XIII Winter Olympics — Roleplay thread

[The Royal Kingdom of Quebec]

Prescott Games 2033 : Koizumi Minako to be Team Quebec Flagbearer

- Image Not Available -

L.J. Bergman-Jones

5-time Quebecois Commonwealth Games medalist Koizumi Minako has been chosen to carry the Tricolour and Taegeuk for Royal Kingdom of Quebec at Sunday night's 2033 Prescott Winter Olympic Games opening ceremony.

The 51-year old native of Goose Bay, Labrador, was picked ahead of the likes of figure skater Isidore Williams and tobogganer Kweon Dong-Bin after highly competitive voting process that took 5 rounds and 2 tiebreaker stages earlier this week.

Koizumi, the 10-time Commonwealth Games medalist, is the second Quebecois to ever serve as the Quebecois flagbearer.

"Unbelievable. What an honour it is for me to represent the tricolour in the biggest of all stages," she said. "I am honoured beyond any words, to be part of history after such a long time waiting."

Koizumi, the 2004 and 2016 Commonwealth Winter Games gold medalist in women's ski jumping since its introduction in 2004 Games, has most recently won 2 gold medals in 2032 Attawapiskat Commonwealth Winter Games in women's individual normal hill and women's team event.

"It's been a career long waiting to represent the Tricolour Taegeuk in the biggest of all stages, Koizumi added. "I've ski jumped four-fifth of my life now and to mark my career with not only an appearance, but also as the flagbearer, is a huge honour. I am thankful like always, because who wouldn't?"

Following her double on national championships and national rankings, winning both the individual normal and large hill (the latter of which was dropped since then to allow her focus on olympic games), as well as a national championship title in nordic combined, Koizumi will be participating in 4 events : individual normal hill and team event for both Ski Jumping and Nordic Combined. Her participation on the Prescott Games, regardless of her results, is a feat many will remember for - just a year ago, she had to go through surgery on her both knees after a workplace accident.

While the Quebecois presence in Summer Olympic Games and the Commonwealth Games (for both summer and winter) are strong, Koizumi joins an exclusive hall of 2 athletes who enters the Parade of Nations in Winter Olympic Games. The only other member of this hall is figure skater Rodolphe-William Park who marched through the olympic stadium in Arcon, Sagueais.

A 420-person Royal Quebecois Olympic Committee selected Koizumi to be the flagbearer after each sport put forward athletes to a shortlist. The shortlist, which was later leaked to the media, was found to have Isidore Williams (Figure skating - Men's individual), Yoon Dong-Bin (Skeleton) and Kenneca Wright (Snowboarding - Women's halfpipe) as well as Koizumi herself. Given its historic significance as a Quebecois participation in olympics after 19 years off, the process was proven to be arduous and challenging.

The olympic ceremony begins at 22:30 Central Time (21:30 Manitoba Time, 23:30 Maritimes Time, 0:00 Newfoundland-Labrador Time) on Sunay night.

[Austenesia]

SPORTS SECTION | SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2017 | VOL. 69 NO 312

Team Austenesia Makes Its Debut at the XIII Winter Olympics in Electrum

The Austenesia Olympic Team Enters the Northcote Oval during the Parade of Nations at the XIII Winter Olympics in Electrum. Leading the parade and bearing the National Flag is skier Abe Graysen of Sinbad, Austenesia

PRESCOTT, Electrum - When Abe Graysen and his ninety eight fellow athletes entered the Northcote Oval for the first time during the Parade of Nations, they were making history as the team from Austenesia to participate in the Olympics. For many of these athletes, it is a proud moment for them, their families, and their hometowns as they are the first to have the chance to represent Austenesia and potentially even win the Commonwealth's first medals.

While this is Austenesia's first time participating in the Winter Olympics, it won't completely be new to many of the athletes representing Austenesia who have made their mark outside the Olympic Arena in national championships and competitions. This year's Winter Olympics delegation is fairly enormous for a first-time team and consists of 99 total members, including 56 men and 43 women.

The XIII Olympic Games venue is in Prescott, Electrum, which is hosting the Olympics for the third and, apparently, last time. During the opening ceremonies yesterday, the audience was treated to a performance that stressed international cooperation while taking viewers on a tour of the history and culture of Electrum. After a performance that included the famous Electrumite icon Grandma Gertrude, viewers were also entertained by musical performances of a native Electrumite performer named Miriam, Santiago Carillion, and Evangeline Hope. At the end of the opening ceremony, the Olympic Calderon, which was shaped in the form of a giant crystal flower, was lit by Loreen Kim, a newly retired skeleton athlete from Electrum.

Austenesia's team marched with the other teams representing almost eighty different countries during the Parade of Nations. Team Austenesia's uniform consisted of thick blue overcoats that kept them warm in the cold atmosphere of the Northcote Oval, white pants, ski hats with various patterns of elk, and dark black boots with red laces.

While many different athletes from all across in Austenesia will be competing in the Olympics during the next seventeen days, some athletes to watch include John Gersh, Marcus Anderthal, Nancy Furman, Frichard Varges, Marty Yates, and America Bahari.

John Gersh is originally from Kardash, Austenesia and is one of the youngest participants of Team Austenesia at the age of 19. A profound ice skater whose small skinny frame makes him perfect for slicing through the air, he will be competing in the 500 meter, 1000 meter, and the 1500 meter short track speed skating events along with three other teammates in the 3000 meter short track speed skating relay. Later this morning, Gersh will be participating in his first event as he participates in the 500 meter short track qualifier.

Marcus Anderthal is another famous Austenesian speed skater from Reyno who is older than John Gersh at 24 years of age but is still fairly good on the ice. While not as deft and slick as Gersh, he is often nicknamed the "Ice Beast" because of how strong and quick he is. He will be participated in two speed skating competitions including the 5000 meter one later today and 10,000 meter one.

Frichard Varges is one of the more interesting characters at the Olympics representing Austenesia in the cross country skiing events. Originally from Mossat and aged twenty four, he is known for his off the cuff remarks and his charming demeanor although he can be a bit crass at times. But on the slopes, he is a force to be reckoned with and will be participating in the freestyle, skiathlon, classical, and relay events.

Marty Yates is the chief nemesis of Frichard Varges and is arguably one of the best cross country skiers in Austenesia. Slightly older than Varges at twenty six, Yates was born and raised in the far eastern town of Fort Belizar. After community school, he chose to be a sports trainer and won multiple cross country skiing championships, often vying for titles against Varges. Now, he will be competing against Varges on the international stage in the freestyle and skiathlon events although they will join forces for the cross country relay event which should be very interesting.

Nancy Furman, originally from Portmouth, is a twenty four year old skier who will be representing Austenesia the downhill alpine skiing event. Furman is considered one of the best female alpine skiers in Austenesia but she didn't participate in the most recent national skiing championships due to some injuries she suffered in a skiing accident. While some didn't think she'd be able to qualify, Furman beat the odds and qualified to attend the Winter Olympics but this will be her first competition since her injury. Still, her previous skill and technique make her somebody to definitely watch.

Last but not least is America Bahari. While her personality and manners are nothing like that Frichard Varges, she is often called the "Mrs Frichard" due to her skill on the slopes. Originally hailing from Sheba, this twenty six year old skier has a clear opportunity at making some records and winning some medals for Austenesia in the cross country freestyle, skiathlon, and classical events.

The Winter Olympics will last from now until March 17th when they conclude with the closing ceremony. For live coverage of Team Austenesia and the XIII Winter Olympics, you can watch CBN who has purchased the broadcasting rights of the XIII Winter Olympics.

[Kalosia]

Kalosia u l'Olimpiade d'Invernu
Official coverage of the XIII Winter Olympic Games by Lë Punto Kotidianu

Let the Games Begin

Kalosia had made their Olympic debut at the VIII Winter Olympic Games in Orean, Liventia. Although a long time has passed since then, there has been a revival of interest in continued Kalosian participation at the Olympic Games. In the XII Summer Games held last year in Electrum, the Kalosian Olympic Committee (Komitatë Olimpikë Kalosiana — KOK) made its return after a prolonged hiatus with a small team of only 9 athletes, and went home without a medal, becoming one of the few nations to leave empty-handed. For this Games KOK will be sending a larger delegation of 67 athletes, in which almost two-thirds of them are part of the Kalosian hockey teams. In addition to that there will also be 18 participants in the demonstration event of Synchronized Skating. More information on these athletes to come in the following days.

Opening Ceremony

All eyes are on our fellow Rushmori friends in Electrum. And as we are guests, it appears it wouldn't feel right if we arrived in Prescott empty handed. So it appears we brought something to the table for everyone to enjoy. In this case, a Kalosian songwriter was commissioned to write a song specifically for the Ceremony. The song, called Ga-dii Waw (Come In), promotes a message of togetherness at a time where politics among other things seep into our lives and have the power to divide us — but we ourselves have the power to overcome that and live together as one. The island of Kalos was also mentioned in the song, perhaps a choice influenced by the presence of the Kalosian songwriter.
The performance was planned by a joint Kalosian-Izmeduan team, featuring the most dramatic stage effects one could ever imagine in an international-level production. Chosen to sing was indigenous Electrumite vocalist Miriam, who absolutely slayed in front of millions of viewers, both in the arena and on television. Some members of the audience were seen shedding tears, perhaps at the message or at the beauty of the performance.

The Kalosian Olympic Team was 31st to march into the arena, doing so with Sing Your Prayers Now by Michael Street playing in the background. This song was the host entry and eventual winner of the 49th WorldVision Song Contest held also in Prescott (we all know Monterra, Kalosia would go on to host the next edition). The flag bearer was Alešandru Kaľari, competing in figure skating.

Speaking of figure skating, stay tuned for more news on the sporting events as the Games unfold. The Kalosian journey in Prescott, in fact, does begin with figure skating.

[Riysa]

Leonard Perry stood outside the entrance to the Amuaplyean section of the Olympic Village.

"I wonder what it's like at the nearby ones." He thought.

He got up, going near the Risyan complex.

He saw a fellow athlete, probably from Risya, which he waved to.

Saeed strolled in a courtyard in the Athlete's Village, outside the Riyisan building, still wearing the Riysian team jacket from the opening ceremony. Even with all of the functionaries and administrators that accompanied the athletes, the Riysian delegation was still very small compared to your average team. So, not only did they get one of the smaller - and arguably fancier-looking - buildings, they got to keep an entire lounge that was part of the building. Some of the extended family of the athletes had brought decorations with them, and others had run out and grabbed art supplies across town, so it was quickly turned into a piece of home away from home. A homemade sign hung on its door, written in Arabic and English, indicating its new name - Nightingale's Nest (عش البلبل).

However, the 23 year old short-track skater wanted some time alone. Tomorrow would be the big day for him, with the short track 500 meter qualifications, and he was nervous about it. So, he took a walk around the area, trying to keep his muscles warm and his nerves calmed.

Passing on the side, he noticed someone waving at him. It appeared to be one of the Amuaplye athletes, based on the fact that he was in the Amuaplyean section of the Village. The face was that of the flag bearer - the only reason he knew this man's face, in fact. He waved back, and walked up to greet his new acquaintance.

"Good evening. I'm Saeed, from the Riysian team. Pardon me, but what is your name again?"

[Amuaplye]

Leonard Perry stood outside the entrance to the Amuaplyean section of the Olympic Village.

"I wonder what it's like at the nearby ones." He thought.

He got up, going near the Risyan complex.

He saw a fellow athlete, probably from Risya, which he waved to.

Saeed strolled in a courtyard in the Athlete's Village, outside the Riyisan building, still wearing the Riysian team jacket from the opening ceremony. Even with all of the functionaries and administrators that accompanied the athletes, the Riysian delegation was still very small compared to your average team. So, not only did they get one of the smaller - and arguably fancier-looking - buildings, they got to keep an entire lounge that was part of the building. Some of the extended family of the athletes had brought decorations with them, and others had run out and grabbed art supplies across town, so it was quickly turned into a piece of home away from home. A homemade sign hung on its door, written in Arabic and English, indicating its new name - Nightingale's Nest (عش البلبل).

However, the 23 year old short-track skater wanted some time alone. Tomorrow would be the big day for him, with the short track 500 meter qualifications, and he was nervous about it. So, he took a walk around the area, trying to keep his muscles warm and his nerves calmed.

Passing on the side, he noticed someone waving at him. It appeared to be one of the Amuaplye athletes, based on the fact that he was in the Amuaplyean section of the Village. The face was that of the flag bearer - the only reason he knew this man's face, in fact. He waved back, and walked up to greet his new acquaintance.

"Good evening. I'm Saeed, from the Riysian team. Pardon me, but what is your name again?"

"I'm Leonard Perry. I'm from Melbourne, Amuaplye."

He paused a bit, looked at the Risyan complex for a split second, and then continued.

"Is it against the rules for you to come over to my side, or vice versa? The only rules I know is that only the Biathlon athletes can have guns. Nobody else can."

[Electrum]

This is your Day 1 cut-off.

Which nations will be lucky enough to win the first medals of these games? Listen to the same music I scorinate today...

OOC: Multiple roleplays posted in the same day will be counted holistically as one 'larger roleplay' for the purposes of RP Bonus calculation

[Anollasia]

THE ANOLLASIA NATIONAL

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English edition

Sunday, February 18, 2018

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Anollasia off to a good start on Day 0

By John Henderson
Prescott, Electrum

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Anollasia started off on a good note to the XIII Winter Olympics in Prescott, Electrum, achieving 1st place in Figure Skating - Team Trophy with 24 points. In Figure Skating - Team Trophy - Pairs Short Program, Grayson Pazuk and Caroline were ranked 1st out of 33 pairs with a score of 76.31, earning them 15 points. The pair amazed the judges with their meticulous footwork, synchronized coordination, and seamless flow. In Figure Skating - Team Trophy - Men's Individual Short Program, Pierre Bournet managed to achieve 7th place, with a score of 75.31, earning 9 points. His performance was fairly impressive as well, with his footwork being very precise, but losing points for not coordinating with the music at times.

Day 0 was also the day of the Opening Ceremony, which took place in the Northcote Oval. The Anollasian athletes walked proud in the Parade of Nations, led by flag bearer Pierre Bournet as he waved the Anollasian flag for all the world to see. The Ceremony also featured a wonderful performance by Electrum's Miriam, and a performance by Santiago Carillion and Evangeline Hope. Also featured was an unconventional performance by Electrum's Gertrude Pullman, an old lady known for her songs in WorldVision and winning the gold medal in a tennis competition, and infamous for her distaste towards youth. She proceeded to rant about how "youth are diluting the quality of Olympic events" and that she "lost her slaves from Gregoryisgodistan," before being cut off. There were also cultural showcases of the nations of United Islamic Khanates, Banija, and South Covello. Near the end of the Ceremony, another unconventional event occurred when the lights dimmed and a shady Lord Almighty Gregory character appeared in a tank and charged towards innocent people. On the screen were mushroom clouds and a memorial of nations destroyed by the former country Gregoryisgodistan. In a turn of events, a man portraying the rebel John Green led people to overpower the Lord Almighty Gregory and brought back light to the stadium. They emphasized cooperation and freedom, things which are the core ideals of the Olympic Games. In the end, the Olympic Cauldron was lighted, the Olympic flag was raised, and the Olympic oath was taken.

Today is Day 1, in which Anollasia will be competing in the events of Alpine Skiing - Men's Downhill, Cross-Country Skiing - Men's 30 km Skiathlon, Figure Skating - Team Trophy - Ice Dancing Short Program, Freestyle Skiing - Women's Moguls Qualification, Ice Hockey - Women's, Luge - Men's Individual, Short Track - Men's 500 m, Short Track - Women's 500 m, Ski Jumping - Women's Individual Normal Hill, Snowboarding - Men's Slopestyle, and Speed Skating - Men's 5000 m.

Watch the XIII Olympic Games on NATV Sports, or online at http://www.natv.an.

[Cassadaigua]

Queen Cassie II Decree to Athletes, and the World:

"On this day, the 13th Winter Olympics will begin. It is with great honor and privilege that our nation returns to participation in the Olympics. They take place in the city of Prescott, Electrum, and I wish the organizers the best of luck in all of the highs and lows that come with putting on such a major show to the world. Thankfully, we know that it is in good hands. To our athletes, I want you to remember the Olympic spirit. You are here to represent the country, and you shall do it in the most dignified way possible. There will be distractions and temptations in the Olympic village, and while I want you all to be able to have fun, you need to so in a responsible way. When it comes time to play your sport, treat the opponent with honor and courtesy, as they have gone through the same hard and winding road to get where they are, in their own homeland. Naturally, we want medals, but it is most important for our nation to be represented with honor.

Good luck to you, and to all the athletes. Let's make this Olympiad the best one yet!"

[Amuaplye]

THE SYDNEY TIMES

AMUAPLYE GETS ITS 1ST GOLD MEDAL!

In Prescott today, we have exciting news.

In Men's Cross-Country Skiing, in the 30km Skiathlon, Mr. Frankie Bradley won the Gold Medal, with a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 13.7 seconds.

He beat out Malachi DeWitt from West Phoenicia, who had a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 14.7 seconds, and Fillip Braaten from Vangaziland, who had a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 17.7 seconds.

Here's our interview with him:

Reporter: How do you feel after winning a Gold Medal?

Frankie: Great. I wonder how my friends back at the Olympic Village will feel, and also my family back home in Christchurch.

R: How did it go?

F: First, Malachi was up ahead by a lot, I thought I was going to get Silver or Bronze. Then, when the transition from Classical to Freestyle occurred, we became almost neck and neck for a few minutes, then he went behind me. It was really close between Fillip and Malachi. If it was a few kilometers longer, Malachi would've placed 3rd, probably.

[Central Shaneville]

Central Shaneville off to 'Great' Start
Several Central Shanevilleans watched their TV's in awe this afternoon as their nation did battle in the Men's Biathlon 10km Sprint and the Womens Ice Hockey as the road to 'the illusive medal' begins, there was also a lot to take in this day.

The Biathlon Sprint event sure was a thing to watch this afternoon with over 100 skiiers all fighting to be in with a chance at qualifying for the Pursuit event. Amongst these was Joe Crawford of Central Shaneville, he lead his pack for most of the way, defending his place like a hawk. Which put him in 32nd Place and therefore qualifies for the Pursuit much to the delight of the Central Shaneville fans, In his interview with SHTV he said how great it felt to be at the Games and also congratulated the 3 medalists on their amazing efforts.

Meanwhile over at the Ice Hockey: The Womens team found themselves in a complete stalemate with the Main Nation Ministry despite finding their first goal early on, the opponents lashed back scoring a late equalizer during the 3rd period. There was nothing seperating the two teams on this day as Overtime came and went and with the score still at 1-1 the pressure was truly on. However it wasnt to be as Central Shaneville seemingly snapped under the pressure and a 2-0 shootout loss, but despite the loss at so late in the game. The team remain positive and thanked the Main Nation Ministry for a great debut on the ice.

Keeping with the theme of Ice, Both Men and Women of Central Shaneville were also locked in a tense Speed Skating battle in the 500m event today, it all started with a boost of confidence with BOTH Shane Wray & Tommy Vance winning their Preliminary heats which set up the rest of the competition. The women later took to the track but sadly didnt fair as well with Christine Morrisson struggling to keep with the pace as did Rebecca Macleod who had a fall during her heat and was only able to finish 3rd. Which left it all on Wray and Vance in the coming days.

Finally in the Ski Jumping, Megan Mumby-Johnson came agonisingly close to qulaifying for the final but lost out by 1 point. The Central Shanevilleans felt her emotion as she returned to her boyfriend Danny Staniar (who competes later in the games in the Mens version of the event) obviously not happy. But Overall the first day wasnt too bad for Shaneville. Both on the Biathlon course and on the speed skating track and also in the Ice hockey rink as well.

Lets hope we all have a good nights rest now and look forward to what tomorrow will bring, From Prescott we say Good Night.

[Northwest Kalactin]

Biathlon
Bad joe Howard comes second to last place in the 10KM sprint we will need to do a lot better than that next time

Bobsleigh
Nothing yet

Curling
Nothing yet

Ice hockey
The woman’s ice hockey team wins 2-1 over a team from the royal kingdom of Quebec let’s continue this

Luge
James Washington didn’t bring his best game this time finishing in spot 126 he needs to improve next time

Skating
Garret Pearson puts up a good score in the Men’s 500m with second place out of fourth in his qualifying group in Womans 500m Martha Conner wins her group that is the skating news

Skiing
First of all Javier Pratt does not do well placing 89tg in the men’s downhill other than that nothing happened

Snowboard
No news

Demenstration events
The Northwest Kalactin Mens bandy team has a bye this round a win will be good tomorrow

[Vilitan Union]

The Report from Prescott :: Onalinto Eyes Podium Position in Luge

For the third consecutive games of the winter olympiad, the opening ceremonies had concluded in Prescott, Electrum. The consistency of location of Winter Olympic Sports has caused an influx of international athletes to live and train in and around Prescott instead of back in their home countries. One such competitor is Vilitan luge star Osterrazi Onalinto who has spent the past two years training in Prescott ahead of the Olympic Games.

On the opening day of the 13th Winter Olympiad, all the training finally paid off. A slight bobble on their opening run was compensated for on the second run when Onalinto posted one of the fastest times of the day and after two runs found themselves sitting less than a tenth of a second off the medal podium in fourth place.

While Winter Sports would not seem to be the most obvious past-time in the Tropics of Vilita, some of the mountainous areas in the center of the country can see snowfall and winter sports enthusiasts - particularly those inspired by the Vilitan teams unexpected stardom at the Arcon, Saugeais games, have dreamed of Olympic Gold ever since. On the North side of the Vilitan mainland, Yeaddin has become a hotbed of Winter Olympic training including some aquatic centers where athletes can practice their jumps and tricks into a pool for safety and sliding tracks where athletes like luge competitor Osterrazi Onalinto could get their start.

Some even wondered if a joint Yeaddin / Inland olympic bid could be in the works for the future but officials in Yeaddin downplayed the idea citing a lack of true Winter Sports facilities to cover the massive influx of competitors that the Winter Olympic Games attracts.

Onalinto was not the only Vilitan luge competitor on the opening day but Jualzk Nauosla was nearly three-quarters of a second behind in 31st place after two runs and Intripo Akson was a full second off the pace in 43rd position. Both athletes are likely out of medal contention and may be looking to follow Onalinto in bunking and training year round in the modern day home of the Winter Olympics in the land of the Golden Butt - Prescott.

Osterrazi Onalinto's performance in Luge was one of the few bright spots for Vilita or Turori on the opening day of competition. In Men's Short Track speed skating Akitana Ruta was Penalized for unauthorized use of hands during the Preliminary Round 6 event, trying to create distance between himself and Bert Heldorsson in a qualifying position. The judges were not fooled and Ruta was penalized and will not advance in the competition.

In an event the Vilitans were expected to shine in, only Kristofilis Emajari would advance to the next round. Meanwhile, a pair of Turorian skaters - Tukaovka Mkaonoaf'aoo and Cocoabo #W21 will be seen in the second round of competition on merit.

There were some concerning signs that some Vilitan athletes were already starting to lose control at the games as the always unpredictable Aksep Su Magaza-Vilamakapita was seen lamenting the fact that not only did they finish 15 seconds off the pace in the Men's 5000m Speed Skating event - they couldn't even post a time faster than Cocoabo #W27 of Turori. No one expected much from the Cocoabo as they are most certainly not well suited for Winter Sports, and they haven't produced much thus far either, which made the fresh wounds all the more salty for Magaza-Vilamakapita who's ice-side meltdown went viral with the hashtah #CocoaboH8r . Magaza-Vilamakapita has yet to make a statement regarding the comments. Some are expecting an apology and a donation to the Cocoabo Preservation Society to be announced in the coming days, others however are supportive of the sentiment expressed by Magaza-Vilamakapita and expect no statement or conciliatory action to be taken as a result of the flap.

[Taeshan]

A Team and a Dream: The Story of the Taeshan Olympic Team

For the Taeshan Olympic team the opening day seemed a positive one with two events having possible medalists. Notably John Reigns competing in the Downhill skiing, and Martin Salvetieri in the 5000 Meter speed skating. For his part Reigns did everything he could to get his first ever medal with an impressive time, but ultimately fell only .04 seconds off of the podium. This result will hopefully fire up the skiing team on the hill as they look to add to their impressive hauls in those events historically. The other medal favorite was Bayern's Martin Salvetieri in the 5000 meter speed skating. With a late draw, he would have to wait and see what time he had to beat.

After watching teammate Ashton Walker fail in his race, Salvetieri stepped up late needing to beat a time of 6 minutes and 15.01 seconds. And 6 minutes and 15 seconds later he did just that. With an incredible skate he managed to beat Giergo Mazaro's skate by literally a tenth of a second in perhaps one of the closest skates in the history of the event. The medal is naturally the first of the games for the nation, and if a start like this can be continued elsewhere in the games it is a sign of good things to come for the athletes in Purple and Gold.

Outside of these two events other Taeshani hopefuls did of course take the field. In non-medal events Porter Scarpino advanced in his 500 m short track first qualifying round. Both Taeshani women's ski jumpers managed to advance with Erin Finito the last of 60, and Martha Connors 22nd in the normal hill qualification. Aramis Ashante sits almost two seconds after two Luge runs and his chances of replicating his previous medal in the event seems to be dwindling, though comebacks are known to happen if speed is found. Ashley Morgenstern qualified directly to the Women's Moguls final and will hope to become the first Taeshani women to earn a medal in the event, joining Ryan Barrios and Edward Wentzel. Finally the Taeshani Ice Dance team failed to score any points for the team Figure Skating event, and the chances of a Taeshan medal there seem all but impossible at this juncture.

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Downfall of Thorstein Call

Thorstein Call was prone to make some bad decisions. Firstly, he got drunk on Day 1 of the Winter Games, where he didn't even realize that he was going to compete today. Even when the bodyguards of Main Nation Ministry found him, he demanded to take on the slope style. On top of a hill in front of a series of obstacles that stood below him, he was too egotistical to believe he could win. When it was time, he went down the hill and...gone yellow-bellied. Playing it too safe and the alcohol in his system, he only scored a merely 23 points with a proud achievement of attempting a back flip on the first ramp, only leaning back too far and having his back hit the snow, before pressing on. It was no surprise that he was given last place. When the Ministry checked to look for problems, Call's breath have an immediate answer.

The Truth News

Medal Achieved!

"Some exciting news! Brendon Paristein here. After coming back from a disastrous slope style event, I'm here to report on the success of our nation's recent victories. At Women's Ice Hockey, Central Shaneville had an early goal, however this immediately provoked our team into going for an equalizer. Around that time, it was complete 1-1. The whole arena was tense. Everyone was on the edge of my seats. Then, the pressure got into Central Shaneville, as Main Nation Ministry scored 0-2, winning the game. Despite the loss, there was great sportsmanship, as both teams thanked each other.

In other news and the most important of them all, at today's Biathlon - Men's 10 km Sprint, Oswell Villacorta managed to get a bronze medal for his excellent time of 24:15.0. Oswell, himself knew he needed to push himself and he managed to just do that. The bronze medal is currently the first medal that Main Nation Ministry gotten so far. This is completely useful, as it unlocks more hope and luck for Main Nation Ministry. This is Brendon Paristein, signing off!"

[West Phoenicia]

West Phoenician Fans cheer first Medal

Malachi DeWitt has done it again!

Malachi DeWitt obtains first medal for Team West Phoenicia...

The 24 year old from Autumn Falls; West Phoenicia competed in the Cross-Country Skiing — Men’s 30 km Skiathlon. He had a lot to prove to himself and the nation of West Phoenicia.

In the XII Winter Olympics, he pulled off some fancy skiing to slide into second place winning the first medal for 30 km Skiathlon in a winter sport for the nation. While it was silver was not a problem, the nation had only begun entering in international Winter Sports, so a win was a win in their eyes. West Phoenicia was determined to climbed the mountain to be recognised on the world stage as a team to know when it came to sports.

Malachi went on to compete at the Federations Council Winter Games last year where he pulled in a bronze medal in the 30 km Skiathlon that disheartened him, feeling it was a major step back when he wanted to move forward. He continued to pursue his dream of pulling in a gold win.


Flash forward to the XIII Winter Olympics. Back at Prescott, Electrum with a determination to outdo his last performance. Same nation, same sport different outcome...

Malachi was in top perform going into the race, he had even missed out on the Opening Ceremony due to coaches order to get more rest before his race. It was not as if he could sleep, the noise of support staff watching the game down the hall woke him, and the nerves had engulfed his stomach. All this training and sacrifice coming down to this moment.

Day One was always a bundle of nerves, there was nothing worse, travelling all the way to a foreign nation, in front of fans and spectators only to not place and be sent home. Day 1 was where it all began.

He finished with a finish time of 1:15:14.7, just barely missing out from a gold medal by a hare's breath. Tears in his eyes as he spoke to West Phoenician report Susana Hasselback in the past game interview.
His desire to retire pushed back as he vowed he would not retire until he pulled in a gold medal for West Phoenicia and his own worth.

So who did win?

Frankie Bradley of Amuaplye a nation that West Phoenicia has never heard of pipped him at the post with a result of 1:15:13.7


Malachi knew in future runs it was during the transition zone stage where he crossed over to the Freestyle technique that constantly threw him off his game. During the Classical technique he was ahead of the pack, only to fall behind when he needed to make the cross over.

[Main Nation Ministry]

At the Olympic village, Oswell Villacorta was celebrating his bronze medal while he was being crowd-surfed by his own team. "I can guarantee that all of the rest of the team will succeed, just like us! The Leader would be proud, I know it!" Oswell said, as Brendon Paristein was trying to push his way pass the crowd to get an interview from him. However, some of the Leader's guards positioned near where the team was staying grabbed him by the collar, throwing him out of the crowd, face first into the snow nearby.

Thorstein Call was standing a couple feet away from the crowd, as his expression was in complete anger and envy. Brendon got up and saw Thorstein, wanting an interview. "Mr Thorstein, could you tell me your experience with Day 1 of the Winter Games?" Brendon said, calmly before Thorstein punched him in the eye, leaving it bruised. After Thorstein walked away, Brendon was rubbing his eye.

[Austenesia]

XIII Winter Olympics - Day 1 Highlights

---

CBN Press Room - Prescott, Electrum

MILLER: Good Evening, I'm Zack Miller of CBN News and I am here tonight with my co-host, Anisha Holt with our first edition of the CBN Olympic Report, covering the 13th Winter Olympics in Prescott, Electrum.

HOLT: Yes, it was a great start today as many events from skiing to speed skating to hockey had their first matches and qualifier rounds today. We'll do a short Olympic preview of the events of the day and who won what.

MILLER: The first event of the day was the Men's Downhill event in Alpine Skiing. Austenesia had three participants in the event including 23 year old John Hundy of Mishicot Gardens, 22 year old Gregory Watson of Sinbad, and 22 year old Thomas Overfeld of Hiremath.

HOLT: Yes, Zack. The Men's Downhill event was actually done in Timberline at Alfred Marley's Park and roughly 163 athletes total competed for the fastest time. This event was a medal event so the top three fastest times would receive medals.

MILLER: Unfortunately, none of Austenesia's three skiers were able to place in the top three. The gold medal winner of Men's Downhill was Zach Williams of Unified Beretania who had a time of one minute and 54.31 seconds. Silver went to the Alinghi Federal Democratic Republic and bronze went to Savojarna.

HOLT: Gregory Watson had the best time of the three Austenesia participants with a time of 1 minute and 55.01 seconds, which ranked him 26th. Thomas Overfeld was ranked 38th with a time of 1 minute and 55.25 seconds while John Hundy came in at the end with a rank of 118 and a time of 1 minute and 58.47 seconds.

MILLER: While both Hundy and Overfeld are still up to compete in the slalom, this was Gregory Watson's only Olympic event and the first one for Austenesia so he's got to be disappointed even though he finished higher than his two countrymen?

HOLT: True. In the next highlight, we will go up to the Mount Buckley National Park where the Men's 30 km Skiathlon took place. Austenesia was represented by two famous cross country skiers in their own rights, Frichard Varges and Marty Yates. Varges, a prominent cross country skier from Mossat, is fierce rivals with Marty Yates of Fort Belizar and they have consistently competed against each other in past national tournaments although this is their first time on the national stage.

MILLER: Ninety eight athletes total participated in this event which wound its way around Mt Buckley and neither athlete from Team Austenesia got any medals although they certainly came close. Amuaplye's Frankie Bradley took gold with a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 13.7 seconds. He was followed by West Phoenicia's Malachi DeWitt, who got silver with a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 14.7 seconds, and Vangaziland's Filip Braaten who won bronze with a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 17.7 seconds.

HOLT: Frichard Varges came in seventh place with a time of 1 hour, 15 minutes, and 24.9 seconds which wasn't bad.

MILLER: Yes, he was actually doing pretty well and at one point, he was tied for second place with DeWitt but made some mistakes near the end that caused him to lose his lead. Still, his finish was a significant improvement over that of his rival, Yates, who did not even finish, having stumbled and tripped at the very beginning. If we watch the replay footage, we can see that one of his skis actually comes off, causing him to trip and fall on his place. He eventually got his skis fixed but by then, it was too late for him to make any progress so he quit the race.

HOLT: Well that's some tough luck for Yates but we bet he can definitely do better in the next events. Varges has gotta be disappointed too that he didn't get a medal but he came awfully close and at least finished the race at a respectable time.

MILLER: Yes he did, Anisha. We'll have more on Day 1 Highlights from the XIII Winter Olympics after this short commercial break.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

MILLER: Welcome back everyone. Our Olympic Highlights journey next takes to the Landry's Arena in central Prescott where the Women's Ice Hockey teams played qualifying rounds. Austenesia's Ice Hockey team played the Free Swiss States and beat them 3 - 0 in a pretty clear blowout.

HOLT: This round was clearly a good warm up game for the Austenesia Women's Ice Hockey team as the Free Swiss States' team was poorly organized. Still, it is in fact concerning that they were only able to score three points against the Free Swiss States.

MILLER: I think the Free Swiss States actually had an okay offense, either that or our Women's Ice Hockey team really needs to improve their offense skills. Regardless, the first point was scored early on during the first period by Kathy Morris and was actually a pretty long shot from the center of the rink. The Free Swiss States's goalie attempted to stop the pick but instead tripped and fell on her face in the opposite direction of the goal net.

HOLT: It was funny, funny when it shouldn't be of course. Throughout the game, the Free Swiss States' team exhibited themselves as a comedy of errors as they tried seven times to shoot a goal in the first period but failed due to a strong defense led by Jennifer Borat and Padme Offren. Offren really did a great job and turned over the puck three times back into Austenesia's hands. It was impressive.

MILLER: Truly impressive. The Free Swiss States' defense did actually prevent the Austenesia Women's Team from scoring during the second period, which was pretty amazing given how terrible they had just played earlier but by the third period, you could tell their small team had been overworked and overstretched. Tara Soprano scored the second goal at the beginning of the third quarter and she was followed by Kathy Morris who scored the third and final goal of the game near the end.

HOLT: The good news then is that the Austenesia Women's Ice Hockey Team will advance to the second round against Kelssek. The two two teams advance from each group and given how poorly the Free Swiss States played, it is very likely that the Women's Ice Hockey Team will make it to the knockout stage. Our next stop is the qualifying rounds for the men and women's 500 meter short track speed skating events that were held in Prescott's Ice Palace.

MILLER: In the Men's 500 meter qualifier rounds, Austenesia was represented by John Gersh of Kardash, Todd Welza of Portmouth, and Louis Handon of Devana City. Welza qualified in one of the first rounds with a time of 42.435 seconds, edging out Edwardo Edris of Eastfield Lodge who fell behind with 1 minute and 4.119 seconds although Kannap's Matthew Claxton did better with a time of 41.252 seconds.

HOLT: Louis Handon did even better, beating everyone in his round with a time of 41.111 seconds, the next closest racer to him was Jasper Ahn of Quebec. Handon's qualifier score was pretty phenomenal and was even better than John Gersh who was named as one of the athletes to watch by the Austenesia Sentinel. Gersh had a time of 41.646 seconds and came in second behind Tukaovka Mkaonoaf'aoo of Turori. End of the day, all three of Austenesia's participants qualified for the 500 meter heat however and we'll see how they do in the next rounds.

MILLER: In the Women's 500 meter qualifying rounds, Austenesia was represented by Kylee Fisher of Mishicot Gardens and Jeanette Coberra of Sinbad. Kylee Fisher qualified with a time of 44.078 seconds, coming in behind Amuaplye's Sue Fernandez who had a time of 43.936 seconds. Unfortunately for Jeanette Coberra, she didn't qualify with her time of 44.244 seconds, having come in third behind Mattijana's Katija Lumana. This means that in the Women's 500 m short track speed skating event, Austenesia will be represented by Kylee Fisher alone. Please stay tuned in for more from Prescott after this short commercial break.

COMMERCIAL BREAK

MILLER: Welcome back to our last segment of our coverage of the first day of the XIII Winter Olympics in Prescott, Electrum. The Women's Normal Hill Ski Jumping event had their qualifiers today at the Etienne Jumping Center near Mount Buckley. According to the rules of the game, the top fifty athletes with highest jump scores would advance to the next round.

HOLT: Austenesia was represented by two women, Anna Ferguson of Sinbad and Christina Demwurst of Haylowe, who will also be representing Austenesia in the Women's Large Hill Ski Jumping event as well. Both women got scores in the top fifty, meaning they have both qualified to move onto the next round as well. Demwurst was ranked 12th with a score of 131.5 while Ferguson was ranked 45th with a score of 122.5. This was probably due to some errors Ferguson made which caused to also lose distance although it was still enough to get her qualified.

MILLER: Yes, she's lucky but she definitely has to content with some serious skilled athletes. The highest score went to Falkasia's Valka Mogen who scored a 141.5.

HOLT: Meanwhile at the Prescott SkateDome, the men had their 5000 meter speed skating event. While Marcus Anderthal was often seen as a strong contender, having even earned the nickname "Ice Beast" from his domination of the speed skating arena in Austenesia, he seems to have finally met his match here in Prescott. Despite getting off to a strong start, he quickly began to fall behind the rest moving from second place all the way to 33rd place, finishing with a time of 6 minutes and 27.80 seconds.

MILLER: That truly is bizarre. In fact, Anderthal was actually ranked as one of the top players to watch by the Austenesia Sentinel as well. Commentators are still bewildered as why Anderthal didn't even finish in the top ten and some are speculating he might have a hip injury of some sort while others just think he wasn't prepared enough.

HOLT: Well we can speculate all day but the truth of the day is that Taeshan's Martin Salvetieri won gold with a time of 6 minutes and 15 seconds. He was closely followed by Mattijana's Giorgo Mazaro who won silver with a time of 6 minutes and 15.01 seconds and by Mercedini's Sam Oika who won bronze with a time of 6 minutes, 16.5 seconds.

MILLER: Well that concludes our Day 1 Highlights for the XIII Winter Olympics in Prescott. Tomorrow's events in which Team Austenesia will be participating include the qualifiers for men's moguls, men's ice hockey, short track, speed skating, and ski jumping. Stay tuned for more updates and we'll see you tomorrow. Until then, you can follow us online and get live updates and event results from our website, CBNSports.Com. I am Zack Miller.

HOLT: And I am Anisha Holt reporting live from Prescott with CBN.

[Willania Imperium]

Imperial News Network: From Around the World to Home

---

The 2018 Winter Olypics - Day 1

IMPERIALOPOLIS:As the first day of the Olympics begins, athletes from around the world huddle in their barracks, waiting for a chance of glory for themselves and their nation. Even in this theme of co-operation, a feeling of competition can be felt in the air. Who'll win the gold? And who'll come out with nothing? Now, at the end of it all, the tension can end, for the results are here.

16 tournaments have been conducted today. From alpine skiing, to speed skating, and even biathlon, a wide range of sports have been conducted, and many with pride or shame. First off, alpine skiing. Men's downhill had 162 of the multiverse's finest skiers compete together under the watchful eye of the judges. 2 people were disqualified, and 12 male skiers sadly didn't finish their times. 33 people had ties, with 3 of them having their own 3-way tie. But, after some time, the medalists are finalized. Jussi Urvalainen of Savojarna won Bronze with a time of 1:54.47. Silver was rewarded to Vonnegut Dinpaoli Edgardo of the Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic, just inching out of bronze by just 0.02 seconds. And Gold, the real glory of them all,
was won by Zach Williams of Unified Beretania, beating the competition with 1:54.31.

In biathlon, athletes from 156 nations join to attend the Men's 10km sprint, including our own nation. This time, only one player didn't finish, and there were no disqualifications. Sadly, our male players failed to win any medals, with only the highest, achieved by Quintus Flaccus, in 57th place. A crushing blow to morale. Oswell Villacorta of the Main Nation Ministry won Bronze with 24:15. Sasho Kozar of the Laiatanese Federation won Silver with 24:07.3, 7.7 seconds less. And Gold, the glory of the Olympics, was won by M. Saleh al-Homsi, with 24:05.2.

In speed skating, 89 skaters came together to compete for Men’s 5 000 m. However, 2, one from Savojarna and one from Eastfield Lodge, were disqualified for unknown reasons, though unofficial rumors claim it was due to drugging. However, 87 competitors went in, and each gave their best for the prize. Sam Oika of Mercedini won Bronze with 6:16.50. Giorgo Mazaro,
winning with by over 1 second, won Mattijana the Silver. And Martin Salvetieri of the The Royal Kingdom of Quebec won Gold by the slimmest margin, beating Mazaro by just 0.01 seconds.
A close call, for sure.

These are merely some of the tournaments enacted today. For more on the team tournaments, watch the XIII Winter Olympics on INN or visit our news website on http://www.imperialnewsnetwork/olympics.wi.

---

Quintus Flaccus walked with a heavy heart in the Olympic Village. Here he was, the pride of the Imperium, brought here to this very sport to bring glory for his nation. And what did he do? Earned 57 in the competition. Granted, his fellow companions did horrendously worse. Thurinus got 77th, Egilius got 86th, and Obellius managed to get himself in the triple-digit category. Still, even though he relatively did better than his friends, he knew that his nation wouldn't be less forgiving.

Months and months of preparation, though Quintus. I never let myself indulge in distractions, nor have I ever tried my hardest. My family was there to encourage me, my friends took time to help me, and even my wife, "uxor mea," took time from her friends to be there for me. The Emperor himself met me and told me to try my hardest. The Emperor himself! And what do I have to show for it? A blasted double-digit rank!

Here, Flaccus stopped and looked down. Even the cold didn't encourage him to move. He stood there like a statue, watching everything pass around him. But within him, turbulent waves of emotion smash between his walls. And some of those waves almost manage to escape in tears. No, declared the mind of the Imperial, I won't cry. My ancestors, the Romans, would never cry; in the face of adversary, in the threat of death, even in the worst of times, we held our ground. We refused to give in to the enemy. We would either win or die while they tried. Here, the cold starts to lose its feeling. The body was just too warm, flushed with heat and anger. The storm has turned into a hurricane, and the emotions or anger, sadness, and disappointment swirled into a fury of energy, wishing to be released in some way, destructive or not.

Pow!!!

Flaccus turned to see, not far off, a fellow man punching another in the eye. Now, the storm quickly subsided into worry as Flaccus felt his body, which failed to win him medals for his nation, dash to help his fellow man. However, before he could reach them, they were gone. Just like that.

What happened? inquired Flaccus. His head swerved to the left, just in time to see the fleeting glance of a man's face. He had no idea who he was, but it still looked familiar. It was as if he could see something like him. It wasn't the eyes, nor the mouth. It wasn't the ears, nor the nose. No. It was the expression that Flaccus recognized. An expression of rage over a lost tournament. An expression of fury over disappointing his country. An expression of hatred.

Flaccus stood, turning his head back to the middle. He could see his country's designated place, in front. He once again tried to remember the Emperor's words. He said to do his best, but something was lingering. What? What did he say?

"Try your hardest..."

I did! I did!

"Try your hardest..., but

But? But what?

But... but...

But don't make a fool of yourself? But don't lose?

But remember not to take it too seriously

Flaccus felt an emptiness in his head. The fury within him has subsided into a calmness, and the waves have lost their energy. This rage, this anger to himself, was never supposed to form. The Emperor didn't care if he won or not. His family wouldn't. His wife wouldn't. Here, in the Olympics, while winning would've been preferable, his nation would still accept him if he lost. He was still an Imperial, proud and true. He was still the best they have, and even if they didn't win, he was still the pride of the Imperial Republic. He was still in the Olympics, after all! How many people don't get to have the chance? It was still a privilige to even be here, and Flaccus realized how, despite this loss, he was still one lucky man.

Flaccus felt a smile crawl up his face. However, a shiver also crawled down his spine. Realizing the biting cold, Flaccus started to move back to the Imperial place. Even if I lost this battle, I have another chance. And this time, I'll grab it. Populum meum! For my nation!

[Alinghi Federal-Democratic Republic]

[West Phoenicia]

The Cats Meow

Hello darlings,

Norma Mansfield is back to give you all the behind the scenes drama of Team West Phoenicia at the XIII Winter Olympics.

In a recent poll in West Phoenicia 1 in 4 West Phoenicians admitted they only watched the West Phoenician athletes competiting overseas for the drama and the scandals.
In a world of reality programs dominanting the televisions it is no wonder people switch on with a bucket of popcorn to watch eagerly hoping to see some delicious drama that can be discussed over the water cooler at work the next day or in between soap operas and the ironing.

Who can forgot the slap that stopped a nation? Peggy Overlord, winner of the bronze medal at the First Summer Paralympics slapping team mate Hannah Ascot. If that was not dramatic enough when confronted at a bar by an Electrum reporter she tossed her drink over him and slapped bim in the face for daring to ask why did she slap Hannah Ascot.

And who can forget poor Backstroke Swimmer Margie Brixton being viciously assaulted with sexual contraceptives as she sat by the pool reading 50 shades of Grey. Or female members of the West Phoenician swimming squad in retribution flashing the very pious athletes of The Archregimancy after they labelled Margie Brixton a fallen woman.

So many dramas and not enough martinis.

Fans are gearing up for the XIII Winter Games and are glued to their televisions for the next installment of drama.

To get the ball rolling I dedicate this edition to Trey Berri, gold medalist of the 5000m speed skating back in XII Winter Olympics. Who was back at these games vowing to pull in another gold medal.
Winning gold once is a triumph, returning to the next games with hopes of repeating his spectacular skate would be a miracle.


Even before the Opening Ceremony where West Phoenicians poke fun at the abnormal ways many nations dress, whether loud and gaudy or peasant garb, as some poorer nations spend the yearly tax revenue on sending their one player to this tournament in the hopes of them bringing home a medal and placing their nation on the map. Trey Berri was acting like a class a asshat.

Oh... speaking of the opening ceremoney, We still want to forget North Eurasian Unified Sporting Team XI Summer Olympic Op shop coture..bogan..coture..no bogan look. And fans eyes are still recovering from the lime green outfit worn by the Mattijana men at the same games; think Jospeh and the Amazing techno Color dreamcoat but just in green.
West Phoenicians were dressed stylish and classy not at all like a snowflake and a Christmas tree having offspring outfits of the last Winter games.

But back to Trey Berri, he boycotted the games because he didnt get his own way. He wanted to be the flag bearer but that was given to Princess Nephthys Bush-Dallas, also a gold medal winner.
Yes her uncle is the king of West Phoenicia, but she earned her spot and in the name of diversity she was the best choice.

After his hissy fit and refusal to attend the Opening Ceremony which was not as spectacular as the previous years also held in Prescott, he reported to the arena to take part in the 5000m Speed Skating arena.
Never one to miss a photo opportunity he posed long enough to get some snaps by the media and again wailed nepotism to anyone willing to listen about how upsetting it was not to carry the flag and if he won today he would refuse to have the West Phoenician flag raised as the medal ceremony when he claimed his second gold.


Trey could not replicate his last glory, he fell behind and placed 14th or something like that. When it was clear he would not place 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th I will stop now. I tuned out and focused more on popular West Phoenician Reporter Susana Mattressback, dressed in a short white dress with mink stoll..I mean Hasselback who is here in Prescott reporting on the mundane sport results and sipping down coctails at the Prescott Bars with members of the West Phoenician Mens Hockey team who are celebrating their victory against home nation Electrum. No wait that's the women's team that kicked butt today. Obviously the men's hockey team is in pre-celebration mode for their up coming match, believing a kiss from Susana Hasselback will bring them luck as well as a 3 page spread in the next edition of West Phoenicia Sports Weekly.

Trey Berri of course was quick to cry on Miss Hasselback shoulder blaming the flagbearer debacle on his loss. And vowing it was his time to retire. Let us hope he slinks away quietly and quickly. West Phoenicia is about winners not whingers.

[OIsINiSTAn]

Oisinistan failed to gain a single medal on the first day of Olympic events, in a disappointing turn of events.

SUMMARY:

In the men's downhill Alpine skiing, Jack Gallagher did best from our representatives, coming 72nd. The other competitors, Luke Griffin, Eric Gallagher and Cormac Foley came 96th, 106th and 111th.

In the biathlon we had slight success with Chris Brady coming 41st, thus coming in the top 60 and qualifying. However, Max Boyle, Niall Barry and Eoin Brennan couldn't manage the same, coming 73rd, 94th and 148th.

In the skiathon, Brendan Maguire came 71st, and John Lyons failed to complete.

In the first two runs of the men's luge, Paul Carroll made 69th, Aidan Casey came 83rd and Brian Clarke was 122nd of 130.

In the short track, we had two out of three qualifiers, with Mark Connor and Ciaran Connors winning and coming 2nd in their respective heat, but Darren Corcoran crashed out of his heat in last, albeit in a respectable time.

In snowboarding, MJ Walsh, Rory Walsh, Luke Walsh and Daire Sweeney all failed to come top 24, and were eliminated.

And in the speed skating, Andrew Egan came a respectable 49th, but Kieran Farrell disappointed, coming 82nd of 90.

QUOTES FROM COMPETITORS:

Mark Connor: 'Well I was quite surprised I'd won my heat, it was a few seconds off my best time but I'm delighted to say the least. The next round will be another challenge, as some of the strongest athletes in this sport in the world will take a lot of beating.

Eoin Brennan: 'I feel disappointed after this result, but in all honesty this result was down to only myself. I couldn't compete against the stronger athletes, and I'm sorry for that.'


TOMORROW:
Tomorrow there will be more Oisinistani athletes competing, we hope for at least one medal tomorrow.

[United Islamic Khanates]

“Good run, Kamo, well done.”

Kamoliddin Bakaev would remember those words, they would be engraved in the back of his mind for eternity. Maybe because they were spoken on a historical day, in a unique place in his career. Possibly due to the fact that they came after what, in hindsight, would turn out to be his best five kilometres on skates ever. But mainly because, somehow, those had been the only truly heartfelt words - the few that didn’t seem to come out of a big pit of despair and anger - from Matvey Urinboev that day.

It was still early at the SkateDome and one didn’t need to effort to find empty spots in the stands. Understandably, as even the most apt of organisations could not avoid that allowing 89 skaters their moment in the sun - proverbial, of course, the Zambonis already have enough work to keep the bloody thing clean - took hours on end. Only a good hour of what would be nearly an all-day session had passed and whilst the international audience still awoke, the Khanati spectators at home swapped channels after a stellar run which brought Bakaev in an early lead. When Urinboev walked up, nonchalant as ever, nearly all of his compatriots kept their focus on the cross country skiers who were still up for a medal at that point. They were unaware what they were missing and still in oblivion that they would witness one of the biggest sports dramas of the nation - but that’s a story for a different time.

Those in the know were quite surprised to see, alongside the track, only the coach of the Vekaiyun Lyasokuri. The man himself knew the ropes as it wasn’t his debut in Prescott but still looked a little stunned when Urinboev started to yell ahead of the start. Instead of focusing on the gun, he cried out some nonsense to spectators (”Whaddaya want? Ice! When do you want it? Nooooow!”), his competitor (”Chilly day for ice skating, no? Mwahaha!”) and even the starter (”Are you then a stopper in your spare time or what?”) - the poor woman looked around for a few seconds whether any official would get this lunatic off the ice but as the broadcast responsible indicated that there was a schedule to follow, she send the duo on their quest.

Neither really got a decent start and the stands almost wondered why on earth they had bothered at this time of the day. And then Urinboev clocked a 30.0 in his third lap. And a 29.9 in the next. And another 29.9. Whilst his direct opponent struggled on the day, Matvey looked didn’t just look like a genuine athlete for six minutes - he looked like an unbeatable one. With each lap, the green digits on the bottom of the television screen raised and raised and even if he cracked a little for the last 400 metres, he dived below six minutes and nineteen seconds. A time that could rival for the top ten, maybe even more, by a man hardly considered a contestant.

Usually, a competitor with a good result waves to the crowd for a second, maybe clench his fist once before calmly taking to the inside of the ice. No such thing for Urinboev, who considered it the perfect time for some sort of victory lap - even if victory was still miles away. After twice going round the SkateDome, pointing and waving, it took the calm and friendly approach of a steward to get him off the ice. Some thought it was the end of the show - it was just the beginning.

Enthusiastically, he grabbed the camera and lured him to the corner of the rink centre where the Khanati either changed gear, warmed up, cooled down or simply wasted time awaiting their turn.

“Here’s Kamo, he’s a fine guy,” he grinned to the multiverse, “and this”, as he planted himself in one of the chairs around, “this is now the hot seat! Welcome to my spot, multiverse!”

It was the start of a full hour in which the cameraman cleverly kept coming back to Urinboev, who split his time between taking swigs from a flask of liquor he somehow managed to smuggle into the arena and commenting on everything going on… ”Ooow, that’s a poor run by that fellow. Can’t beat Matvey!”, ”Damn, that Whitmore - seems like Garland is becoming old cake!” up to ”Close call, Orfood… But I’m waving the flag today.”

Most of the time was spent of the right side of the small border between bizarrely funny and painfully awkward - but when Saybek Rushaev tried to spare the nation from any further embarrassment.

“What’s the matter Saybek?”
“Com’on Matvey, let’s get inside and…”
“So now we’re talking again. Can you believe that, Mark” - yes he had gotten on a first-name basis with the camera guy already - “First he doesn’t even want to stand on the ice if I skate and now… He used to be my coach to the bronze. You see, I do quite well without him, right. And he used to be my friend… Hey. Hey! Saybek, why you going away? I drink to you mate!”

And with a mighty swig, he bottomed another drink. The festival kept on lasting, even after a magical run in which experienced cats Oskar Costello and Giorgo Mazaro pushed one another to new heights and the two fastest times. Enthusiastically, he invited the skaters from Neu Engollon and Mattijana to join in and ‘have a drink, mate’.

However, bit by bit, it got the last of it. As the tension rose on the ice, the camera panned back to him less - moreover because the booze started to kick in. The last shot of him - notably after his last shot - caught him curled up in a chair, his arms hanging over the side in an unnatural curve and even snoring a bit. Eventually, he missed all of the real drama - Niles Garland seemingly collapsing under the home pressure, the run of champions between Berri and Rosario not leading to an Olympic record by far and Bayern-based Salvetieri ruining the dreams with the smallest of margins. By then, Urinboev slept calmly - well, for him, he made sounds like a bloody Alpine horn - after being carried home by Kamoliddin Bakaev. Just before he lingered away, he opened his eyes one last time and spoke...

“Good run, Kamo, well done.”

[Unified Beretania]

Albavona Capitol Sentinel

Olympic Brief:

Olympics open with a big bang for Unified Beretania as two defending Beretanian Olympic gold medalists eliminated from competition on Day 1

When the Unified Beretanian National Olympic Committee made the dramatic and controversial decision to move away from team sports in favor of developing strong individual athletes, the criticism was most intense. It appears that the gamble is already paying dividends. The influx of cash into the Beretanian National Ski Team has resulted in a gold medal for Zach Williams, a most unexpected but pleasant occurrence.

The National Ski Team made the downhill a primary focus for the men's side. This is the singular event that Beretanian National Ski Team has pursued relentlessly. Alexandros Vassilikos was the first Beretanian to ever win a Winter Olympic medal, a bronze in men's downhill at the IV Winter Olympics in Alavaria, Kelssek. Ever since, vast resources have been spent pursuing another medal without sucess, until now.

"I feel great. I'm on top of the world. I want Beretania to be competitive in this event every Olympics. Alexandros, this is for you! It's a long time coming. A new generation, baby," Williams jubilantly proclaimed after winning gold in the men's downhill on Day 1 of competition.

Williams, while the best Beretanian skier in the event, was not even close to being expected to medal, let alone win gold.

Xavier Evans finished in eighteenth, Terry Vincent in one hundred seventeenth, and Ash Quintara in one hundred fourty first to round out Beretanian participation in the event.

Elsewhere in Prescott...

Rhett Soto qualifies for biathlon 10km pursuit

Rhett Soto, the only member of the junior men's biathlon team to not be embroiled in the #Biathlongate scandal in Wrycrev, Kosovakia at the Winter Universiade I four years ago, has qualified for the men's biathlon 10km pursuit event in twenty third.

"I'm so happy we can stop talking about #Biathlongate and start talking about what our biathlon program is capable of doing. I'm happy to represent Beretania no matter what happens. We're pioneers out here for Beretanian biathlon and I'm stoked at that once in a lifetime opportunity," Soto told us.

Oh so close

Kaylynn Reese, defending Olympic gold medalist in women's freestyle skiing moguls, just missed the cut for the final after finishing thirteenth in the opening qualifying round and needed a second round of qualifying to make the final. Reese subsequently went on to finish in fifteenth in the second qualifier, missing the cut again.

"I'm really disappointed in myself. I had a real shot and I blew it. I came here with high hopes of defending my title and I trained so hard these past four years. I'm so sorry Beretania! I love you all and I'm so sorry," Reese tearfully said after the second qualifier.

Kaylynn Reese rocketed to stardom four years ago in Prescott when she unexpectedly took gold and became an overnight celebrity.

Fresh blood in short track proving UBNOC right

The short track speed skating team is starting to see a boost from the development achieved by their junior athletes in Wrycrev four years ago. Now in the Olympics, they are all mostly performing well.

On the men's side in the 500m event, Chip Howell advanced out of Preliminary 11, and Homer Zahl out of Preliminary 23.

In preliminary rounds for women's short track speed skating in the 500m event, Jaguar Rodriguez advanced out of Preliminary Round 7, and Sadie L'Orange out of Preliminary Round 32. Unfortunately, Nataylia Spiceman did not advance from her preliminary.

The result heats up the Spiceman-L'Orange rivalry once more. Their fierce and at times bitter rivalry started in Wrycrev, and continued through four years of nationals, then Olympic trials, and now here in Electrum. The fanbase in the sport appears evenly split as well. Both Spiceman and L'Orange declined comment for this article.

"I can do so much better. I am saving my strength and energy for the later rounds," Rodriguez remarked of her day.

"It's exciting to see all this new talent. The depth we have in short track speed skating is nothing short of phenomenal. We saw these athletes in Wrycrev and now they are Olympians, and doing well, it is just so awe inspiring to behold," said Bud Kosner, director of short track speed skating recruitment and development for the national team.

Wörner falls short

In a disappointing turn for Ludwig Wörner, he failed to crack the top twenty four, thus was eliminated, in the men's slopestyle as defending Olympic gold medalist from four years ago, squandering a medal opportunity in his best event. Wörner is here with his wife and fellow snowboarder Storm Wörner (née Hammond), whom Ludwig proposed to in the athletes village in Prescott four years ago, gold medal round his neck. Also in attendance to cheer Ludwig on are twin daughters Europa and Olympia and a third daughter, Atlantis Capri.

"He's such a good pop and the girls take on well to him. Olympia and Europa look up to their poppy and they want to be in the Olympics some day just like poppy...and mummy. I know they're proud of Ludwig no matter what, just as I am. That's what counts," Storm told the Capitol Sentinel.

Ludwig will have a chance to redeem himself with the parallel giant slalom later on in these Olympics, while wife Storm will compete in the women's halfpipe and parallel giant slalom with excellent medal chances for both of her events after coming home empty handed four years ago in Prescott.

Yet all hope is not to be abandoned just yet in the men's snowboarding slopestyle event, as Zachary Barr qualified in twentieth for the final. Barr is not expected to bring a medal home to Beretania, however.

[Central Shaneville]

CENTRAL SHANEVILLE PREVIEW FOR DAY TWO
Here we are in Prescott for Day 2 of the XIII Winter Olympics and once again Central Shaneville are in action along with many other nations once again all over the Prescott area. But whats in it today for Central Shaneville?

First event to talk about today is once again the Biathlon — Women’s 7.5 km Sprint, with Joe Crawford's superstar performance yesterday whilst qualifying for the Pursuit event. Eyes are on Kasuti Kaderea today as she looks for match or even do better than Crawford, despite the shorter distance in the event, as we know the women of Central Shaneville have had a pretty rocky start but Kaderea aims to put that right and do the nation proud at the same time. Medals are on the line here, so will Central Shaneville find their illusive debut medal?

Elsewhere after an extremely tense game for the women on their first matchday, expectations for the first match of the Men's Ice Hockey is no different than yesterday. Word has it around the village that Central Shaneville's Ice Hockey team are the ones normally seen around the Central Shaneville area coming from the practice area in the village. They also hope for a good result today in the first group matchup for this team.

Speaking of hoping for good results, Skiing has proven to be a bit of a mysterious event for Central Shaneville as we don't know their true potential, that is what Kieran Macleod is hoping to show the world when he takes to the snow for the qualifying of the Men's freestyle skiing Moguls event. And maybe after we will find out if skiing is something we will be seeing Central Shaneville do in the future.

Finally we have the Men's 1500m Speed Skating, Central Shaneville's 500m skaters (Shane Wray and Tommy Vance) ran wild last night, celebrating their preliminary round wins. But once again tonight is another time for Central Shaneville to race on the track, the only difference is, its not a prelim and its a longer distance and theres only one participant from Central Shaneville competing. This being Joe Cross, who feels like he can bring a good result back to the Central Shaneville part of the village tonight. Just like the Biathlon sprint event, Medals are on the line here, so will Central Shaneville find their illusive debut medal?

But if you fancy something else to sink your teeth into whilst we wait for our athletes to take to Prescott again, Why not have a look at some of the other exciting sports featuring world class athletes from amazing nations? For example: Medals are on offer in the Womens Moguls as well as the Men's Individual Luge and the Womens 3000m Final in the Speed Skating and not forgetting the final of the Womens Individual Normal Hill event which Central Shaneville only just missed out on.

[The Holy Principality of Saint Mark]

Amagitora looked out the window of her dorm room toward the snow-draped mountains.

Ugh! Here I am at the Olympics, my life's goal, and am I preparing my mind for the challenge ahead? No! I just can't get him out of my head.

The Saint Markian men hadn't done very well so far and the performance of one of them affected Amagitora more than the others.

An orphan and cancer survivor, she had faced more than the usual obstacles on her path to the Winter Games. Her struggles had created the determination that had earned her the nickname, Iron Lady, but the Iron Lady also had a heart of gold. She was kind and generous, qualities that had endeared her to the Saint Markian people. Here she was, at the top of her game and beloved by her country, but all she could think about was a guy.

He wasn't just any guy ... and that was the problem. Any guy would have fallen over himself to be close to such an amazing lady. Unfortunately, Amagitora had fallen hard for her teammate, Marcarius ... Crown Prince Marcarius.

Through the long practices, regional competitions and qualifiers, they had become friends. He was warm and friendly, always genuinely interested in listening to what she had to say ... and those eyes ... and that smile!

Darn it! Get him out of my head!

Well, befriending a teammate, even if his father is ones ruler, is one thing, but how could she ever express her deeper feelings to him? This is impossible.

... and now it's all I can think of ...