Day One On Skis
Day one of the XII Winter Olympics would not be written about big name Athletes in Vangaziland. This is the Empire's first official Winter Olympic delegation since the classic era of decades long past. The National Delegation is still working on the ins and outs of developing a team. There are also different strategies in place, designed to give as many athletes as possible exposure to the games.
This means you will not find sole Vangazi participating in multiple events. Instead, a mentor/protégé program is in place. The more experienced members of a particular sport's team often work with someone younger or less talented. The goal is to help the other learn.
It also puts a bit of responsibility on each athlete to compete. They have a place on the team, now and in the future. If their motivation starts to slide, their mentor is there. The coaches and other staff are also there, but the mentor's role is to be a friend or someone to trust.
The mentor is usually from the same category of sport, but may be in a different discipline. In that case, the protege may have a partner of similar skill or age. Both athletes may interact with the same mentor, there to push them into excelling at their discipline.
Some could say this program has already helped two Vannish athletes quite early in the program.
Enter Krissy Blix. She's 17 out of Northton, Vangaziland. She skies in the women's moguls event. Qualification took place on Day 1. Her partner was Samantha Auster. Neither skiier put up a great first run. Krissy landed a helicopter iron cross. She wasn't smooth in it though, stalling to cross the tips and landing with a rough bounce.
Auster had a less impressive run. Her overall run looked much less put together than Krissy's. Air is only 20% of the score. Samantha just didn't look comfortable or smooth through the turns. This led to her ranking 39th.
Krissy didn't look perfect either, finishing the first Qual run just short of making the cut. She needed a strong second run if she wanted to advance. Krissy could be seen on the sidelines talking to her coach and skiier Natalie Torquewelder. Nat is one of the more experienced freestyle skiiers on the Vannish delegation. She is representing Vangaziland in the women's aerials.
"Keep it smooth. Don't fight the flow. Relax your neck." Torquewelder had lots of advice, although her event is quite different. As a mentor, she had Krissy and Sam explain their sport to her from the skiiers perspective. Natalie has since also gave mogul skiing a shot.
"It's not for me", Natalie said jokingly to a journalist shooting a feature for an earlier domestic skiing event. "Too much emphasis is placed on turns through the moguls. I like going almost all air".
Samantha and Krissy improved for their second run. Samantha stepped up and pulled a more difficult second trick. She also improved her turning, not letting the pressure of her first Olympic run get to her. It was enough to qualify.
Up next was Krissy. Not only did she come out smooth. She was also fast, which is factored into the score. She pulled the same tricks, but improved them, really finishing the run well.
It lead to Krissy getting the highest score of the second qualification run.
Neither Krissy nor Samantha were expected to medal at these games. They'll both be happy to compete, as not qualifiying was a startingly real possibility. "The Olympics are about that heart and spirit", Natalie said about the two skiiers. "I'm proud they made it to the next round, especially with such flair."
Natalie Torquewelder doesn't compete until Day 8, so she'll be able to see her proteges compete for a medal.
Another top story of the day for Vannish citizens would take place in the men's 30km skiathlon. Filip Braaten and Olaf Sand represented Vangaziland. Things got off to a rough start when both Vangazi slipped and tumbled with a few other skiiers. It was a sloppy early set back which put both Vangazi off pace.
Sand fell back. He would later say he was in pain. "My shins just didn't feel right after that", said Olaf. "I don't know if I scuffed my skiis or something, but they just didn't feel fast."
Equipment can play a role in cross country skiing. "My equipment felt smooth", Braaten said. "I knew I had to make up time and I think that helped me put up a faster time on the first 15 klicks (kilometers).
Braaten used solid uphill techniques to make ground. He used the herringbone technique for many of the uphill portions of the classical section (first 15km), flailing his skis outward with each step. He caught up to the pack and was soon picking up the leader's pace. He found himself behind Malachi DeWitt and the leader, Frankie Bradley.
Filip couldn't make any headway past a certain point and was forced to follow the two faster skiiers for the final stretch. His effort put the -athlon in skiathlon. It was a push to the end. He was fairly surprised to finish the race with a bronze medal, especially since he was expected to be middle of the pack. His effort all came down to the past 30km. Vangaziland had secured one of the first 12 medals.
The citizens of Vangaziland will celebrate the effort of an athlete giving their best and earning a spot on the first day's podium.
