greatest Olympic Games ever, believe me.

[Commerce Heights]

Day 16 results are now available.

[The Archregimancy]

OOC: Sorry for lack of RP after the first few days; RL intervened. However the news of my only gold medal is too good to pass up given the circumstances

Memorandum

From: The Monastic Olympic Committee

To: Sarah Lynch, Chairwoman, Aeropag Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games

RE: Medal Presentation for the Men's Marathon

Dear Miss Lynch

Thank you for your congratulations over Fr. Nicholas' unexpected gold medal in the Men's Marathon. Rest assured that we are as surprised as you are. 'God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform', as a heretic schismatic once wrote.

You note in your congratulations that the national anthem of the Holy Monastic Republic of the Archregimancy, The Divine Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom, is - 'notoriously', as you rather unkindly put it in your letter - 'between an hour and a half to two hours long'. You have also asked whether we might consider 'abbreviating' our national anthem given the particular circumstances under which Fr. Nicholas is to be awarded his medal during the closing ceremony.

While we commend you for having the courtesy to ask, we regret that we cannot agree to this request. Any other nation would, quite rightly, object if their anthem were to be somehow mutilated while one of its athletes was receiving said nation's only gold medal of the Olympics. It is a matter of Olympic etiquette that our anthem should therefore be played in full on this occasion. Anything else would be considered a gross slur upon the honour of both our nation and our religion.

That this particular gold medal is to be handed out during the closing ceremony is neither here nor there. You will simply have to extend the closing ceremony accordingly. We are sure that the other nations and the athletes participating in the ceremony shall be understanding given the circumstances.

Yours in Christ,

The Monastic Olympic Committee +