Games of the XIII Olympiad RP Thread

[Free Republics]

Day 2 Cutoff

[Electrum]

Centralis Herald - Comment - Miranda Lawrence

The Olympics are once again, a shameful affair

We have seen the end of civilised society today -- the Republican Olympic Games Opening Ceremony has been a farce from start to finish, an act of moral turpitude. When an Opening Ceremony explicitly endorses a culture that revolves around sex, drugs and rock and roll, that's when you know there has been a cultural rot, both in the Republican culture and in the wider Olympic movement. There must be a culture change to the Olympic Games, or else our society will be doomed -- once our so-called 'role models' that our youth have turned to the dark side, there is no looking back.

Let's have a look at the moral violations that we have seen so far: firstly, there was the disgusting use of politics in order to send a message all throughout the ceremony. The Olympics are supposed to be an apolitical event, and yet, there was bashing of the great man that was Consul Kulseth, who led ambitious reforms of the Holy Republican Empire to ensure that its citizens had strong moral compasses. It is just not right to disrespect the legacy of such a person, and completely tramples over the rights of the people who follow the Church of Iesus Christus. Not only that, but there was also the wanton use of violence which we weren't warned of prior -- it seems that the uncivilised people of the Free Republics just like gore, again, a sign of the "cultural rot." The moral foundations of society are pivotal -- they help provide a reference point to what is good behaviour, and what is not. Without it, we wouldn't be able to distinguish bad actions such as doing drugs, or committing crimes versus good actions such as adopting a pet, or hugging your child. One hopes that the ceremony would revert to the good, wholesome ceremony we had in Baseton, this one left a lot to be desired.

Secondly, the "Stand up to Sexism" movement in the ceremony was a bridge too far. Again, the Olympics are supposed to be apolitical, but here we are, with one of the consuls taking centre stage in this vile political movement, and the other consul being visibly drunk. These are the people who are supposed to be the very best of the Free Republics, a feminist and a drunk. It's really a rather sick joke, but alas, that's just the society of the Free Republics. There are really no excuses this time, and I will personally be writing to the head of the Olympic Council to ensure that these political events will never, ever stain the ceremonies again. Which takes me onto my third criticism which is that...

The ceremony, on the whole was a display of decadent irreverence. It is absolutely outrageous that they can market an outdated counter-culture lifestyle of sex, drugs and rock and roll. It made my stomach churn when I saw that they were going to play Born to Fry, a despicable song which we gave six points to during the Oreo City WorldVision, where it had lyrics from the reigning consul saying filth such as "Fuck me hard in the pouring rain ... You like your girls easy." But the most egregious part of it all was the thirty minute section to belly dancing! What a blatantly salacious, suggestive and downright obscene portion of the ceremony, and it was a joke that was taken too far by the Republican organisers. The youth absolutely do not need to be brainwashed by gyrating hips -- if the monks of The Holy Empire were here, they would call this a morally unlicensed ceremony! This is absolutely shameful, and the Olympic Council should be ashamed that such a shambles of a ceremony were allowed to proceed.

Miranda Lawrence is a conservative commentator for the Centralis Herald.

[APOC Coalition]

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Olympic Opinions
with Graham O'Doherty

FROM REPUBLICA, THE FREE REPUBLICS - It's here. It's finally here. The Olympics have finally arrived. We are finally an Olympic nation. Well, not really, since Abanhfleft is competing under the banner of the APOC Coalition along with Pridnestrovia, Oontaz, and Copper Cuprum, but you know what I mean. Olympics opening day is always a very great day for sport, no matter what sport that is, as athletes from all corners of the multiverse converge upon one city (depending on the sport, of course; some of these events have to take place in other cities because of the need for more stadiums). We get a glimpse of the history of the host nation (I never knew that that was what happened to the Free Republics during that time we basically heard nothing about them!), and we get to see all of the athletes who are going to compete in this prestigious and historic competition. It's an event that's sure to get one's patriotic heart pumping as we cheer on all of the athletes competing under the white flag of the APOC Coalition.

But it's not all fun and games though. Just as the Olympics brings out the best in people, sometimes it brings out the worst in others. Case in point, the Amuaplye Bomber. Nobody knows his or her motives or why he or she is so intent in bombing the Amuaplye athletes into oblivion, but we all hope and pray that the bomber gets caught and their reign of terror ended before it can claim more victims than it already has. There is never a good time to set off a bomb, mates. That's just poor form. Just no.

Anyway, on to happier news. The Coalition's archers have made a decent showing of themselves here at the first day of the Olympics. Nobody was expecting our representatives to top the leaderboards or win medals right off the bat, and I have to admit that I know nothing about archery except that it's very much like a gun: always keep the dangerous end pointed downrange towards the target. But I must say that on the face of it, Rahman Malik al-Maliki and Robert Chester placing in the twenties look very good. And we're actually ninth in the team rankings! Ninth! I don't know if that means we're actually better than we thought but I think I'll take it! Can't say the same about the women archers though, but even then I like to think that 19th place in the team rankings is still nothing to scoff at. Well, maybe it is actually something to scoff at, but until the final results come in, I'm not taking any chances.

Now on to a Rugby Rundown! Finally, something that I know very well and into which I can sink my teeth! The Coalition women's rugby sevens team did a good accounting of themselves on the first ever day of the Olympics, although a late slip-up allowed Holy Marsh to score a late try to tie the game at 19 apiece. I expected the front three (Fleftic of course) of Anika Asaro, Lauri Larusso, and Rosenda Railsback to demolish their opposition, and so far I've been proven right. Railsback scored two of APOC's tries while Olesya Panasenko of Pridnestrovia scored the try in the middle of Railsback's two tries, the one that Lauri Larusso couldn't convert. Real shame, that. If Lauri had made that conversion then the Coalition could very well have won this game by two points. Oh, well. That's rugby union for you.

That wraps up day one of the Olympics from yours truly. Don't know when I'll be back as I'll have to digest all of these events before spitting out another Olympic Opinion but rest assured, as that robotic assassin guy once said, "I'll be back." XOXO from Graham....

[The Sherpa Empire]

(OOC: Dammit! I missed a cut-off because I got distracted last night and then the forum went down.)

----‭֎ Opening Day ֎-‬---

The Olympic Games are underway in Republica, and they got off to a good start for the Sherpa Empire as the women's football team won their first game against Togonistan 2-1. Women's sports don't get that much attention in the Sherpa Empire, and there is a lot less money in them than there is in men's sports, but that doesn't stop women from playing football, and the team was in good form. The score was tied at 1-1 at the end of the first half, and it stayed that way through most of the second half, until, with 6 minutes remaining, Yuelian Zhao scored the Sherpas' second goal, which gave them the win.

The Sherpa team was slightly favored to win according to the oddsmakers in Macau, but this was a game that could have easily gone either way.

Of course, most of the world's attention was not focused on a women's football game between the Sherpa Empire and Togonistan. Most of the world was more interested in the spectacle at the opening ceremony. And there was plenty of spectacle. Social conservatives criticized the raucous music, sexualized dancing, and glorification of drug culture, saying such things detracted from the dignity of the Olympics and were a bad influence on children. "A lot of children look up to Olympic athletes as role models," said right-wing Islamicist politician Ahmad Akbar. "What kind of message does it send to them when they see this debauchery at the Olympics?"

Other people thought it was cool. "What a party! I wish I could have been there," said Sherpa rap legend Phat Karma.

The Sherpa delegation came toward the end of the parade of nations, when the heavily Republican audience was starting to get impatient waiting for their own delegation, but they still got a moderate amount of applause. The Sherpas looked classy and elegant in their colorful embroidered tunics and robes. The gymnasts danced with scarves behind flag bearer Lhami Sherpa, and the next few rows of the procession carried tall red candles, incense, and prayer wheels. Bringing up the rear, the women's badminton team waved around big red and gold fans and Kai Qiang and Mingmat Umar somehow managed to get into an impromptu dance-off that was not in the original plan. Near the end of their walk around the stadium, the badminton players let them borrow the fan and giggled at the way the men danced. Qiang was a much more graceful dancer, but Umar didn't seem to care. He was having a blast.

----‭֎-‬---

[Mattijana]

The Olympic Review: Day 2

MFO SPORT

By Katarina Markovic, comedienne and sports writer.

Hello everyone! It was day 2 of the Olympic Games today! For those of you that missed it because you were too hungover from watching the opening ceremony, I'll aim to recap everything that happened whilst I wasn't taking a nap. For those of you who watched the opening ceremony, still made it up in time to watch the action and are just reading this because you're bored at work, kudos.

Anyway, there's a fair bit to get through today, so I'll get on with it.

Like all Olympic opening ceremony parties at some rich person's house, a lot happened in the pool. Despite aquatics not being universally popular in Mattijana (and being universally unpopular in the cold bits), we seem to have produced some half-decent athletes. In fact, in the 6 events that had their heats today, Mattijana got 5 entries into the next round, of which 4 are straight into the final.
Marko Radovlija was first of those as he came second in his heat and fourth overall in the men's 400m Freestyle. It was Matej Grinsko who looked in the best form of all our athletes however. Last olympiad's silver medallist set the fastest time of everyone in his 100m Breaststroke heat. He recorded a time of 59.50 and I've been informed by the swimming experts that anything under a minute is pretty rapid (personally I think a smidge over a minute is also pretty rapid, but who am I to argue?).
We didn't get anyone into the 400 individual medley final, so we'll gloss that one over. Jelena Rakitic did well in the 100m butterfly, setting the eighth fastest time to make it through to the semi finals. Maria Weltermans also did what no Mattijanan man could manage and made it through to the 400 individual medley final.

Aquatics is fairly unique amongst Olympic sports in that who gets to go through is decided not by position, but solely by time. This came to the rescue of our women's 4x100m relay team who despite finishing third in their heat, set the fifth fastest time to comfortably qualify.
On the flipside, spare a thought for Danny Blumenthal from Starblaydia who easily won his heat, but could only managed the 22nd best time, although if he eased off at the end, that thought shouldn't be a sympathetic one.

Katarina's Handy Guide to: Swimming Strokes

Freestyle: Freestyle is that event where you're technically allowed to do anything you want, but everyone knows it's really just front crawl.

Breaststroke: The stroke you see all the grannies at your local swimming pool doing because they don't want to get their hair wet. Olympic breaststroke is much faster however and does require you to get your hair wet.

Backstroke: Like front crawl, but on your back. The person who came up with this clearly wasn't comfortable with the idea of holding their breath.

Butterfly: The toughest and most masochistic stroke. It sounds pretty, but competitors actually look like a drowning bear.

Individual Medley: Butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle one after the other (without stopping obviously).

That's all the swimming done and dusted for now, so it's onto the archery.

The individual competitors had a rest today because it was the turn of the team competition to reach its conclusion. West Phoencia surprised no-one by taking gold, but Vangaziland put up a good fight to lose only by 2 points. Mattijana reached the last 16, but were knocked out by West Phoencia, so there's no shame in that. Matej Pingov and the women's team will be in action tomorrow.

What about the teamsports? Well a historic moment was made in dodgeball, a demonstration sport for these games, as Mattijana took to the court for the first time. They were pretty good as well, trouncing Mitra & Soma (who are very much on the list of nations I didn't know existed until now) by 10 points to 0.

There were also wins for the Korfball and Men's lacrosse teams against Amuaplye and Cosumar. Fortunately the Korfball venue was as secure as the Amuaplye accommodation and the game went without any kind of disturbance. We beat Elejamie at rugby as well, which is unusual given we normally get thrashed 40-0. Admittedly it was league nines, which I didn't even know were a thing until 10 minutes ago, but we're going to milk it. There was Sevenball too, which I've never understood or got the point of.

The men's football (that's proper football, not any of this gridiron or footy rubbish) team didn't fare so well however, going down 3-5 to the Cocoabo Forest. Yes, not only did we lose, but we also conceded 5 goals against a bunch of birds. Not our nation's finest achievement for sure.

Some gridiron stuff did happen, but that's just glacial rugby for all intents and purposes and we don't have a team, so we'll ignore that. But there was hockey! Yes, sound your national sport claxons because Mattijana's favourite sport is back on the international scene. Our silver medal winning women from the last games haven't been in action yet, but the men were and they fared pretty well.
The side drew 3-3 with South Covello, which is pretty decent given the other two games in the group look easier and it was our first game. The men got knocked out at the group stage last time too, so the only way is up for them. Watch this space, not that you haven't been.

Back indoors, Katija Lisicki got her 48kg Judo campaign underway. The 27 year old won bronze last time and has already rattled her way through to the semi finals to put her in with a decent shout of winning our first medal tomorrow.

Some rowing happened, but it hasn't really reached the important stage yet, so I'll fill you in with that later. In fact this stage is so inconsequential that if you finish at the bottom end, you get to come back and race again in something called the 'repecharge' which to me sounds just a bit too forgiving. That's the way it is though.

That's a wrap from me. I should have covered everything, but like many of you dedicated souls, I've only had 5 hours of sleep over the last 36 hours or so, so don't quote me on that. Until tomorrow Mattijana.

[West Phoenicia]

The West Phoenician Olympic Committee has yet again rented out a large offsite venue for entertainment purposes for West Phoenician athletes, support staff, fans and invited guests, as well as an open door policy for Free Republics elite, officials and VIP'S.
It was an idea created at their Olympic debut back in Aeropag to allow everyone to unwind after hectic days on and off the sporting fields, and to embrace celebration and unity.

The Royal family of The Confederate Empire of West Phoenicia had contributed $1 million to make the venue the best and most talked about In the land during these games.

The theme this time around is entitled 'The Garden of Eden', the concept of the design goes to Baroness Inca Van Winterhorne, mother to Empress Angelique and her crack creative team of designers and stylists. Who spared no expense in the luxury.

The venue is a four floored monolith building, entwined with crawling ivy and other vines artificially coloured in all shades of the rainbow. Entwined from the outside ground floor up to the rooftop, the metal staircase was transformed into a metallic green snake.

The entrance to the Garden of Eden was hidden behind golden security gates and thick scarlet curtains where male crowd controllers dressed as cherub held swords with flaming red blades.

The ground floor was covered in snow white marble tiles, once you walked passed the cloak room into the open area where West Phoenician sculptures of the Hellenistic period dotted the room.

Large plasma television screens were plastered across a number of the ornate walls, large leather couches and coffee tables nearby allowed guests to sit and watch the Olympic high lights, while waitress in Greco-egyptian attire served drinks and nibbles on silver serving trays.
On the east and west walls large bars stood with a assortment of alcohol, bar tenders served the large queues thirsty for a drink while dressed loin cloths for the men and bikinis for the women; forest green body paint splashed over their bodies.

A grand ornate staircase led up to the first floor which was reserved for 18 and under. For the older teens there was a gaming room with every gaming console that was on the market hooked up to a multiple games.
In the adjacent room a theatre had been set up, showing films for kids and teens. While they enjoyed the movies that ran 24hr a day, ushers would bring an endless supply of popcorn, lollies, choc tops and sodas.

A makeshift skating ramp had been constructed at the end of the floor, mini challenges had been set up each day for teenagerz who were interested, and for a positive way to highlight the entry of skateboarding into these Olympics. Many of the West Phoenician athletes entered into the skate boarding events were on hand to sign autographs and also give the audience a preview of their skills.

For for the younger kids, play rooms had been converted rand fully run by nannies. Chalkboard and desks to colour in pictures , board games and toys were in abundance. The room was decorated to look like a Land of Toys and there was a separate room for those who wanted a nap.
One nanny sat in one of the corners reading fairytales, another manned the arts and craft tables. To add to the Garden of Eden theme, designers had gone all out by bringing in a number of baby animals to interact with the children. Baby lambs, goats, piglets, puppies and kittens.

On the 2nd floor a Karaoke corner with over 2000 music tracks, and a host of pool tables, dart boards, video games, mini golf and a coffee bar and juice with 24hr barista service.
In a separate room for invited guests relaxed in a bar lounge setting. While they listened to a number of West Phoenician singers on stage who rotated each night.

The 3rd floor was classed the Pamper floor, round the clock massages, tarot readings, séance, palm reading, manicures and pedicures.
Everything a pampered West Phoenician could desire.
The West Phoenician Olympic Committee had even gone all out by bringing large stone and marble statues of some of their more popular gods, goddess and Animal deities, perfect for anyone who wished to pay respect or offer an offering to the deities to bring the Olympics team good luck.

The 4th floor was strictly Adults only again. After proving a huge success at the Aeropag Summer Olympics Games.
The theme of the floor was the seven deadly sins.
Male and Female pole dancing entwined with burlesque dancers on stage while the champagne flowed freely
While love rooms had been designed to cater for the clients intimate needs each room set apart by a different theme to those in the want and desire of additional debauchery.

The Garden of Eden would stay open the duration of the Olympics and seems to fit well with the cultural revolution of sex, drugs and rock and roll that Free Republics has once embraced. And we wish to thank Republica for allowing the investment which will definitely assist in boosting the economy during these games.

[Eraman]

THE 13TH SUMMER OLYMPICS: DAY 1 ROUND-UP

REPUBLICA, THE FREE REPUBLICS - The 13th Summer Olympic kicks off yesterday in Republica. It was a good day for Eraman who started the campaign in 3 events namely archery, football and sailing.

The nation's best seaman, Rawa Aksara did really well in Men's Windsurfer leading the chart alongside Diego Marino from Anolassia and Stephen Cooper from The Kytler Peninsulae. The Aquaman began his campaign poorly after finishing the first race in the 16th place but managed to rise to the occassion by winning the second race before finishing the third race in the seventh place.

Rawa Aksara also started his campaign in the Men's One-Person Dinghy event yesterday but only managed to finish the day in 7th place. Two races for the event were held yesterday and Rawa Aksara was only able to get 4th place in the first race and was ranked 11th in the second race. Ibrahim Kassab from Gragastavia, the gold medalist in the last edition again showed his greatness by leading the chart with Jean-Marie Berthelot of Laeral. Ibrahim Kassab won the first race while Jean-Marie Berthelot won the second race.

Meanwhile in archery, the national number one archer Robina Huda managed to make a stunning start by finishing the ranking round at 20th place with 648 points, just 21 points behind leader from the host country, Rita Giordano. The defending champion from West Phoenicia, Amelia Defence only managed to end the day at 6th place with 655 points, only 7 points ahead of Robina Huda.

Another national archer, Andini Muda is not far behind being in the 30th place, just 2 points behind Robina Huda with 646 points. Dara Merci should do better in the coming days after only able to position herself at 72nd place with 632 points. In the first round, Robina Huda will be up against another Tanah Melayu archer, Solvi Flatten from Baranil who were only able to position herself at 109th place in the ranking round. Meanwhile, Andini Muda will go up against Jamie Linn from Illahee and Dara Merci will meet Michelle Zelmerlow from Krytenia.

With the points collected by the 3 national archers in the ranking round, they managed to place Eraman at 8th place in the team event. This allowed Eraman to get bye to Round of 32. Congratulations to our archers.

In the women's football event, our female football players managed to surprise the entire nation by tying up Electrum in a goalless draw. Playing negative football for 90 minutes, Eraman managed to disappoint Electrum with a good defensive discipline. Meanwhile, The Sherpa Empire is leading the group after beating Togonistan 2-1.

[Greater vakolicci haven]

Havenic Olympic Headquarters, King Blacksen's office

An inability to make up his mind was not something that befell King Blacksen of Celeria much these days. A man who knew that one day, and one day soon, he would breathe his last generally knew what he wanted to do with his remaining time...and this was not the King's issue right now: no...his issue was where to do it. Every year, the Havenic party had been something special: it was a time in which athletes from all over the world would crowd the Havenic section of the Olympic village, always inevitably spilling out to cover more of the place and annoying some more boring delegations. But more than a loud annoyance as some would claim, the Havenic Olympic party, usually celebrated halfway through the Olympics was a time of unity...of easy good will and of happiness for all. A man with a drink in his hand didn't think that soon he'd be betting his body against the man beside him for the whims of a cheering audience of mostly foreigners: he thought 'hey, I've a drink in my hand...you've a drink in your hand, and so for a night we're the same.' Or something like that, because there were inevitably women with drinks in their hands or attractive men with drinks in their hands to distract from any other thoughts.

King Blacksen knew he was hosting a party this year, it had to happen. But without the usual Olympic village set-up, where would it be? He rubbed at the rising bruise on his leg, Sanctaria's central defender being, it turned out more interested in kicking him than the ball...and pondered the sad situation closely. Places were just full...he didn't want some grand hotel ballroom, he wanted somewhere thousands of alcohol-fuelled athletes could turn upside down. What he needed was some help now, and he knew just how to get it.

Official message to all delegations, high priority
Urgency level: Extremely high, must read
Originating Sender: King Blacksen of Celeria, Acting Director-General, Havenssport; delegation head, Vakolicci Haven and Celeria

-----Message Begins-----

Hey y'all,
I'm struggling to find a place to host the big party this year. Any of you got somewhere you don't mind turning into party central, or know a good place we can acquire?
- Blacksen

[Kalosia]

Kalosia u l'Olimpiade is brought to you by Lë Punto Kotidianu.

Kalosia Day in Republica

In honour of Kalosia Day, a flag ceremony was held by diplomats from the Kalosian embassy that covers the Free Republics, many of which will be in Republica for the duration of the Games. The event was open to the public, with seating reserved for members of the Kalosian Olympic delegation.

Lë Punto Kotidianu had the chance to catch up with many of the athletes in attendance. Gymnasts Sam Risto and Stefan Renzi were both glad that this event was being held, particularly for all the Kalosians currently in Republica for the Olympics. Indeed, many Kalosian tourists visiting to spectate the Games were also at the event. Canoeing athlete Milan Maǧu expressed that the flag ceremony gave him some extra energy for the day, and that he will feel a bit more motivated to train today, given that he is representing Kalosia on the country's national day on foreign soil. Tennis player Lusinda Meriñol said that the Kalosia Day celebration made her feel a bit more at home so far away from Kalosian shores, and that hopefully it will give her positive vibes in her training and competitive activities here in Republica.

Although many of the athletes left after the ceremony in order to train, the event carried on throughout the day, with food stalls run by Kalosians selling Kalosian food and delicacies. Screens in the venue displayed live footage of the games in which Kalosian athletes compete in today.



Day 2 Recap

Another dawn rises in the Free Republics and we enter into January 9, the 2nd day of the Olympics.

In Aquatics, where Kalosians are only competing in Swimming, the heats for Men's 400m Freestyle were held. Kalosian Rašid Markez competed in Heat 3, where he came 2nd out of 8 to the Sherpa Empire's Mohammed Wang at 3:44.46, just 1.09 seconds short of coming first. In Heat 5, our own Rafael Benetto came 4th out of 8 with a finish time of 3:47.59, while Lacario Monsel, from Vakolicci Heaven and Celeria, won the heat with a finish time of 3:43.41.
Overall, Markez finished 12th and Benetto finished 25th out of the 70 swimmers competing. The overall winner was Vekaiyu's Yeri Mikislavi with a finish time of 3:43.21. As only the top 8 advanced, the two Kalosians did not manage to make it to the next round.

In Table Tennis, Kalosian Alan Marino played against South Covello's Max Pilerr. Marino is the only Kalosian athlete competing in this sport. Although there was initial optimism due to Marino's winning of the first game, it quickly faded away as Pilerr defeated Marino for a few games. At the end, Marino only won 2 of the 6 games and Max Pilerr advanced to the next round.

Competitive events for Tennis were held today, but Kalosian athletes who were supposed to compete received byes, and therefore did not play today.

[Eraman]

CHAPTER 1: HOUSE OF DAULAPURA VS HOUSE OF ARUPURA

A rush of excitement storms the nation with a blue fever. For the first time ever, the skies are full of Flag of The Seven Crowns. The sense of patriotism is unprecedented in the little land by the sea. The Olympiad sent the nation into euphoria. Who would have thought? A sporting event in a land far away can unite the nation. A nation never known for sports. An event never shown on national television.

Badminton is the favorite pastime of everyone. While football and hockey is played professionally. But that’s about it. No other sports have a sizeable followings. In spite of that, the Ministry of Sports still managed to gather athletes. To compete in 500 events as decreed by the grand king. Well, it might not be right to label these ladies and gentlemen athletes as most of them are amateurs in their discipline.

Almost half of the delegations are made up of elite members of the royal military. Finally justifying the huge government spending on it for the first time ever. You see, Eramanians are superstitious. They believed that one day, a meteor will hit and turn the earth spineless rendering all technologies useless. Hence, the need of a royal military where the best archers were groomed and the best swordsmen are made to protect the nation when the time arrives.

It is a whole different story for the royalties from Daulapura and Arupura. The tension is clear among the princes and princesses as they march in the Gems of Ocean Stadium for the opening ceremony. The prized for victory is not just a mere gold medal which the princes and princesses have abundance of but also the position of Commander of the Royal Cavalry, a very prestigious position only held by the best royalties.

"Long has the Royal Cavalry desires for a new Commander. Therefore, the most successful princes or princesses in Republica will be appointed as one," the grand king said a few days ago.

The House of Daulapura will be represented by Prince Jago Petara and her two sisters, Princess Nia Petara and Princess Hana Petara while the House of Arupura will be represented by Prince Timur Asli and Prince Barat Asli as well as their sister, Princess Klowi Asli. Eraman is a nation of seven kingdoms but high royal military ranks had always been in the hands of these two houses.

The last Commander of the Royal Cavalry was the king's brother, Tun Sengalang Petara from the House of Daulapura. He denounced his royal rights to join politics and went on to become the bendahara (prime minister). He led the nation into a prosperous land while the spot he left remained unoccupied up until now. But that is going to change. A new Commander of the Royal Cavalry will be appointed soon. The rivalry between House of Daulapura and House of Arupura will be renewed.

........

[Kriegiersien]

Olympic News from the Schoenwetter Herald

from our reporter on site: Harald Herald

Today on Who is….

Lady Voodoo

Not much is known about Lady Voodoo, who made it into more international gazettes than most Kriegiersiens before, at least into the short news, leading after the first day in Women’s Windsurfing. After day two she is still 8th.

She is one of the few participants from Kriegiersien in “Water related sports that need some sort of boats”, who is not from the mighty family Pirate. Even though she is respected, possibly feared by the members of this family.

“Yes, she be good. And without her, some of us may not be so good”, one of her team members, who did not wanted to be recognized, implied that she is more then just a teammate.

“And she even can make you not prefo.. perfom … be not so good, if she wants”, she added, pricking her hand.

For a relative well-built woman the Lady still shows grace and a great control over her strange looking sport equipment, which was gifted to her by a good friend. It is still a surprise that she topped the ranking after the first day. There seems to be some magic about her performance.

“Nono, I am not scared of her. She will come back. I think only a kraken could stop her. But don’t tell her that. Or that she is fat. I mean, she is a nice lady, really nice lady. I like her”, said our anonym source who starts in the Women's One-Person Dinghy.

Where the Lady was born, her age, where she trains or what she does work is unknown, but she one day came out of a swamp she lives in and won the Qualification for the Windsurfer Race at the stormy coast. There is no footage of the competition, but everyone agreed afterwards that she should represent Kriegiersien here. We will try to get an interview with her as soon as possible.

*********************************

Our reporter was able to ambush the Kriegiersien Chef de Mission, Llywelyn Rose, while eating a giant steak in a strip Club and ask him some questions about the mediocre start. But Rose got pretty annoyed soon.
“Of course our swimmers failed to qualify for the finals but one, because of Robots competing for us, instead of real man. Even these pesky mutants from the Vaults often did a better job then them.”
He also showed no interest in the success in E-Sport, calling that “No sport” and “a waste of time of ugly Nerds, who should lift”.
“Real man do manly things. Powersports.”
He got evasive when speaking about Lady Voodoo, he had “nothing bad to say about her. A nice Lady”.

After being asked why he had never qualified for the Olympics himself, the former weightlifter had an explanation. “I am 55. Yeah, I don’t look like that, I know, I do sports. Look at these muscles. But at my time, the competition was harder, the people were harder. Not such weaklings as today.”

He then threw a table after our reporter, when he admitted that he had not served in the army after asking further critical questions about the Archer and Fencing results and his connection to the President.

*********************************

A stressful day with ups, downs, ups and in the end downs, had Jane Grey who had first won her fight against Hinawa Hiroki in Judo, but shortly after it was disqualified. Left behind from her own NOC, only the objection from West Phoenecia, who had also an athlete gotten disqualified under suspicious circumstances, brought her back into the competition, just to lose in the next round to Ginger Pearson.

[Liventia]

From: Javier Rosario <chefdemission.republica@olympicassoc.len>
To: LOA.ALL.REPUBLICA <all.republica@olympicassoc.len>
CC: Pearline Jones <pjones.chair@olympicassoc.len>; Terry Reynolds <treynolds.press@olympicassoc.len>
Subject: Delegation Briefing, Day 2

Dear All,
Congratulations on making it to Republica and being able to (for some of you, once again) call yourselves Olympians. It is an honour I have had myself in my career. I hope you have settled into your new surroundings without too much difficulty.

I want to start today's Briefing by first noting that some of you have already completed your events, and may understandably be disappointed with how you have performed. If you require, please be reminded the LOA now has a trained mental health liaison officer who you can approach or email in confidence at <tdelaney.mh@olympicassoc.len>.

Diploma
We have not hit the medal tally yet, but it's only a matter of time. I want to congratulate, firstly, Sandy Brown on finishing fifth in the women's 48 kg weightlifting and achieving an Olympic diploma in the process. I have spoken to Sandy, and I know she was gutted that the LOA only sent cyclists to the last Games as she was Olympic champion in this event at Aeropag XI, but she is pleased with how she's done this time given she's not had the opportunity to compete against some of the other athletes in this event before.

Qualification
In the pool, Jocelyne Bérenger has reached the semi-finals of the women's 100m fly. To place in the top 16 in her maiden Games is an impressive feat and we wish her all the best for her next heat. I also want to acknowledge our épée fencers Alice Sharp and Sylvie Garreau for making the round of 16, and commiserations to Lauren Meadows of being drawn against Alice in the round of 64. We have submitted an unofficial enquiry to the fencing organisers asking if they should have been kept apart in the draw, but what's done is done.

Meanwhile, our judokas are going strong, as expected. Aeropag XI bronze medallist Joshua Halliday has reached the men's 60 kg semi-finals, while Sophia Greenway is in the last four of the women's 48 kg.

The rowers, meanwhile, qualified six of their eight boats in action today straight through to the quarter-finals. The M4x, W1x, W2x and W4x boats all won their respective heats, which is all the more impressive.

Greta Winfield, riding Horsey McHorseFace, currently sits fourth after the dressage portion of the equestrian eventing contest. While the team isn't placed highly as a whole, all our support is behind Greta who stands a good chance of finishing on the podium.

And a word for our sailors, some of whom are a third into their Olympic regattas. Rhonwen Gill, in particular, leads the Laser Radial (women's one-person dinghy) on six points after four races. Rhonwen won silver in this event at Aeropag XI, and currently sits nine points clear of her closest challenger. Louisa Morse also leads the pack in the women's RS:X (windsurfer) event.

Miscellany
I hope you are enjoying the freedom that the Republica District is offering you. However, all athletes, staff and officials are reminded that any behaviour contrary to the code of conduct will result in you being sent home, even if you have not completed your events. Should you become involved in any incident, you are to report it immediately to the Chef-de-Mission, and I will investigate.

These are the Olympics; go out and explore the city. Enjoy the nightlife, meet new people, have fun. You are reminded however that you are athletes and taking drugs can and will result in suspensions. Please remember to use protection should you engage in sexual activity. However, please avoid any … stressful … activities on the night before you compete. The team doctors are available to assist with any questions you might have, including about sexual health. LGBT athletes are also reminded we have an LGBT liaison who can be approached personally, or emailed at <jtrainor.lgbt@olympicassoc.len>, should you require any advice.

Good luck for your events.

Best regards,
Javier

Javier Rosario
Chef-de-Mission, Liventia Olympic Association

[Vangaziland]

Olympiad Watch
Archers Bring Early Vannish Medal, Footballers Shut Out Krytenia

Things started off well for Vangaziland's male archers on Day 1. Runolf Swift placed 5th in a strong individual performance. Javier Cortez stepped up with an 11th place effort. Joe Ryan was right behind him at 12th. It was an affair which saw each archer shoot above their skill level. Swift is considered a really good archer. He is far from some of the max skill archers that shoot at top tier levels.

Cortez and Ryan are both fairly average when compared to the world stage. If there would be any Vannish medal in archery, athletes would have to step up. The effort saw Vangaziland end the first day with 2005 points, the most of any individual delegation. It left Olympiad fans and analysts wondering if the Vangazi would perform for the team event.

The Vannish squad skipped the first round but opened the round of 32 with fireworks. The three men put up what would be the highest score of the competition. Vangaziland scored 231 point against the nation that practically represents the Olympiad in Kelssek. The archers brought confidence and even a little swagger as they shot a match full almost exclusively of 9s and 10s. Runolf Swift shot four bullseyes in a row to close out the match. The Royals exchanged high fives as the match concluded.

Vangaziland had another high scoring performance against the Teremaran Unified Team. 227 would become the second highest tally of the tournament, matched by West Phoenicia. The Vangazi were riding high after two strong matches. "We're feeling really confident about our shots", said Joe Ryan. Ryan stepped up with an especially strong performance. He had to pick up some slack from teammate Javier Cortez, who shot several 8s that hurt the team score.

The Vangazi cooled down slightly in the Quarterfinals, beating Kernovi and Regwlas 222-217. "Fatigue may be starting to set in", said captain Runolf Swift. Swift had his worst round of the games. Ryan and Cortez stepped up with big shots, both scoring late 10s to save the score.

This brought the Vangazi against Taeshan in the Semifinals. The team found a second wind, matching their second highest score of the games with a 227-221 victory. Swift looked to be at his peak once again. Ryan stumbled by having the fewest 10s and most 8s. The team from West Phoenicia beat the hometown Free Republics team by one shot in a tie-breaker round.

The Free Republics would defeat Taeshan for the bronze. This left Vangaziland and West Phoenicia to square off for the gold. The Vangazi were counting on Runolf. When he opened with back to back 8 point shots, it took a lot of wind out of the sails of the others. They would end up losing with their lowest score of the tournament, 220-222.

"This was one we lost ourselves", said Runolf Swift. "We could have tightened up just a little more. The Phoenicians didn't put up a great score. We are the ones who failed ourselves."

Joe Ryan was less harsh on himself. "Fatigue was definitely a factor after this many rounds. They were a little more steady late in the day. I know Javier and I never expected a medal here. Runolf started to taste gold and I know he's disappointed. This is still a great result for Vannish Archery."

Cortez also spoke on the result. "It makes me wish I trained just a little harder. What if I brought more skill? Two points. If just one of my 8s was a bullseye, we might have had a chance. I hope the Empire develops its archery program because of our result."

The Silver Medal arrives early in the competition. With a medium sized delegation near 210 entries, every medal is important. Such early silver adds great treasure to Vangaziland's medal coffers. The Vannish aren't set to impact the race for highest medal tally with such a small delegation. Instead, they hope to earn medals in key sports. The collection of medals Vangazi win should likely say something about the Vannish sporting climate.

The game had implications after it was revealed Vannish cheerleaders had recently had a verbal sparring incident with Phoenician cheerleaders.

President of the Vannish Olympiad Delegation called the Cheerleaders' behavior appalling. "This is not the example we want to portray in these games. We should not tease others on appearance, nor their religious beliefs."

President J.W. Harr refused to blame Phoenician archer Defence-Heywood for her inciteful comments but did have words for Olympic planners. "We do feel some of these incidents would have been limited if certain athletes did not have so much time on their hands before the games." There were critics out there who said the decision to allow cheerleaders brought drama to the games.

"That is the most offensive sentence I have ever heard", said a heated Stina Karlsson. "Just because we cheer doesn't mean we will bring drama for sure. I mean, we might", she said as she rolled her eyes defiantly. "But that's rude to assume that we totally will."

Vangaziland's male cheerleading team had a decent performance by finishing 6th. The male cheerleaders were not ranked highly by any stretch in scout ratings. In a sport based around strength, Vangaziland's male cheerleaders were more about looks. "Hopefully history books will remember our effort", said Lars Canton. "We really fought to make our people proud." The Vannish men earned their top ten finish with muscles crafted more for social media posts than for sport.

Vannish mens soccer team started their campaign well. Vangaziland shut out Krytenia 4-0. A major part of this effort was defense. Dreson and Sundstrom looked especially good as the team's center backs. The team played well as a defensive unit. Midfielders hustled to play hard offensively and defensively.

Vangaziland's offense was also firing on all cylinders. Filip Odenburg lead scoring with 2 goals. One was a header off a rising cross. His second goal came in the final four minutes. He found just enough room to get off a shot from a corner pass. His shot seemed just out of the leaping keeper's reach.

Midfielders Hjoerleif and Tuusen each added a goal. Ed scored off a give and go play from the right wing. Fancy footwork saw Tuusen juke a defender and score the first goal of the game. The technique of his effort woke up his team and likely motivated them for the high scoring affair.

Vangaziland's athletes appear to be in top form at the start of the games. Many look forward to watching some of the Empire's top rated prospects in events ranging from basketball to auto racing. Competition has been short to this point. Vannish fans already have reasons to feel proud of their representatives.

The only hope is that somebody can keep the Vannish cheer squad out of trouble once their competition is complete. As soon as their schedule of intense workouts and practice ends, they will be free to roam the facilities without commitment. Some have called for Vangaziland to send the cheerleaders home early to punish them.

"Nobody is going home early", said President Harr. "I'm sure future incidents will be kept to a minimum." Reports showed J.W. looked anxious as he stated those last words.

---

Hundreds of Vangazi Gather To 'Protest Not Protesting'

Most Vangazi didn't have a reason to join many of the protests rocking the city of Republica. Vangazi didn't seem to be against the idea of eSports. They also didn't dive into protests over baseball or softball. This left many Vangazi feeling left out. Recent international articles criticized the fact that people would use such a high profile event to make a political statement.

"This is a protest about freedom of speech", said event planner Jarold Danners. Danners was raised on the island chain known for its largely Scandinavian tropical population. Danners is visiting the games on a trip from the Svennish Isles. He took to social media to start planning the flash mob.

Danners has built a large social media presence. He also used several tactics to recruit members. He posted messages on forums targeted to Vannish tourists in Republica. 'Join the Protest Against Not Protesting for a good old fashioned Vannish smokeout. Speak your mind and promote free speech.' The previous message was posted in several high profile areas with a link to a catchy website.

It resulted in over 250 sign carrying Vangazi shouting alongside eSports protesters. "Don't sit on your butt. Don't sit on your butt", chanted 'protestors'. At other times, the crowd simply chanted, "Loud Noi-ses. Loud Noi-ses." They seemed to be making noise just for sport. If the world's best protesters were on display, Vangaziland would enter a delegation.

Things got downright groovy once somebody hooked a tablet up to a set of speakers. Music from the Vannish band Space Ogres pumped from within the Vannish delegation. Crowds formed a tight circle around a few shady people in the inner ring. They started handing out rolled joints crafted from local flowers. The white cones were passed around the large crowd, usually kept away from the edges.

Danners would deny any ties to cannabis. The substance is legal in Free Republics in bars. It was likely not allowed in such public settings. Many believed Vangazi brought the flowers from local bars to add color to the protest. The dueling guitars whined on in psychedelic rhythms as protestors danced and tossed around an extremely bright hacky-sack.

It didn't take many long to forget why they were there. Local street vendors and restaurants began to see an increase in traffic after hungry protestors cleared out from the event. Things soon progressed to nearby bars for more smoking and drinking. Vangaziland has similarly tolerant laws on recreational substances. Some still think the mock protest went too far.

"What we saw was a beautiful expression of freedom, art and beauty", said 22 year old Heather Everstar. Heather is a Vannish backpacker currently traveling the Multiverse."We push for as much free speech as possible where I come from." International fans were also invited to the event.

While crusty pundits criticized the ceremony of the Free Republics, most Vannish opinion seemed to favor it. "It was best to watch while blazed", said 33 year old milkman Devaughn Carter. "The fireworks were obviously about the music selection over the broadcast. They might not have noticed that in person just from the sheer noise." Carter watched the ceremony at home after a long shift in the milk truck.

"The wife and I set our own playlist in the background", Carter continued. "They even seemed to sync."

"Who's going to complain about belly dancing", asked executive Edgar Halvorsen. "Much of the ceremony was a party." The businessman is in Republica for the games and will watch many high profile events. "Republica is a fun place to visit. It's better than being in some uptight, repressive, puckered up country.

Thousands of Vangazi made the trip to Republica to watch the XII Olympiad. Most did not attend the protest. The scene may mar the reputation of visiting Vangazi as shady hippies. "I'm cool with that reputation", said Prince Fritz Vang. The Heir to the Vannish Empire is in town to watch as many events as he can.

The Imperial Royal strolled past the Vannish protest to get an eyes on look at the situation. "Fritz! Fritz! Fritz!" The crowd cheered for the Prince to join them as he passed by.

"Come on and smoke with us", a voice yelled from deep within the Vannish circle. Fritz kept things moving, retreating to a nearby pub. Fritz was on hand to witness Vannish archers win silver.

"I'm proud of everybody who competes under our flag", said Prince Vang."It's about heart."

"I really enjoyed learning about the nation's history", said Baroness Jenna Vandersen. The Imperial Royal will compete in women's auto racing. She toutes silverware of her own as a winner of WGP2 I team competition.

"Auto Racing Vangaziland has been training so hard, that I haven't been able to see some of the local sites. I hope to visit more of the city after the racing is done."

Many think Vannish athletes are doing well in Republica because they feel comfortable with the local climate. Vangazi and colonists across the Empire watch their colonists fight for their people.

[Sargossa]

Around the University of Republica Aquatics Center excitement was building. There were still plenty of empty seats but all twenty four thousand plus of its expanded capacity was expected to be filled as the day went on. One of those already seated was Luca Leoz, the president of the Olympic Authority of Sargossa. He thought, sat in the VIP area, that he portrayed an air of regal calm. The nervous chewing on a finger nail suggested differently. Beside him César Gallo, the nation’s Director of Elite Aquatics, fidgeted in his seat. The pool had always been a handy source of medals for Sargossa, with forty won from previous Games. Swimming was popular back home and the several knots of Sargossan fans scattered around the Aquatics Center was testimony to that. They were excited too, as one of the nation’s big guns was about to be deployed.

David Masó was already poolside, going through his stretches, when the cheer went up to signal the arrival of Amado Rayon. Rayon, the Olympic freestyle champion over 400m, was about to defend his crown. And he looked supremely confident for about four and a half lengths. But as the heat went on Rayon began to struggle. And as he struggled so did Mohammed Wang, representing The Sherpa Empire, take advantage. He practically ate up the final lengths, taking Rašid Markez with him. Jeremy Brown also passed the floundering champion in the dying stages.

‘Oh that’s just perfect’, Leoz exclaimed. He turned to berate Gallo but instead noticed the approaching press officer.

‘Mr Leoz, we’ve had a request from SargoSport for an interview.’

Leoz glanced around at the line of studios higher up in the stand. He could see the SargoSport position, the back of the presenter’s head and the familiar figure of Adriana Abarca working as a pundit. Abarca, a seven times Olympic medallist making her one of Sargossa’s greatest ever Olympians. What he’d give to have a talent like her on the team. He’d even offered her Gallo’s job upon his appointment to the OAS presidency, only to be politely rebuffed. He sent a sideways glance at his Aquatics Director.

‘I think César can handle this one.’

‘Wait, what?’, Gallo turned in shock. ‘Maybe now isn’t the best moment to…’

‘It wasn’t a suggestion.’

He watched Gallo trudge away with the press officer in tow.

The session did improve a little for the watching president. Javier Vázquez won his heat in the 100m breaststroke, advancing to the semis in sixth place overall. But Ezequiel Rouco’s second place in a slow 400m medley heat wasn’t good enough to progress. Likewise Eduarda Encarnación and Evangelina Ruiz both crashed out of the women’s event. Naomí Alarcón rode her luck in the 100m butterfly, scraping into the semi final as the sixteenth and final qualifier. But Leoz’s hopes soared in the women’s 4 x 100m freestyle when the team of Nina Ordóñez, Claudia Cicerón, Cristina García and Ariadna Martí qualified for the final as the third fastest team, surely making them medal contenders. Surely? That's all Leoz needed, that first medal.

[West Phoenicia]

"It will be fun, those Vangaziland gals had it coming after they tried to sass us during the practise routine yesterday," Cheerleading Captain Gwendolyn Fraser said to her squad.

And I thought flyers had to fly into the air. Too much sass not enough gas in their wings. There like a Kingdom of Rhodes Air Force, barely can get off the ground," chimed in team mate Rowena Parker as she ran a layer of strawberry gloss over her lips.

The group hurriedly dressed in identical formalware and marched out of their dorm in mock military precision receiving puzzled stares from other West Phoenician athletes.

"Oh hell no," Margie Brixton a West Phoenician swimmer who was coming off of a high for winning her heat in the 100m Butterfly and would be progressing. "I'm going to my room and locking my door. I never get involved in this stuff but I always seem to suffer for it," she quickly left the room remembering all to well her being attacked by flying conceptional devices as she sat by the pool last games reading 50 Shades of Grey. And to top it off some mad monk from another nation had labelled her a Harlot due to her leopard print bikini getting soaked in front of him and somehow the attack was her fault.

***Outside the Vangaziland Delegation Villiage***

A large tape recorder clicked play as the instrumental version of Pat Benetars 'Hit me with your best shot' filled the air.

Team Captain Gwendolyn Fraser took the leads as a number of the squad sung back up with chants of boom-da-boom and posing like archers.

Gwendolyn Fraser: Our male archers hit you with their best shots, we took the very first spot. Yes our archers hit you with their best shot and won the game

Gwendolyn Fraser: Our male cheerleaders hit you with their first shot. Yes we took out the third spot. They hit you with their best shots, what did you place we forgot.


To the side three of the cheerleaders began a routine, the bases holding the flyer tight as she performed a series of liberty poses than switched to tick-rocks before sliding into a teddy sit.

Gwendolyn Fraser: " The West Phoenician Cheer Squad is looking forward to challenging you tomorrow. May the deities bless us with higher basket tosses, tighter flips and crisp kicks. Don't forget your lip gloss ladies.

The team each blow a kiss from their hand than slapped their butts before marching off.

[Todd McCloud]

Dampened Excitement, and Dampened Athletes
Reporting for V3 News Services, Rin Slakori

REPUBLICA - when Vekaiyu entered The Gem of the Oceans Stadium as the cavalcade of nations paraded through the engaging grounds, the response from the crowd was... tepid at best. Even as the vulpine-dominated team did their lap, and even as the 4'11'' flagbearer, Ikrisia Sulevire, waved the Vekaiyun flag quickly and proudly, sentiments were... decidedly flat. In keeping with tradition, she, in the standard red dress with a crosshatch pattern, was hoisted up by two other athletes, Yamano Tisiraristre and Yiisu Ulanoro - two weightlifters, dressed in their flashy suits of white with a sort of glittery red fabric that all men wore.

Vekaiyu is, of course, used to such responses. Said reactions were common and quite awkward at the XI Summer Olympiad in Aeropag, which showcased a theme of human intervention, pontificating the notion that humans were and are the purveyors of the land and that other, lesser species were merely subjects in their court of creation. Despite the response, few athletes could be heard complaining about the spectacle, with only a few, most notably Sayli Ereskeru, a sailor who would participate in Day One of what will hopefully be another productive performance by the generally non-human nation.

"I swear they pumped white noise in the speakers," she said as she donned her life jacket prior to competing in the Women's One Person Dinghy event, "I mean, they didn't even provide a recognition other than letting us come out just behind the [athletes] from Kelssek! I mean, sure, we didn't mention Aeropag in [our opening ceremonies], but that was personal!"

One would think the sailor would use that sort of thought to fuel a stellar performance, but the choppy waters of Lake Rydia would not be forgiving to the diminutive vulpine female, as she would have to settle for a 27th place showing through the first two races, and would stumble to 35th - last place - after two undesirable finishes of 34th and 27th. While she technically may not be out of advancing yet, one cannot help but to wonder what came of her two stellar performances in Novonaya where she seemed to improve her game with a pair of sixth-place finishes over the course of the ten races. In short, to a Codexian speaker, it would seem her goals of advancing are 'all washed-up'.

Yet some athletes prefer to be absolutely soaked in water. For those athletes, swimmers especially, more luck would be found at the cavernous confines of the University of Republica Aquatics Center, a venue that no doubt would see the greatest vulpine presence, as it would host aquatic activities as well as underwater hockey later on. And indeed, many Vekaiyuns went on to win the heats of their individual runs - Yeri Mikislavi in the Men's 400 m Freestyle, Levo Navikala in the 400 m IM, and Ikrisia Sulevire in the Women's 400 m IM.

"It's different than swimming at home," Yeri Mikislavi said after emerging from the locker room, his performance complete. "It's mostly because this place is so different. At home, sure, there's suggestive stuff. But here? It's all sex and neon lights from what I've seen at least. It's on the TV at my hotel in... what was it, the Plamaday Inn? I can't remember - I wasn't very good with English in school. Maybe I should try to find the remote." Yet the results don't lie - Mikislavi managed one bronze at Provinsk, and has advanced to two final rounds already in these young games.

It was a different story of success for Sulevire, the swimmer who took home two golds and two silvers during the last Olympiad. She was the tough-luck loser in the 400 m Individual Medley. While she certainly finished first in her heats, it was unfortunately just seven-hundredths of a second out of eighth place. It is especially difficult for her as she is the current record holder in the event.

"When it comes to swimming, especially the short distances, any small thing can change who goes on and who doesn't," she said after drinking from a water bottle. "If I could find a way to make my fingers longer, I'd do that, just so I could reach the ledge sooner. But I'm not too worried."

And why would she when her and her relay team, featuring a cache of stars from the Vekaiyun swimming circuit, did manage to advance in their heats?

"I like being the closer," Sulevire remarked, once seemingly dry of hope, now flushed with success. "I love the pressure. I used to hate it cause everyone back home thought I'd win all the medals, along with Vinsent [Ivere], but now I love it. I don't mind if we're down when I enter, cause I know whatever effort I give it'll make us a little better. Same could be said for any of us, though."

And while Vekaiyun swimmers may be dripping with potential, it is quite possible that they will not be netting the first medal for the nation in this Olympiad. That distinction may go to Ehjy Teslarestre, a spindly judoka from Ves. While he may not have the motivation for earning gold as he did in the IX Summer Olympiad (where he quipped, "It felt good to beat a slave-beater" in response to defeating his opponent from Gregisgodistan), he certainly seemed poised, especially in the quarterfinals, where he handily defeated Tashi Sherchen, capping off the feat with a waza-ari and an almost waza-ari to place his opponent in a tough spot.

"I could've sworn that was an ippon," he remarked, "but I'll take it nonetheless. I'm simply happy to be here and happy to honor my nation and my family. That's more important than medals anyway."

We will continue our coverage through day three, where Vekaiyu dives back into the competition and fishes for glory!

[Beepee]

Beepee Olympic Media Broadcast

Whilst much of the South Pacific has been eagerly watching the Delegate Election Specials, Beepeean everywhere have been tuned to their screens watching Beepee's first ever Olympians compete.

High TV viewership rating were recorded for the opening ceremony itself and viewership peaked when the Beepeean team marched proudly in their red, white and black outfits waving the Beepeean Flag. Led in by tennis starlet, Ivo Dhjukharevic, the team were all smiles presenting the friendly bureaucracy of Beepee.

Ted Wong, Beepee's Chef De Mission, has optimistically reviewed the first results in Beepee's Olympic adventure.

Starting in football, Beepee confounded the odds and ran out 2-0 winners over the much fancied Cassadaigua side in their first group match. With a long way to go in the competition, the Beepeean squad will hope to maintain their surprising start.

In tennis, Goran Bogdanovich edged out home town favourite Daud Desheriyev 8-6 in a tense deciding set.

Ted Wong congratulated the spirit of friendship in which the Beepeean team has approached the competition. He expressed his delight at the teams surprisingly good start and hopes for more of the same.

Locally, a wave of patriotic fervour has swept Beepee with the Beepeean Flag flying proudly on most residents and businesses.

[Diarcesia]

Women's Individual Épée Fencing - Round of 64

Sodrmerea Dobdar raised her helmet after yet another score against Brenda Morello of Cosumar. It is now 6-2 in her favor. "Not bad," she said with her smooth accent. "Although I think I need to feel some more fire from you. I enjoy good duels."

Her tall frame and long reach has helped her in this round, although before long she's getting increasingly forced into a more defensive posture as Brenda's onslaughts are getting more unpredictable for her. Ancestors help me, I might have gotten what I wished for in a wrong way.

The score goes 6-3.

And then 7-5, 9-8, and finally both 11.

"We'll now soon enough, eh?" Sodrmerea said with interest as the bout draws to a close. It started slowly, a bit of a back and forth along the piste. After dealing with some probing moves and parrying other stabbing attempts, she felt it's time to put an exclamation point in this performance. Experience the blessing of Boethiah poured unto her faithful! she thought proudly. The dark elf goes for a quick lunge, using her reach to its fullest utility to bring her épée as far forward as she can.

+BEEP+

Applause and cheering follows, but something ain't right.

Brenda somehow avoided it. Sodrmerea's left side is wide open, and her foe got her there. She just lost, and is shocked by that fact. Nevertheless, she thought that she had a good duel. "Congratulations, outlander. You deserve it".

Brenda went on to the round of 32, losing against Roza Dratchev. Meanwhile, her fellow competitior, the human Tabassum Samara jokingly chided her on her performance, "Well it puts your pride down a peg, isn't it?"

"Wha-?! She's a better fencer than me, let's put it at that."

---

Day Two of the XIII Olympiad: Strong Rowing Performance, Tennis Lineup Ready for Next Day

Diarcesia has placed well in today's rowing competitions, with the competitors in Men's Double and Quadruple Sculls and Coxless Pair and Women's Single Sculls advancing to the quarterfinals. In Rugby League, the Monarchy has defeated Amuaplye 24-12 the Men's League Nines, while bowing down in the Women's League Sevens to Krytenia in, amazingly, the same score. In Tennis, Annis van der Beek fell to Mubashir Abbasi of Eastfield Lodge in a lopsided showing in the first round, being able to get points only towards the end when his opponent already has 5 in the board. Annis has been reported to be stricken with a mild flu, which may explain some of the result. The rest of the individual competitors are full on their preparations for the Round of 128...

[Amuaplye]

January 10, 2019

Amuaplye Television
Newsletter
In Association With The Observer

Day 2 Results

Aquatics

Swimming - Men's 400m Freestyle: Jeffery Black placed 1st in Heat 7, with a time of 3 minutes and 43.31 seconds. Second was Marko Radovlija of Mattijana, who had a time of 3 minutes and 43.38 seconds, and third went to Moeris ben Mattan of Ioudaia, who had a score of 3 minutes and 45.67 seconds.

Overall, he is placed 3rd. First is Yeri Mikislavi of Vekaiyu, with a time of 3 minutes and 43.21 seconds, and second is Noah Johansson of Free Republics, with a time of 3 minutes and 43.30 seconds. He will be advancing onward.

Swimming - Men's 100m Breaststroke: Jared Maxwell placed 5th in Heat 1, with a time of 1 minute and 2.43 seconds. First went to Ji Han of Anollasia, with a time of 1 minute and .10 seconds, second went to Derrick Sanders of Vangaziland, with a time of 1 minute and .85 seconds, and third went to Wojciech Szczepkowski of the Socialist Alpine Republics, with a time of 1 minute and 1.64 seconds.

Overall, he ranks 44th, with first going to Matej Grinsko of Mattijana, with a time of 59.50 seconds, second going to Bailey Fernandez of Porabasta, with a time of 59.54 seconds, and third going to Pedro Mariano of Sargossa, with a time of 59.56 seconds. He will not be advancing onward.

Swimming - Men's 400m Individual Medley: Danny Wagner placed 3rd in Heat 1, with a time of 4 minutes and 14.42 seconds. First went to Xavier Bakartura of Kelssek, with a time of 4 minutes and 8.39 seconds, and second went to Samba Ogoo of Banija, with a time of 4 minutes and 11.09 seconds.

Overall, Danny Wagner ranks 21st, with first going to Thomas Drabwell of New Saria, with a time of 4 minutes and 7.33 seconds, second going to Xavier Bakartura, and third going to Veljko Grgic of Free Republics, with a time of 4 minutes and 8.56 minutes. He will not be advancing onward.

Swimming - Women's 100m Butterfly: Angela Perkins placed 5th in Heat 2, with a time of 59.23 seconds. First went to Catherine Robitaille of Kelssek, with a time of 58.47 seconds, second went to Annabel Gurieto-Nunez of Benjamin Mark, with a time of 58.77 seconds, and third went to Tzena Tsvetkova of Siovanija and Teusland, with a time of 58.94 seconds.

Overall, she ranks 31st, with first going to Catherine Robitaille, second going to Jocelyne Bérenger of Liventia, with a time of 57.84 seconds, and third going to Brittney McDonald of Cassadaigua, with a time of 57.85 minutes. She will not be advancing.

Swimming - Women's 400m Individual Medley: Leona Maldonado placed 2nd in Heat 4, with a time of 4 minutes and 37.12 seconds. First went to Rowena Roxborough of West Phoenicia, with a time of 4 minutes and 35.60 seconds, and third went to Myra Bezzerides of Cosumar, with a time of 4 minutes and 37.12 seconds.

Overall, she ranks 12th, with first going to Stefanie Fleischer of Free Republics, with a time of 4 minutes and 34.52 seconds, second going to Rowena Roxborough, and third going to Victoria Lemire of Kelssek, with a time of 4 minutes and 36.03 seconds. She will not be advancing.

Swimming - Women's 4x100m Freestyle Relay: Lillie Martinez, Carla Watts, Mary Cobb, and Lindsay Spencer placed 4th in Heat 4, with a time of 3 minutes and 39.05 seconds. First went to Lorelei Friemark, Melanie Lauterback, Wendy Oliver, and Iris Goreman of Baker Park, with a time of 3 minutes and 37.58 seconds, second went to Sarah Dunn, Dani Watkins, Brigitte Gagnon, and Jocelyn Bérenger of Liventia, with a time of 3 minutes and 38.65 seconds, and third went to Delphine Peyraud-Gauvin, Lisa Rosehill, Elisabeth Wong, and Molly Hawkshaw of the Socialist Alpine Republics, with a time of 3 minutes and 39.01 seconds.

Overall, they placed 18th, with first going to Shaa Clind, Sonia Peltius, Alexandra Ennis, and Para Revalin of Vakolicci Haven and Celeria, with a time of 3 minutes and 36.90 minutes, second went to Chiquita Cabrera, Cierra Santos, Lulu Daniella, and Kalea Ramirez of Porabasta, with a time of 3 minutes and 37.08 seconds, and 3rd went to Nina Ordóñez, Claudia Cicerón, Cristina García, Ariadna Martí of Sargossa, with a time of 3 minutes and 37.37 seconds. They will not advance.

Archery

Men's Team

As Amuaplye did not field a team, these are the results:

Sargossa, Cosumar, Electrum, Britonisea, and El Chupacabras were eliminated in the first round,
Kelssek, Vakolicci Haven and Celeria, Krytenia, Vilitan Union, Liventia, Kriegiersien, Northwest Kalactin, Eastfield Lodge, Ethane, Altai Almas, Baranil, Cassadaigua, Polkopia, Darmen, Starblaydia, and New Saria were all eliminated in the Round of 32,
the Teremaran Unified Team, Benjamin Mark, Mattijana, the Holy Marsh, the Kytler Peninsulae , Valanora, Vekaiyu, and the APOC Coalition were all eliminated in the Round of 16,
Kernovi and Rewgwlas, Elejamie, South Covello, and Laeral were eliminated in the Quarterfinals,
Taeshan and Free Republics were eliminated in the Semifinals,
Taeshan was eliminated in the Bronze Medal Match, giving Free Republics Bronze, and West Phoenicia beat Vangaziland in the Finals.

Boxing

Men's Light Flyweight: Ervin Dennis defeated Oswald Butler of Electrum in an unanimous decision from 3 judges in the Preliminary Round. He will face Carlton Schabazz from Taeshan in the Round of 16 on the 12th.

Men's Lightweight: Cornelius Jennings was defeated by Stijn de Nijs of the Kytler Peninsulae in a unanimous decision from 3 judges in the Preliminary Round.

Men's Light Heavyweight: Tyrone Watkins has automatically advanced to the Round of 16 and will compete with Corbin Heinrich of Darmen on the 12th.

Men's Heavyweight: Arturo Grant defeated Terje Hestenes of Baranil in an unanimous decision in the Preliminary Round. He will face off against Morris Theodoros of Main Nation Ministry on the 12th.

Cheerleading

Men's: Amuaplye was in 8th, with a score of 8. First went to Cassadaigua, with a score of 1, second went to Laeral, with a score of 2, and third went to West Phoenicia, with a score of 3.

Cycling

Road: Men's Road Race: Clifton Carlson was in 76th place, with a time of 6 hours, 27 minutes, and 15 seconds. First went to Panji Alam of Eraman, with a time of 6 hours, 10 minutes, and 12 seconds, second went to Theodore McKay of Darmen, with a time of 6 hours, 10 minutes, and 46 seconds, and third went to Anton Seleznev of Free Republics, with a time of 6 hours, 10 minutes, and 48 seconds.

Dodgeball

Men's: In Group A, Amuaplye has not played a game yet. However, El Chupacabras lost to Ethane, 4-5, and Main Nation Ministry won against Cassadaigua, 8-2. Main Nation Ministry is in first with 6 points, Ethane is in second with 1, and El Chupacabras is in third with -1.

ESports

Men's First-Person Shooter: Amuaplye lost to West Phoenicia 10-16 in Group A. Ethane lost to Monsa, 11-16, and Eastfield Lodge won against Main Nation Ministry, 16-7. Amuaplye is in 5th place with -6.First is Eastfield Lodge, with 9 points, second is West Phoenicia, with 6, and third is Monsa, with 5.

Men's Multiplayer Online Battle Arena: Amuaplye won against the Holy Marsh, 0-2 in Group A. Ethane won against Main Nation Ministry, 2-1, and Togonistan lost to West Phoenicia, 1-2. Amuaplye is in 3rd place with 1.Ethane and West Phoenicia are tied for 1st, both with 2 points.

Women's Real Time Strategy: In Group D, Christina Davis won against Clara Goodard of West Phoenicia, 0-2. Aditi Divikar from the Holy Marsh won against Waneka Hegel of Eastfield Lodge, 2-1. She is in 2nd place, with a score of 1. First is Aditi Divekar, with a score of 2, and third is Clara Goodard, with a score of -1.

Equestrian

Eventing - Dressage - Individual: Essie Brooks finished 84th, with a score of 53.3. In first was Graham Barton of Krytenia, with a score of 31.6, in second was Pazzaq Salimov of Altai Almas, with a score of 35.7, and in third was Emily Woods of West Phoenicia, with a score of 36.2.

Eventing - Dressage - Team: Amuaplye didn't send a team, but in first was Eraman with 161.1, in second was Altai Almas with a score of 163.1, and in third was the Teremaran Unified Team, with a score of 166.2.

Fencing

Women's Individual Épée: Diana Meyer automatically advanced to the Round of 64, where she won against Julia Sorijana from Mattijana, 13-6. In the Round of 32, however, she lost against Sylvie Garreau of Liventia and was eliminated, 7-6.

Football

Men's: In Group C, Amuaplye tied with Vilita and Turori, 1-1, Mattijana lost to Cocoabo Forest, 3-5, Liventia tied with the Locharian Olympic Team, 1-1, and the Teremaran Unified Team won against New Saria, 1-0. Amuaplye is in 3rd place, where they're tied with Liventia, the Locharian Olympic Team, and Vilita and Turori with a score of 0. In first is Cocoabo Forest, with a score of 2, and in second is the Teremaran Unified Team, with a score of 1.

Gridiron

Men's: In Group D, Amuaplye lost to the Socialist Alpine Republics, 7-20, and Banjia lost to the Main Nation Ministry, 20-28. Amuaplye is in 4th place, with a score of -13. First is the Socialist Alpine Republics, with a score of 13, second is Main Nation Ministry, with a score of 8, and third is Banja, with a score of -8.

Hockey

Men's: In Group A, Cosumar won against Britonisea, and the Vilitan Union won against Natanians and Nosts.
In Group B, Porabasta won against Electrum, and Eastfield Lodge tied with Vangaziland.
In Group C, Kernovi and Rewgwlas lost to Kriegiersien, and Main Nation Ministry won against Cassadaigua.
In Group D, Vekaiyu tied against Valanora, and Benjamin Mark tied against Liventia.
In Group E, Mattijana tied with South Covello, and Titaniumland won against the APOC Coalition.
In Group F, Ethane tied against Vakolicci Haven and Celeria, and Kelssek lost to Laeral.
In Group G, Mitra and Soma lost to New Saria, and Baranil lost to the Sherpa Empire.
And finally, in Group H, Santaclausisgodistan won against Taeshan.

Judo

Men's 60kg: In the Preliminary Round, Michael Nelson defeated Julian Krunchov of Mattijana, then defeated Przemysl Dunajski of Glisandia in the Round of 16. He then later defeated Robson White of Krytenia in the Quarterfinals. He will go against Joshua Halliday of Liventia tomorrow.

Women's 48kg: In the Preliminary Round, Ginger Pearson defeated Nicoline Scherwel of Neu Engollion, and Jane Grey of Kriegiersien, before being defeated by Janice Morris of West Phoenicia.

Korfball

Mixed: Mattijana defeated Amuaplye in Group A, 11-16, Cassadaigua lost to Vangaziland, 11-12, and Main Nation Ministry lost against Vilitan Union, 9-13. Amuaplye is in 5th place with a score of -5. Mattijana is first with a score of 5, Vilitan Union is in second with a score of 4, and Vangaziland is third with a score of 1.

Lacrosse

Men's: Amuaplye won against Eastfield Lodge in Group A, 7-9, Main Nation Ministry lost to Northwest Kalactin, 10-11, and Cassadaigua won against Free Republics, 7-6.
Amuaplye is in 1st place with a score of 2. Northwest Kalactin is in 2nd place with a score of 1, and Cassadaigua is in 3rd with a score of 1 (This is a summary, there are multiple variables that put Cassadaigua in 3rd).

Mixed Martial Arts

Men's Atomweight: Dennis May defeated Arno Papp of Darmen via submission in the Quarterfinals. He will compete against Sunder Lata of the Holy Marsh in the Semifinals.

Women's Atomweight: Glenda Gibson automatically advanced to the Semifinals, and will face off against Cindy Simpson of Free Republics there.

Rowing

Men's Single Sculls: In Heat 4, Tyrone Henderson was placed 1st, with a time of 7 minutes and 19.10 seconds. In second place was Anthony Nichols of New Saria, who had a time of 7 minutes and 23.74 seconds. In third was Day pen Trenholme of Kernovi and Rewgwlas, who had a time of 7 minutes and 29.07 seconds. They qualify for the Semifinals.

Men's Double Sculls: In Heat 1, Ernest Farmer and Terrell Norton placed 4th, with a time of 6 minutes and 34.61 seconds. In first place was Jimmy Bust and Robert Wellings of Vakolicci Haven and Celeria, with a time of 6 minutes and 23.81 seconds. In second place was Will Blatch and Hugo Springer of Krytenia, with a time of 6 minutes and 28.64 seconds. In third was Adrian Miller and James Hawthorne of Electrum, with a time of 6 minutes and 33.55 seconds. They qualify for the Repechage.

Men's Quadruple Sculls: In Heat 3, Bradley Frank, Duane Terry, Ervin Schneider, and Mark Rodriguez placed 4th with a time of 5 minutes and 50.07 seconds. In first was George Greenwood, Felix Gaffney, James McCormack, and Archie Savage of Krytenia, with a time of 5 minutes and 39.01 seconds. In second was Steve Winger, Dan Winger, Víctor de Soto, and Peter Milian of Elejamie, with a time of 5 minutes and 45.56 seconds. In third was Montaine Arafat, Abdul Haadi Wheeldon, Husaam Samara, and Artur Badour of Eastfield Lodge, with a time of 5 minutes and 47.10 seconds. They qualify for the Repechage.

Men's Coxless Pair: In Heat 3, Brian Delgado and Cornelius Sanders placed 6th with a time of 6 minutes and 51.51 seconds. In first place was Gabby Ó Ceallacháin and Micaiah Braden of Darmen, with a time of 6 minutes and 39.82 seconds. In second was Dan Rigg and Jon Hart of Ethane, with a time of 6 minutes and 41.98 seconds. In third was Niall Humphries and Timothy Marshall of the Kytler Peninsulae, with a time of 6 minutes and 47.98 seconds. They qualify for the Repechage.

Women's Single Sculls: In Heat 1, Billie Clarke placed 5th, with a time of 8 minutes and 6.51 seconds. In first place was Margarita Céspedes of Sargossa, with a time of 7 minutes and 39.45 seconds. In second was Eniola Maša of Main Nation Ministry, with a time of 7 minutes and 40.24 seconds. In third was Zoë Junozoviĉ of Mattijana, with a time of 7 minutes and 43.05 seconds. She qualifies for the Repechage.

Women's Double Sculls: In Heat 1, Holly Francis and Irma Osbourne placed 5th, with a time of 7 minutes and 14.38 seconds. In first place was Kita Armour and Anja Fjällgren of Cosuvar, with a time of 7 minutes and 1.43 seconds. In second was Essence Simen and Christianne Hayes of Darmen, with a time of 7 minutes and 2.42 seconds. In third was Zoë Junozoviĉ and Emeli Danala of Mattijana, with a time of 7 minutes and 3.58 seconds. They qualify for the Repechage.

Women's Quadruple Sculls In Heat 2, Barbara Aguilar, Daisy Burton, Olive Webster, and Krystal Long placed 2nd, with a time of 6 minutes and 16.44 seconds. In first was Jillian Winfield, Julia Wilde, Lucile Desjardins, and Holly Slater of Liventia, with a time of 6 minutes and 15.65 seconds. In third was Daphne Church, Fiona Juggs, Angie Baffa, and Maria Sicily of West Phoenicia, with a time of 6 minutes and 19.66 seconds. They qualify for the Semifinals.

Women's Coxless Four: Robyn Delgado, Beverly Douglas, Pearl Kelly, and Erika Montgomery placed 4th in Heat 3, with a time of 6 minutes and 52.94 seconds. In first was Pénélope Fournier, Delia Hill, Arianne Harper, and Corrie Brewer of Kelssek, with a time of 6 minutes and 46.40 seconds. In second was Drumbert Jones, Berta Jones, Orleansa Jones, and Whassernmae Jones of South Covello, with a time of 6 minutes and 47.95 seconds. And in third was Charlotte Hope, Anna Hope, Matilda Donaldson, and Marie Fortune of Vakolicci Haven and Celeria, with a time of 6 minutes and 51.70 seconds.

Rugby Sevens

Women's: In Group D, Amuaplye beat Benjamin Mark, 24-10, Altai Almas won against Titaniumland, 26-12, and Eastfield Lodge lost to Polynesia, 10-26. Amuaplye placed 2nd with a score of 14. In 1st was Altai Almas with a score of 16, and in 3rd was Polynesia with a score of 14.

Rugby League Nines

Men's: In Group A, Amuaplye lost to Diarcesia, 12-24, Kernovi and Rewgwlas won against Darmen, 30-10, and Cassadaigua lost to Eastfield Lodge, 6-36. Amuaplye is in 4th with -12 points, in first is Eastfield Lodge with 30, Kernovi and Rewgwlas with 20, and Diarcesia with 12.

Sailing:

Men's One-Person Dinghy: Hugh Fuller placed 27th, and was tied with No'a Kameliamwa of Polynesia, with a score of 59. In first was Windbert Ellied of South Covello, with a score of 14, in second was Thomas Fincher of Siovanija and Teusland, with a score of 15, and in third was Daniel Rengard of Ethane, with a score of 18.

Men's Heavyweight Dinghy: Eduardo Gill placed 19th with a score of 12. Gary Carr of Vangaziland and Robeen Sharma of Titaniumland are tied with first with a score of 1, and James Creswell of Vakolicci Haven and Celeria and Patrick Sterling of the Socialist Alpine Republics are tied for 3rd, with a score of 2.

Men's Windsurfer: Joseph Pittman placed 35th with a score of 130. In first was Bashir Shishani of Free Republics, with a score of 23, in second was Arnold Alt of Siovanija and Teusland, with a score of 32, and in third was Alan Anton of West Phoenicia, with a score of 39.

Women's One-Person Dinghy: Carmen Marsh came in 11th with a score of 28. In first is Rhonwen Gill of Liventia, with a score of 6, in second is Wen-Lee Cell of West Phoenicia, with a score of 15, and in third is Kleio Eitana of Ioudaia, with a score of 18.

Women's Heavyweight Dinghy: Katrina Campbell came in 6th, having tied with Eugenia Arnfreyrsdottir of Gilsandia with a score of 4. Gargi Nani of Main Nation Ministry and Joanne Yates of Kelssek are tied for first with a score of 1, and Kleio Eitana of Ioudaia and Raisa Rushisvilli of Free Republics are tied for third with a score of 2.

Women's Windsurfer: Harriet Paul came in 6th, with a score of 42. In first is Louisa Morse of Liventia, with a score of 18, and Lady Tryphaena Ptolemy of West Phoenicia and Maribel Ângela of Main Nation Ministry are tied for second with a score of 23.

Sevenball

Men's: In Group A, Amuaplye won against APOC Coalition, 7-2, and Eastfield Lodge lost to Baranil, 7-4. This puts Amuaplye in first, with a score of 5, Baranil in second with a score of 3, and Eastfield Lodge with a score of -3.

Shooting

Men's 10m Air Pistol: Jon Willis placed 14th, with a score of 582. In first is Colonel Arseny Izmaylov of Free Republics with a score of 589, in second is Daniel Crotia of West Phoenicia, with a score of 589 (Score is the sum of the scores of 6 games put together), and in third is Marquise Patterson of Vangaziland, with a score of 587. He did not qualify.

Women's 10m Air Pistol: Luz Barber placed 35th with a score of 390. Tied for first is Treina Cash and Ery Inie of South Covello and Kriegiersien, respectively, and in third is Lisa Sahmbala of Taeshan.

Table Tennis

Men's Singles: Eddie Daniel automatically advanced to the Round of 64, and will play against Rela Korban of Eraman tomorrow.

Women's Singles: Willie Thompson won against Elan Temalin of Elejamie, 4-3. She will compete against Cassidy Echavarria of Taeshan tomorrow.

Tennis

Men's Singles: Brian Smith automatically advanced to the Round of 128, and will play against Greg Burch of Cassadaigua tomorrow.

Women's Singles: Daisy Simon automatically advanced to the Round of 128, and will play against Lusinda Meriñol of Kalosia.

Traditional Pentathlon

Men's 200m: Phil Houston finished 8th, with a time of 20.24 seconds. In first was Belenos Moray of Main Nation Ministry, with a time of 19.95 seconds. In second was Enzo Cunha of Free Republics, with a time of 19.99 seconds. In third was Tim Hoover, with a time of 20.04 seconds.

Weightlifting

Women's 48kg Leigh Parker finished 3rd, and became our first Summer medalist with a score of 200. In first was Katiuscia Shahnaz of Main Nation Ministry, with a score of 204, and in second was Heidla Alvinsdottir of Yellow Star Republic, with a score of 202.

To find full, more detailed results, please look at atv.am/sports/olympics/xiiiolympiad/results/dayii.

[Vangaziland]

"Oh no", said Liz Marsden as the rival team's calls shot out over the campus most of the Vannish delegation was staying at. Athletes from many sports and teams just heard the Vannish cheer team get called out. "We can't let this slide", said Marsden.

"Rally the troops", said Raychelle Millward. "We need to rehearse." The Vannish squad was immediately sent into a flurry of activity.

"They're calling out the men!" Kira Moller sounded out a cry which drew more faces to watch from the windows. "Stupid men let us down again."

"Those are our men", yelled a feisty Taira Yuuko at the Phoenicians. Yuuko was born in the East Asian Tainese Isles. Her first experience in Vangaziland came with attending St. Joseph's College on a cheer scholarship.

"We'll seek revenge at dawn", said Stina Karlsson, the team's commander with eyes of purple steel. She clenched her fist from her perch high above the field. Those foreign girls were in their quad. Soon after the performance had ended, different team members were handling various tasks. Gunhild Palmcrantz tracked down a professional sound system.

Davina Arnell rented mats they could place outdoors to give them a better surface. The other girls came up with a song and practiced the routine. The team would stay up late working on things. They woke up early full of pep. Under the cover of darkness, they made their way outside of West Phoenician lodging. Stina Karlsson took on the all important task of finding out exactly where the Phoenician cheer team was staying.

The Vangazi set their ambush up outside of the opposing team's lodging. They planned to surprise them just before they went to breakfast. With such an important day of competition, teams had been waking fairly early. Karlsson even asked around to figure out about when the Phoenicians went to breakfast.

Phoenician cheerleaders would first hear the drop of a beat, bass kicking in a funky way, echoing off speakers heavy enough to thud the ear drum. The song featured hisses which came out crystal clear on the pro grade system.

A whispering voice repeated, "Ah. Push it."

The Vangazi chimed in with, "Ou West Phoenicia, West Phoenicia..." They repeated the statement. As the beat went on, the other girls picked up their routine. Tiana Lord and Isabelle Hagelin tumbled in from opposites sides of the field. They flipped and spun in different ways, meeting three other girls to form together. Kira Moller and Stina Karlsson moved in from the center dancing in sync with military precision. At one point they added robot like stalling to their maneuvers. They even twisted to face opposite sides , before spinning back to the center.

The entire time, voices kept saying, "AhHHHH! Push it." Liz Marsden was in the complete center and sprinted into a single tumble. All these movements lead to the girls lining up in a staggered rank. Karlsson took over at main base. Moller was her secondary. She was the tallest of this group at 5'9.

Marsden was very strong for her height. This meant she could get a good deal of height on her jumps. She was quite agile and flexible, capable of very complex maneuvers. Hagelin and Lord danced old school moves in sync, eventually moving onto either side of the formation. Hagelin prepared to sub into a rock backspot formation, though Stina and Kira were in a 2 on 1 formation.

Marsden started with a tick tock, kicking from one foot to the other. She was then sent up into an elevator prep where she hit a cobra stunt. It is considered to be a more complicated form of the bow and arrow stretch, with her arm going behind her head and her leg closer to her face. By now, Hagelin moved into a backspot.

After a quick torch, which was a liberty faced to the side, Liz lifted into the air. She fell into a leaping Lora after gathering a fair bit of air. Just as she landed, the other girls started to shout out a freestyle rap in tune to the quirky beat.

"Ah Push it.. West Phoenicia.. Push it", they sang.

"Like yo. You brag about your guys like stank-ain't-on-ya.
Your team still lost to Cass-a-dai-gua.
You laugh and brag comparing men to men.
But Amelia Defence lost to Buttessen. I said Amelia Defence fell to Buttessen.
Our teams had a little bad luck day two, big deal.
We're still here to flex on you, so chill.
It's almost time to square off in this competition for-real.
You know, this tournament... Vangaziland'll be in-your-grill."

By the now the girls had resumed their staggered formation. They each kicked off into individual flexes or kicks. They brought different forms of kick, some going near vertical. Others added a twist or tick tock.

In sync, the girls took a knee and fell. They backed away from the mat as the beat still carried on. The Salt-N-Pepa instrumental kept telling the Phoenicians to push it. Matt Theobold watched nearby with Eva Csonka in a makeshift booth they used to set up the rented equipment. He was the makeshift DJ, earning the title by simply pressing play on a connected tablet.

"Schooled them", Csonka said from her hideout.

"Has Liz asked about me?" Theobold asked his girlfriend curiously. "Like, does she say I owe her anything?"

Csonka slapped him on the back, causing him to jump. "Stop letting her push you around", Eva said in her thick Barnicean accent. Her voice was a silky mix of Latin and Slavic tones common in the area. The Northerners called her homeland Esportivan Vangaziland. She knew it as Barnicea. "I would like to see an official united delegation", Csonka previously told Vannish reporters. "People from so many places compete for Vangaziland's flag. The world should know the story is deeper than just one place."

Some of Matt's friends helped set up and clean up the mat. They helped because they were told they might meet cheerleaders. Those girls were gone already and so were the chances of the cleanup crew to meet them. The Vangazi were not going to let themselves be upstaged before the big competition. They showed they were also not intimidated.

"I have to admit", Karlsson said to her trusted officer, Imperial Military Academy cadet Raychelle Millward. "I have to admire those girls' style." The blonde paused while starring out of the window in thought. She turned dramatically back to Millward. "We must defeat them at any cost", Karlsson advised as she pointed her hand in an authoritative manner.

"The team is wide awake and ready to go", Millward reassured. While resting her hand on Stina's opposite shoulder.

[Commonwealth of Baker Park]

https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?p=35108398#p35108398

Ian Zimmerman: "Here on Day 3 from the 13th Summer Olympic Games, reporting live from the International Broadcast Center in Republica, I'm Ian Zimmerman. Let's have a quick look back on yesterday's first day of competition for Commonwealth athletes.

First off, David Porter, the light heavyweight boxer from Hamilton fell to Corbin Heinrich of Darmen in the preliminary round by unanimous decision, while later on Lucius Crawford, the 24 year old Commonwealth national champion also dropped his bout to another Darmen fighter, Issac Stack by a 3-0 decision.

The action shifted to the Aquatics venue, where the women's 4x100 meter freestyle relay team won their heat and with the fourth best overall time will be in action today in the final, seeking to take the first medal for Baker Park at these games. Unfortunately for Aiden Harris, he could do no better than 3rd in his heat for the 400 meter individual medley relay and wound up 20th in the 55 man field.

Finally, the men's under 23 soccer team saw action in the first day of group play against Valanora and came away with a 5-2 victory, led by DeAngelo Simmons with a pair of goals and Marcus Milton, Lorenzo Taborn and David Konawalski each with a score. They will take on Kelssek on Day 4.

In addition to the finals of the women's freestyle relay, which you will see live here on CBC, we'll be bringing you coverage of the women's lacrosse team as they open their Olympic tournament against Liventia, and with a preview lets bring in Chris Gibbons, who will call the action. Chris, good afternoon.

Chris Gibbons: Thank you Ian. The National women's lacrosse team will be opening up their Group A schedule against Liventia here at Aldermain Comprehensive Academy stadium, and they will look to get off to a fast start. Not much is known about the opponents, however Coach Brittaney Franklin had a sense of optimism when we spoke yesterday and she feels that in spite of a tough group draw, the BP side can get through to the knockout rounds if they stay focused.

[Ioudaia]

Cycling Road Race, Finish Line

Raz Turrianus kept his pace up as he crossed the finish line, catching up with a team-mate coasting out just ahead of him. He clapped Davidi ben Cleombrotos on the back as he came even with him. “Congrats! You finished in the top half!”

Returning the greeting, Davidi checked the leaderboard. “Only four back! Not bad either!” He squinted, searching ahead, then turned his head to check both sides and behind. “Where's everybody else?”

“Um, there was a crash back in klick--”

“Oh, is that what that was! I guess it was good that you guys ditched me that one rotation.”

“Sorry about that. I was in the middle of our group; I didn't make the move.”

Davidi rolled his eyes. “We should see if everybody's ok.” They made their way off the course, and fought their way back through the crowd of spectators, dodging a Champion Network crew, but stopping to sign autographs on two occasions. Once the last of the cyclists passed on their way to the finish, Davidi and Raz doubled back onto the course and set off at a moderate pace.

They found the rest of the team slowly cycling in, sour looks on their faces. “Great plan, Raz!”, Atrometos ben Or Li shouted at them. “And you came up smelling like a rose.”

Raz shook his head. “Wasn't my plan. I just got lucky steering out of it. I only got knocked off balance, but I didn't go down.” He nodded in Davidi's direction. “Almost caught up to him and the peloton.”

“Uh-huh... And I got screwed again, which was what I was trying to avoid.”

Dovav ben Peneleos gave him a sympathetic look, then lowered his eyes, shaking his head sadly. “We should have stayed focused.”

Atrometos glared at him. “Oh, shut up! Fastest man in the regionals, and you didn't have a better plan!”

Dovav's mouth hung open for a second. He started to spit back an answer, then bit off his reply, changing his mind. “We'll do better next time. We know what to practice now.”

“I said shut up!”

Davidi pointed a finger at Atrometos. “If I were you, I'd be more concerned with my own ass. If the Federation has video of the crash, and we're blamed, we could get DQ'd from the nationals.”

“Fortunately, you're not me.”

“Fortunate for me, yeah: I'm clean. I was nowhere near you guys. Your ass.”

Atrometos scowled at him, but said nothing. There was a long silence until Dovav broke it. “C'mon, guys, let's go. The race is over; what's done is done.”


Olympic Natatorium

“This is Sophia Laskaridou with Champion Network, live from the Olympic Swimming Venue here in Republica. Ioudaia has an amazing four swimmers who have qualified for the finals in their events. Let's take a look at video of their heats.” The video cut away to the races, which Sophia narrated: three men and one woman reached the finals. This... this is what Champion's subscribers pay for. But why do I feel something is lacking?

As her crew packed up, Sophia looked over towards the dispersing Ioudaian swimmers, still elated with their victories. For a competitive lot, they're certainly happy with others' wins, even the losers. I have to admire-- Is that Alon? How did he...?

As she watched, a young man, barely 20, stepped up to one of swimmers. A camera and sound crew took their places in front of them. “Hi, I'm Alon Megakales, ITV sport, here with Tamir Euenus, who placed sixth overall in the 400m individual medley, the highest place of Ioudaia's swimmers."

He turned to face the larger man. “Tamir, I'd like to ask you about your race. You came in second in your heat, but it was very close, and you were gaining on the Free Republics' Veljko Grgic at the end. How do you judge your performance today?”

Tamir paused for a long second before answering. “You mean besides the obvious?” He chuckled nervously. “I think my breaststroke leg was the strongest, and I think I was gaining only because his crawl isn't his strongest leg. That's the way I see the race video.”

Alon briefly faced into the camera. “The breaststroke is the third of four legs in the medley.” He returned to Tamir. “Could you tell us about what you think of Team Ioudaia's chances tomorrow?”

Again, Tamir was silent before answering. “Well, we –- the team -- haven't had a chance to review all the video yet, so I can't say. I... I hate to sound egocentric, but I tend to think only about my races and my competitors. Against them, I think I've got a good chance.” He laughed, more confidently than last time. “But everybody is gonna say that.

“Another guy from my heat... I can't think of his name now... also placed into the final, so I've got the measure of two of the other seven racers already. With only four seconds difference between first and eighth going into the finals, I think the race is anybody's to win. It may come down to chance, but I think with my backstroke and breaststroke, I'll be in the top four tomorrow.”

“That's great! Thank you and congratulations on reaching the final, Tamir!” He shook the swimmer's hand and ended the interview.

As Alon's crew started to review the video for broadcast, Sophia approached them, waving cheerfully. “Alon! Nice scoop! I've got to hand it to you, getting an interview with him. I have to admit I'm envious. What's your secret? The coaches have been keeping their people away from us.”

“Hello, Sophia. Blind luck. I happened to bump into him the day before yesterday, and asked him for a post-race interview. Just happened to pick the right guy.”

She looked as dubious as one can get. “Blind luck, huh?”

“Happens.” A smile flickered across his face. “It does help to ask a number of people for interviews, though. Also covering the team for months beforehand.”

With a rueful expression, Sophia gave a single shake of her head. "Swimming's too small an event for Champion. But we've got you beat in cycling and running.

"Bet a bottle on the overall ratings?"

Flatly, Sophia said, "Only if it's expensive." But then winked.

"Talk to later, then."

[Main Nation Ministry]

The Assembly Building: Weightlifting

Jessica Madden was sitting in the back, but had some binoculars wrapped around her neck, as she was watching the weightlifting competition for Day 2. "Get the flags ready, when she appears, make sure you cheer her on!" Jessica gotten out some little flags of Main Nation Ministry, as she started waving them when Katiuscia Shahnaz appeared to start lifting weights. Each of her band members took turns sharing the binoculars, until Jessica took the binoculars at the last second, where she saw that Katiuscia has won. "She did it! She won- AGHHH!" the binocular strap was still around Jessica's neck, where Frank jerked the binoculars away from her to see what was happening, while Jessica was trying to undo the strap. "Frank, don't kill Jessica!" Gerald sat up to help undo the strap. While all of this was happening, Tony was busy casually sipping a can of root beer, while acting as an apathetic bystander.

After getting a cab driver and accidentally ending away from where they intended, the band noticed they were near the Vangaziland Delegation Village, where they saw a strange sight. Well, strange is a bit of a pointless word, since their nation was considered the embodiment of weird. It seems that the cheerleaders from West Phoenicia have started a dance. After they finished, the band had the most puzzled stares. "What the fuck just happened? Jeez, we need to get out of this joint. These women have seem tougher than me." Jessica said, as the band went to find another cab.

The Familiar Stranger: Outlaw

The Leader arrived at the Fort Capital Shooting Range, where he went to a restroom to change out of his disguise. His outfit still fit him as a glove. Daphne was still in the hotel room, hiding out from the public, though he should have brought her here so she can observe his skills. The security team from Main Nation Ministry greeted him, where they must have not gotten the news that he needs to be captured. Waiting for his turn, he took his pistol where he fired the first round of shots. Average, he thought. He waited till the second round and did the second set of shots. 96. One off. Then it came the third. 98. Good, he thought. As he finished up the 5th round of shots, a soldier from Main Nation Ministry's security came over to him to inform him of something. "Uhh..Leader?" the soldier whispered, visibly nervous in tone. "Do you mind? I need to finish up! That colonel guy is going to nab the gold." The Leader scolded the soldier.

"I know, sir.. But.."
"But what?"
"We have received orders to have you detained to have amnestics administered. If you can finish up the last round, we can escort you back to a secluded area." the soldier explained, where the Leader didn't say a word. Getting the pistol to finish up the round, he didn't say a word until the soldier asked, "Sir?" The response was the Leader immediately sprinting the opposite direction, which caught the soldier off-guard. "Wait, stop!" the soldier attempted to chase him, along with several bodyguards from the Ministry's olympic team. Chasing after him, they were bewildered to see that he had entered back to the crowds outside. "Where did he go?!" "He can't have grown wings."
"Guys! I think we should let him go."
"What why?! We have orders!"
"He's going to have us killed, if we capture him, even if we get orders!"
"Oh come on..."
"Actually I agree with him."
"Do we....Fine!"

Among the crowds, the Leader had made sure his hat was on his head, while he slowly walked down to the hotel Daphne was at with his trenchcoat disguise. "Well, that worked better than I expected." The Leader thought, as he flagged down a cab.

Later, under the orders of Steinberg, the Main Nation Ministry's Ministry of Sports issued an official report to all security who were monitoring the Ministry's Olympic team. It stated the following, while introducing a picture of the Leader during one of his latest public appearances in the nation:

Wanted For Questioning

All Ministrian security officials within the Republica area in Free Republics, be on a look out for this man. He is currently wanted for questioning in an anomalous incident within Main Nation Ministry. If you see this man, make sure to notify a security official immediately. Do not alert the individual as he is extremely dangerous. A word description is as follows.

- Age around mid to late 10's. Estimated age around 17-18.
- Wears purple slip-on shoes.
- Pale skin.
- Purple eyes and purple short hair.
- White suit/uniform.
- Black and white checkered scarf.
- Appears harmless, but can create harm if provoked.

Dereliction: To Deal With Malice

"Where is my daughter? Please, I need to, at least, see her." Ms. Harrington said nervously, as she fixed her hair after the bag was placed over her head to make sure the location wasn't given to her. "Ms. Harrington, we told you before. She has been placed in custody for interrogation of a failed mission." Jones tried to calm her down, where Harrington proceeded to get stressed out more. "Do you realize how much my child has been through!? I should have gotten her friends to play with, but you turned her into a killing machine!" "It wasn't my orders, Harrington! Look, I'm going to try to get Keller to be in a dormant state, where she can explain everything." Jones reasoned with her, before several soldiers came to take her for less harsh and more peaceful questioning.

Dorbi Truman was pacing back and forth in front of the interrogation room, where Keller was being held. Keller looked extremely calm for someone who had a parasite demonically possessing them inside the room that looked like hundreds had died inside. "Jones! I don't know what to do! I know I was supposed to have the Leader captured, but he would have ordered my head on a platter even when he is given an amnestic! Now, he's roaming around Free Republics, while the Northwest is hounding my ass over-"
"Truman! Get a grip! Look, I'm going to talk to Keller. I see what has happened and maybe I can get her to cooperate. If not, I'm not going to have them kill her." Jones said. With several soldiers by his side, Jones walked over to the door that led into the interrogation room. Keller knew what room this was. She watched someone be put in the room, where it was said to be where a person's worst fear lurks. And the only 2 ways you could leave was if you got lucky or if you spilled the beans. Jones knew Keller was tough, but he wasn't planning on having them terrify her. Holding his breath, he opened the door and stepped inside with the soldiers.

[Indusse]

Group F
Kriegiersien (KGS) 4–1 El Chupacabras (ECB)
Grand Theocratic Empire of Holy Marsh (HMO) 3–0 Polynesia (PLY)
Starblaydia (STB) 2–4 Indusse (INS)

Group F                                     Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Kriegiersien                                  1   1  0  0    4   1  +3    3
2 Grand Theocratic Empire of Holy Marsh         1   1  0  0    3   0  +3    3
3 Indusse                                       1   1  0  0    4   2  +2    3
4 Starblaydia                                   1   0  0  1    2   4  −2    0
5 El Chupacabras                                1   0  0  1    1   4  −3    0
6 Polynesia                                     1   0  0  1    0   3  −3    0

INDUSSE DEFEATED STARBLADYIA
indusse defeats starbladyia for 2-4 yesterday.

[APOC Coalition]

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Olympic Opinions
with Graham O'Doherty, Dara Keane, and Denis Avtushenko

FROM REPUBLICA, THE FREE REPUBLICS - Hi there, guys! It's your gay Graham back with another edition of the Olympic Opinions, and this time I'm joined by two guys whom I'm sure you Gaelic Gamers fans will have known very well by now. Of course, I'm talking about my cousin Dara Keane and his friend from Pridnestrovia, Denis Avtushenko, aka the Unofficial PGSL Blogger. Day 2 of the Olympics has brought us lots of twists and turns as well as results, results which I am sure to enjoy relating to all of you. Well, some of them aren't so palatable (you should see the look on Dara and Denis's faces during the APOC-Free Republics game!) and you're all about to find out why. To make all of this easier on you, we've divided this post into sections so that you can head for the sport that you're interested in the most and not have to worry about going through word for word trying to search for the one that actually mentions it. Without further ado, let's dive in.

Men's Football Game One: Ethane vs. APOC Coalition (Graham)

ETHANE 0 - 1 APOC COALITION
             SCHERMER (34')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
Ethane: 50%
APOC Coalition: 50%
Shots
Ethane: 5 (3 on target)
APOC Coalition: 9 (5 on target)
Corners
Ethane: 6
APOC Coalition: 9
Fouls
Ethane: 17
APOC Coalition: 23

And thus we have the first result of the APOC Coalition's first foray into international football as a unified team, and while the Coalition was expected to win against Ethane, perhaps the most surprising thing about the result was that there was only one goal in the game. Not that both teams didn't try to score more; nobody just had their shooting boots on. Nobody except the ever-present Peter Schermer, of course, who at the moment seems to be able to find the net even though he kicked the ball all the way from the moon.

Some background about this match first though. Fleftic fans out there will remember the controversy that is the 40th Di Bradini Cup, when Ethane was allowed to play the entirety of the competition with a number of overage players as well as an unconventional 10-man formation. I mean, there was probably some genius in Ethane deliberately playing one man down at the very start of the game, but sending seven (seven!) overage players at what is supposed to be a youth world cup is just inexcusable! And they got away with it, even with all the meddling Fleftic kids! Ethane got all the way to the 3PPO of Di Bradini 40 where they were eventually defeated (and rightfully so) by Schottia, but the mere fact that they got that far despite violating one of the core concepts of the Di Bradini Cup (and because Abanhfleft didn't even make it past the group stage that year) meant that a lot of Flefts out there still harbor resentment and even hate for Ethane for that unforgivable gross violation of the spirit of the Di Bradini Cup.

Two men who were with that team that drew 3-3 with Ethane in the DBC are with the APOC team in the Olympics in the present day, midfielder Mauro Magnanelli and manager Celerino delos Reyes, and while Coach Cel brushed off rumors that he was looking for revenge against Ethane, you could just see it in his eyes that that was exactly what he was going for. And this time, the Red Kites didn't have the "advantage" of their ten-man starting formation. But that being said, this current Ethane squad actually did pretty well for themselves considering their opposition. Their goalkeeper singlehandedly kept Ethane in the game while one of their center backs managed to scoop the ball away from the goal line after a goalmouth scramble to stop Suwaba Bumata making it 2-0 to the Coalition.

But that goal that did end up making the difference, let's talk about it. Let's talk about it in real detail. It started off with a tame shot at Guildenstern Cardew, who was able to scoop up the ball into his arms before he rolled it back to Ziketsy Tukuku. Tukuku then shifted the ball over to the left flank where Copperite teammate Suwaba Bumata was there to receive it after a challenge from an Ethane player. Bumata then slipped the ball into Rory Edwards' feet, who then took a step or two before launching the ball into the box. Lo and behold, Peter Schermer had managed to sneak in behind the defense, and from then on it was just a simple chipped finish over the Ethane goalie. Simple yet effective. That's how some of Big Pete's goals in the latter part of his career have looked like. And now he has scored the APOC Coalition's first ever goal as a unified team. Good day to be a Coalitionist, isn't it?

Men's Gridiron: APOC Coalition vs. Free Republics (Dara and Denis)

APOC Coalition      0  0  0  0  0
Free Republics      3  7  3  3  16

@ Gem of the Oceans Stadium, Republica, The Free Republics

Hello there, guys, and hello there, friends, comrades, and fellow fans in gridiron. As you can see, gridiron football is now part of the Olympics. A demonstration event, sure, but it's still there, meaning that there's one more team sport in which the Coalition can go perhaps grab some medals or two. I mean, we're talking about a team that's half made up of the team that won the most recent edition of the World Bowl (Pridnestrovia stronk!). Surely this is gonna be a team strong enough to at least make a decent showing in Olympic gridiron.

Um, well, let's rethink that, shall we? Well, maybe not rethink, but let's just take a look at how not only was a team made up of players who won both first and fourth place in the World Bowl beaten by a team that fell at the Round of 16 at the most recent World Bowl, but how that very same team was able to shut out the aforementioned combination team. Where do you think we should start? Let's start at the very start, when Anthony Aragones fumbled the ball while trying to dodge two Republican tacklers and gave the host nation very, very good field position to start their opening drive. Good thing the Coalition defensive line managed to hold and only give up a field goal, but still, that opening fumble from Aragones was surely a sign that this was not going to be the Coalition's day.

But how about that touchdown in the second quarter? I would say that that was the straw that broke the camel's back, am I right? I do think so, yes. I've seen it many times before with running backs like Von Colone and Oleg Karlov. But nothing like this, Dara. Those guys I mentioned, the longest runs they've ever run was only fifty to sixty miles. The Republican running back managed to break through our defense and then run all the way to the end zone like he was just on a morning jog! Where was the defense, you ask? Back there, at the Coalition's seven-yard line! Not even the speed of Kris O'Hagan and Anthony Aragones was able to stop that guy from scoring! And if your opponents can score a touchdown on you like that, then what's the point of even trying to get back?

Yes, this was a very demoralizing defeat for the likes of Stan Serban. Imagine, you're fresh off of winning the World Bowl, and you're looking forward to competing in the Olympics, and then this happens to you. Add to that the fact that you can't get your own offense up and running try as you might and you might as well just down tools and throw in the towel. I would say that this is a wake-up call for not only this Coalition squad but for all of us gridiron fans out there: not every day is going to be our day. On this day, it happened to be in favor of the Free Republics, and sometimes there's just no fighting that.

Women's Rugby Sevens Game Two: APOC Coalition vs. Darmen (Graham)

Abanhfleft (26)
Try: Railsback 3' c, 7' c
Larusso 5' c
Kucherenko 10' m
Con: Larusso (3/4)

Darmen (12)
Try: Hooker 8' m
Scrum half 13' c
Con: Scrum half (1/2)

And now it's back to me, bitches! I have to say that despite my own admitted gender preference, I've quite enjoyed watching the women of rugby duke it out with the other women of rugby for the honor of best women's rugby sevens team in the multiverse. Rosenda Railsback is a real undeniable bulldozer, a literal tank of a player! Two teams have tried and failed to contain her, and this time, the Coalition has finally reaped the benefits. Truth be told, color me surprised that Darmen weren't able to put up the good fight that I expected them to put up. We all know how Darmen is one of the newer rugby powers out there. So for our team to come up trumps like they did... Well, like I said, it's a surprise to be sure, but a welcome one at that. That new Fearsome Threesome of Asaro, Larusso, and Railsback... if they were playing rugby instead of lacrosse then Cousin Aisling would probably finally stop talking about her Iron Age of Lacrosse™.

In other sports, we're out of the medal race for archery, we lost at 7ball and men's hockey (field hockey, not ice hockey, yeah?) but surprisingly we won at men's lacrosse. Cousin Aisling will have a field day with that! Well, that does it for us over here at Gaelic Gamers. This has been Graham O'Doherty, Dara Keane, and Denis Avtushenko, and it is here that we bid you friends, comrades, and fellow fans in gridiron a До свидания and an XOXO from Graham! Cindy Apapwe, Cindy Apapwe, Cindy Apapwe....