Albavona Capitol Sentinel
Olympic Brief: Day 6 brings silver medal from Ortega as rest of delegation struggles
Though Unified Beretania got off to a stellar start, many of Beretania's best winter athletes have struggled in competition the past few days. Perhaps the huge Odessa Descoteaux DNF was an omen of things to come. Or perhaps not, as many high profile events are left on the schedule for Unified Beretania, particularly with men's and women's figure skating and women's snowboarding. Beretanian medals prospects should improve in the coming days.
Despite the slump, another silver medal trickled in, this one from Aaron Ortega, in the men's alpine skiing super combined event. Ortega finished with a time of 1:53.23. Boris Romanov finished fourty fifth, with a time of 1:56.76, and Christian Horn, Beretania's best skier in the event, did not finish at all.
In men's curling, Unified Beretania lost its first match to Tropicorp, 11-3.
In the pairs figure skating short program, where the UBNOC did not consider Beretania's skaters to be competitive, Aisha Millicent Faulkner and DeVon Andrews currently sit in nineteenth with a score of 64.69. Leticia Rodriguez and Esteban Martinez are right behind them in twentieth, with a score of 64.55. Claire Pennington and Peter Sharpe were eliminated from the short program final, finishing in seventieth, with a 44.71 score. Faulkner and Andrews, as well as Rodriguez and Martinez have their work cut out for them, but all realistic expectation is that the pair cannot challenge the top of the field. The focus of the UBNOC coming into the Electrum Olympics was on Jenna Singh in the women's individual competition, and Royal Wall in the men's.
The Unified Beretania women's ice hockey team lost to Elejamie 4-0, an expected result, as support and funding from the UBNOC in ice hockey and curling has been severely curtailed prior to the Olympics.
Jessica Days came nowhere close to medaling after her third and fourth runs in skeleton. She ended up in fifty second when all was said and done. Her total time after all four runs was 3:40.40.
The biggest disappointment of Day 6 was in the women's halfpipe final in snowboarding. Tori Love, Sudeepta Maharaj and Storm Hammond were all represented in the final and knocking on the door of a medal. By day's end, Love was the top Beretanian, her score 86.50, well outside of medal range. Fan favorite Hammond sat at 82.50 in thirteenth place.
In speed skating, Bonnielee Austin-McDermon came up plenty short herself, tied for twenty fourth with Hilf au Chang of VLE in the women's 1000 m. Melanie Fichtenberg finished fifty ninth, and Virginia Bills-McCown finished at the back of the pack in seventy fourth.
The medal tally for Unified Beretania in Electrum after six days of competition is three gold, two silver and zero bronze. Unififed Beretania is one medal away from matching its tally in Cafundeu.
Athlete Bio Becky Stevens
Sport: Alpine Skiing
Hometown: Albavona
Age: 21
Becky Stevens is a humble and down to earth athlete who didn't ask to be in the spotlight. She doesn't crave attention like some in the delegation (Skyleigh Paramour, anyone?). Stevens has had the attention of the media focused on her ever since she injured her knee during competition in the Winter Universiade I in Wrycrev, Kosovakia.
You may be one of those who question why Becky Stevens has been getting so much media coverage, especially since she was never expected to challenge for a medal here in Electrum anyway. If that's you, just ask yourself this: would you be able to ski in pre-Olympic international competition, sprain your LCL, and with less than a month recovery time, turn around and prepare to compete in the Olympics? Because that's precisely what Stevens is attempting to accomplish. At twenty one, Stevens is doing what most people would never be able to do in a lifetime.
Maybe Becky Stevens is not a medal contender, but she is a brave young Beretanian and that counts for something. The risk for re-injury during her Olympic run is high, even with a knee brace for stability. And with a compressed recovery time, anything more than the isolated knee sprain Stevens suffered in Wrycrev would have crushed her Olympic dreams on the slopes of Kosovakia. While she doesn't expect to medal, Becky says what is important is that she is here in Electrum.
"Injuries are part of sports. Just having a second chance to be here in Prescott is special, and I'm so thankful to the doctors and medical staff in Kosovakia for all their help. Skiing is my life. I'm just going to ski my heart out and leave it all out there," Stevens said.
The Olympics aren't just about the medals. They are equally about the personal stories that inspire us. And for Becky Stevens, the story is about pushing herself to the limit, just for the opportunity, the privilege of competing at all, and that's why she has gotten so much attention. Becky Stevens is the ultimate underdog and Beretanians love to root for the underdog.
"It was just heartbreaking. I saw Becky fall backwards and then I saw her just sitting there on the course and I saw her grab her knee, and I knew it was serious," her father Brian recalls. He was on hand in Wrycrev to cheer his daughter on. He said being driven to the hospital behind the ambulance was the longest fifteen minutes of his life.
An injury like the one Becky Stevens had is quite rare. Usually an LCL injury occurs in combination with an ACL or MCL injury. It was quite fortuitous for Stevens because it opened a small window for her to recover enough in time to compete. She still has to work hard every day, traveling each morning into the city of Prescott for low impact physical therapy.
"She never complains. She's up bright and early every morning, enthusiastic and ready to go. She's not a quitter," said Veronica Johnson, an Albavona physical therapist that was flown to Electrum to assist Stevens.
First thing in the morning, delegation medical staff pick her up in the athlete's village and drive her into town. After a leisurely breakfast, it's down to work. Becky has been on a light physical therapy program, which is gradually being increased. She is in physical therapy until eleven in the morning, with frequent breaks in between. Following a hearty lunch in the city, Becky heads to hydrotherapy before heading back to the athlete's village to rest.
"We are throwing everything at her and Becky's a real trooper. This effort is all for one day, and it's the biggest day of her life. We are being very careful with her knee but we are pushing her to the limit. There's been times where the frustration is palpable, but still she stays positive. She doesn't hide her emotions. I just want to see those tears of frustration become tears of joy," Johnson said.
"This is my dream, and I'm so close. My dad has stood behind me all this time, and he knows I never give up. If anything, hurting my knee only makes me a stronger, better person, because I know I can overcome any challenge," Stevens said.
If her progress continues at the current pace, Becky Stevens will be cleared in time to compete on Day 13.
