Games of the XIII Olympiad RP Thread

by **Anollasia** » Sun Jan 13, 2019 8:13 pm

Mehmet Demirel played a good game today. He easily defeated Wilhelm Schmoe of Kriegiersien in Men's Singles tennis. Though Mehmet is one of the best tennis players in Anollasia, he doesn't let his talent and skill get in the way of sportsmanship. "Good game," he said to Wilhelm, extending his hand for a handshake. Being essentially a role model for many Anollasians young and old, he decides to act properly and conduct himself in a gentlemanly manner. Though he was like this even before becoming well-known; those who know him often describe him as being kind and friendly.

After the game he saw his fellow tennis player and Men's Doubles partner Kerem Yusufeli who had also won his match. "Hey, how did your match go?" Mehmet asked Kerem, though he perhaps didn't need to, as it was evident just by looking at Kerem's face that things had gone well.

"It was great! How was yours?"

"Take a guess." Mehmet said jokingly, not hiding the grin on his face. Knowing Mehmet, Kerem knew it was another victory.

"Alright, I'll see you later. I hope you're prepared for the doubles game." Kerem said walking away while looking back briefly.

After leaving the changeroom, Mehmet stumbled upon his Mixed Doubles partner Sara Kozan. She ignored him, looking straight ahead and continuing to walk.

Mehmet noticed there was something wrong. "Hey Sara, is there something wrong?"

Sara stopped and turned her head. Mehmet could see that she was upset. "I lost my match," she said.

"Oh no..." Mehmet replied, honestly a little unsure of what to say. "At least there is still the mixed doubles game." He hoped this was sufficient to cheer her up even a little.

"Yes, I know, but I feel a little off..." Sara had a look of confusion on her face, putting the palm of her hand on her forehead.

"Oh? In what way?"

She did not know how to say it, as there was something inside of her that defied explanation, at least according to her. "I guess I feel distracted...I can't focus on the game..." She wanted to say more but she couldn't.

Mehmet was now slightly worried about her. He offered to take her to the doctor, which she initially refused but after his insisting she reluctantly gave in. "I'm sure the doctor can help you. Come on, now." Mehmet, gently placing his arm on Sara's back, walked her to the doctor's office in search of answers and solutions.

by **Ioudaia** » Sun Jan 13, 2019 8:19 pm

Olympic Natatorium

Men's 400m Freestyle
Agat Halisthertes touched the wall, pushed up to the top, and hung on with one hand. He swung himself around, searching for the scoreboard. With a long sigh, his heart sank: two one-hundreths of a second out of third. He slumped, barely keeping keeping his head above water. All that work, gone in .02. I'll be back, but, ohhhh, for .02... so much practice, so many races, and now to miss by... basically nothing! Damn! He pulled himself out of the water, and started the long walk back to the changing room.

Men's 400m Medley
“Tamir has a seven second lead heading into the breaststroke leg! This is incredible!” ITV's Alon Megakales practically shouted into his mic. “He's extending his lead! … At the final turn, Tamir is 7.5 seconds ahead of Veljko Grgic! Veljko is closing the distance. He's coming on strong, folks! This is Veljko's strongest leg, and Tamir's weakest. Veljko's narrowing Tamir's lead...”

Tamir touched the wall and popped to the surface. He blinked at the leaderboard: there was only one name on it. He blinked again: his name! “I've done it!” He thrust a truimphant fist into the air, then bobbed down and used the bouyant rebound to gracefully pull himself out of the water. Tamir had most of a second of sitting on the edge of the pool before Veljko touched, and he simply sat there, glowing with pride.

The medal ceremony passed in a blur, though Tamir had to choke back tears at the Ioudaian anthem being played... being played for him, his victory, the first time it had ever been played at the Olympics.

As he stepped off the winners' podium, into the crush of congratulations, a tall, burly man pushed through the crowd around Tamir. Is he a bouncer? “I am Avi Theodotus, King Zamir Eumenes' chamberlain. The king would like to personally congratulate you.”

Tamir's mouth hung open while his mouth tried to catch up with events. “I... I heard that he wanted to-- I mean, yes! Yes, of course, I'm honored! When does he--”

“Immediately. Please follow me.” As Avi led Tamir to the king's private box overlooking the stands, he explained the details of royal protocol Tamir needed to know, ending with, “The king will stroll with you to the end of the royal carpet and make a short speech to the media. Just stand there unless he says something that makes it clear he wants you to say something. Then step off the carpet facing him, take at least two backwards steps away from him, and leave the room. Any questions?”

While Tamir thought it over, the silence stretched out. “No, I think I have it. It's a lot to take in, especially, well, with winning. Oh! I have a request. There's this ITV reporter, Alon, who's been giving the team a lot of good press. Could he be in the first row when the king speaks?”

“I will ask, but that should be possible.”

* * *

As Tamir prepared to meet the king, Avi spoke rapidly to Alon. “You may record video of the conversation, but not audio. You will not repeat anything you overhear to any one.” He checked the angles again: the camera wouldn't be able to clearly see the king's face as he spoke to Tamir, so there was no worry about lip-reading. “Once the king and Tamir start their stroll, you may record audio. I will signal you.”

When everybody was in place, Alon whispered into his microphone where he stood with his camera man in the doorway of the king's skybox. “ITV has been granted an exclusive honor at this historic event. We'll be broadcasting silent video of King Zamir Eumenes talking with Tamir, Ioudaia's first olympic gold medalist.”

At an unseen signal, both the king and Tamir began their stately walks to the middle of the royal carpet. Tamir marvelled at it: a wide cloth of gold stripe in the middle, flanked by Ioudaian blue and green, the edges trimmed in more cloth of gold. He struggled to keep his eyes on the king's face; he'd rather just keep staring at the carpet, even despite the king's leopard-skin stole.

At the middle, King Zamir spoke first. “Congratulations, Tamir! That was an amazing victory! A five second lead; you blew them away!” He extended a hand to Tamir.

...which Tamir shook. “Thank you, Your Majesty!” Did I just shake a king's hand? Oh, wow!

“I envy you: I've never had that kind of success at anything. Well, except politics, and that was something of a fluke.” He smiled broadly.

“Really?” After a moment, Tamir added, “If that's ok to ask.”

“Under the circumstances, perfectly ok. My predecessor was not very popular at the end of his reign, and a number of my competitors happened to have aligned themselves closely with policies like his. While I had a few things going for me, like youth, I lucked out being the only good man on the ballot. But enough about me. Do you think you'll return for the next olympic games, or will you retire at the top?”

Tamir started his reply with laughter. “I hadn't thought about it at all! I don't know.” He paused, despite having been warned against long silences with the king. “I'll return. I'll try to defend my title.”

The king's smile broadened. “A real fighter. Good. Ioudaia needs more people to fight for her on the world stage. Peacefully: in athletics, the arts, the sciences. But first, let us take a short walk together.” He gestured for Tamir to turn around and start the stroll. Behind Alon, other reporters began to fill the doorway, jostling for location.

Near the end of the carpet, King Zamir spoke again. “Today, Ioudaia has leapt onto the world athletic stage. We are proud that Tamir Eumenes has carried us here on the shoulders of his victory, his crushing victory! We expect there will be many more victories to follow, hopefully as soon as this olympic games. Let all of Ioudaia congratulate her new champion!” He shook Tamir's hand firmly, extending the shake for the benefit of the cameras, then applauded him. The media, packed in the doorway, joined in, cheering wildly.

Cycling Road Race Finish Area

Keep pushing! Keep pushing! Chryse pedaled furiously, trying to catch the rider just ahead of her. But her rival for second had even more left for finish, and Chryse couldn't even gain on her.

Breathing hard after crossing the line, she coasted out as long as she could. “Third place is still a medal.”

Pulling in to her team's spot, she was mobbed by her coach and trainers. And one of the guys from the men's team, Davidi ben somebody. “Where's the rest of the guys? Didn't want to get girl cooties?”

He glanced around, suddenly self-conscious, then shouted “Congratulations!” and hugged Chryse. He used the opportuntity to whisper to her. “The rest of the team's in deep trouble. They've been told to stay in the villa.” Davidi ignored her shocked reaction. “But let's talk about your win! You finished way faster than I did!”

She replied with a playful smile. “It's a shorter race, silly! But thanks!”

by **Teremaran Olympics Delegation** » Sun Jan 13, 2019 9:29 pm

Hotel Conference Room
Ekaterine, Falkasia
Weekss before the Olympics

Roxanne Hereux moved back to the front of the room. She looked a little more defeated and not quite as chipper as she’d been when first starting off the meeting.
“Well, um...Let’s…”

Gianni rose his hulking frame up from the wall. He hadn’t sat down as the chairs were too little. A common problem for him. He moved to the middle of the room and locked eyes with Roxanne.
“Who the fuck was that? I want to know who I’m going to jail fer fuckin’ murderin’.”

Roxanne’s shoulders slumped and her clipboard slapped against her stockinged leg.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Mr. Tuto. That was Karsten Tell, Chief Operating Officer of BDI. You are aware of the Tell family? Along with the Toft family?”

“I’m not scared of a bunch of inbred, hoity toity, super-rich assholes. They need to have respect for us, not the other way around. They feed off of us.”

“I don’t know that much of any of that is true, other than you have an unhealthy lack of fear.”

“You’re one of the many drones for them. What cells do you even have left over for independent thought?”

Prinz, the Austrakian basketball player, stood up from the other corner.
“Would you shut up already? Let’s just get on with this! Sitting in this room bitching isn’t going to get anything over any quicker. I hate to admit Mr. Tell was right, but he was..is.” He turned to Roxanne. “Where are we all going?”

“So that’s it then? You just accept your fate, like the serf you are? Typical Austrak bow to authoritarianism.”

“That’s rich coming from you, Neu Engollian! No pun intended. It’s because of you all that this capitalism on steroids bullshit infests Teremara! And the Falkasians! Look at where we are now. Surprise! Surprise!”

Olga scanned the room. She was never a fan of confrontation, ironic as it may have been given her heavyweight prowess. There was a difference though between stupid aggression, as was Gianni’s flaw, and calculated risk-taking, as was her’s.

“We’re not going to accomplish anything fighting one another.” she stated matter-of-factly.

It was unequivocal. “We have a job to do, and whether we may agree with it or not, we’re here and the ones required to do it.”

She stood, and the hulking frame followed with what felt like a sonic reverberation across the room. “Ekaterine isn’t such a bad place, I promise. There’s a lot of history here, and it explains why us Falkasians are the way we are. Think of it as just another part of the athletic journey. We’re on top of one peak, and now we have a valley before us we need to plow through to get to the next one.”

She hated using metaphors, preferring straight talk. In situations like this however, everything needed to be cast in an athletic light. They were, rightfully so, only concerned with what was in it for them. In reality, their task was much larger than the entire team could really conceptualize.

A placating call coming from a fellow athlete and a boxer at that that he could respect, Olga Ostrov, tempered Gianni’s mood. Plus, she wasn’t an Austrak Nazi piece of shit.
“Whatever. Fuck this shit then. Let’s just get on with it.” He slumped back against the garish papered wall of the hotel conference room, feeling the drywall begin to crack beneath him with the impact.

Gianni was going to do his best to get out of this dog and pony tour, making whatever calls he had to make. In the meantime, he would look for allies, both on the Neu Engollian Olympic team, and with the other Teremaran athletes, who felt the same way. He felt like he had a good bearing of who that would be, but he would have to tread carefully. For now, he’d said his peace and there wasn’t else much to be done. They were prisoners here, in effect, for the Teremaran Olympic Committee and the corporate assholes who pulled the strings.

Roxanne took over again. Every time she was starting over, she seemed a little more disheveled than before.
“Okay. Okay. We’re doing this? Okay, back on track....” She was speeding up a little faster, in anticipation of being interrupted again. “So, basketball, football and hockey players are going to Roman Kazyenko Academy to meet with students. Boxers, Gianni and Olga, you’re heading to the Vesely Les Mall, along with the weightlifters and martial artists. The rest of you are going to the other side of town to the Krug Roskoshi Hotel. Clear? Doesn’t matter. Your minders will be coming around with your specific itineraries and guiding you onto the right shuttle buses. Thanks again. It’s been fun. I’ll see you out there.” She mumbled more to herself, ”Heading to the hotel bar first. I need a drink.”

“It’s 1030 in the morning.”

“Two drinks!”

by **West Phoenicia** » Sun Jan 13, 2019 10:28 pm

West Phoenician Canoeing Federation President Donnie Evergreen has voiced a damming press conference while the Olympics have kicked off in Republica, Free Republics.
Mr Evergreen assumed the presidency of the West Phoenician Canoeing Federation after a successful career as a coach for the Olympic canoeing squad. His powerful coaching techniques and motivational speeches are believed to have been instrumental in the West Phoenician Canoeing team obtaining two wins at the previous games; Andy Tasman in the Sprint Men’s K-1 200 m and Inga Horn in the Sprint Women’s C-1 200 m.

Canoeing has 18 events over two disciplines. At the previous Summer Olympic Games West Phoenicia walked away with two bronze medals out of the 54 on offer, overall they had an opportunity to obtain a medal in each event, there was a possibility of picking up 18 medals, but a weak Canoeing Federation President had little attention to the needs of the Canoeing squad.

Mr Evergreen’s promotion to President was a strong desire to make canoeing a household name and make it a name on the international world stage.
Before going into the XIII Olympiad his goal was 5 medals with at least 2 gold.
A fresh eager generation of talent has been recruited that will mix in with some team veterans, a team Mr Evergreen says is very competitive and will no doubt go far in this sport.
Mr Evergreen has slammed the West Phoenician Olympics Committee for their reduction of funding to the Canoeing Federation which has reduced funding from $4.5 million to $2.5 million.
With such strong possibility, how are we going to maintain a full squad, maintain the latest equipment and travel allowances to international competition so we can stay in the public eye by pulling in wins.
The WPOC has let down the Canoeing community with this redistribution. Needless to say it has also been confirmed that even of canoeing does pull in more than two bronze as it did at the previous games, the funding will not be boosted back up. Rather it has been allocated to areas that are more likely to pull in gold.
Mr Evergreen has slammed the move and has called on the community to rally behind its canoeing squad as they go on to compete at these games. He has also not ruled out investments from companies and business to receive the extra donations to keep the squad relevant and up to date. How does the WPOC expect wins when there are not handing out the proper funds to have an amazing team. While the athletes are doing their best, equipment, coaches, buildings and travel and accommodation need to also be factored in.
Mr Evergreen did not stop to take questions as he was heading to Republic to watch the Canoeing heats and hopefully see West Phoenicia pull in gold.

by **West Phoenicia** » Sun Jan 13, 2019 11:52 pm

The Garden of Eden Club

The West Phoenician Garden of Eden club was the happening place at the moment for West Phoenicians and their invited guests. Dusk had settled and the crowds had started to arrive after a very busy day three at the Olympics. The male security dressed as cherub with firey swords monitored each guest who walked in.

The entire building was in a height of celebration mode. The Large plasma television screens on the ground floor were blazing with highlights of the highs and lows of today's results. A chorus of cheers and jeers echoed across the vast room as waitress hustled between seated guests and the two bars.

"I can't believe it, that cyclist from Liventia won gold last Olympics she was like a tornado. She didn't even hit the top 20 this time. That is is a shocker, Liventia is usually so amazing in cycling." A guest commented.

"Road Race is just so fickle. Our own Ash Townsville collided with another player and didn't even finish. This was our medal hopeful for this event. It was as if a whole bunch of teams were vying for last place," the slightly intoxicated friend replied.

Amelia Defence of the women's archery team arrived with a small delegation of friends, attired in an ultra short black evening dress. Diamonds dripped from her ears and from around her neck as she was ushered by security to one of the more private rooms set aside for members of the nobility.

"What happened Amelia? Bronze in Team?" Someone called out.

"Don't look at me, Serena held us back today. I miss the old squad when we all actually had talent. The team from Vangaziland may have won gold today, but I'm the one dripping in diamonds and staying in a 4-star hotel" Amelia gave a wave and blew her trade mark kiss before disappearing.

Meanwhile on Floor Two, West Phoenician pop group Bubblegum were finishing their final song "Kiss me like that". The younger crowds cheered and sang alot to the popular song as bubbles floated in the air.
The MC dressed as a dazzling Circus ring master jumped back onto the stage as fans cheered.

"Please give Bubblegum a round of applause. They will be playing here each night between 7pm and 9pm. And don't forget West Phoenician Burlesque performer Jezebel Will be performing at 11.30pm tonight.

" Now we have a special guest tonight, this is our main event! Playing one night only! Jessica Madden from One Nation Ministry who has promised us 3 exclusive songs. I will let her make her introductions, Please put your hands together and stomp your feet for Jessica Maddon!!!"

The MC removed his top hat and tossed it into the crowd of fans who started to scream out Jessica's name.

by **Main Nation Ministry** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 1:54 am

Live at Garden of Eden

Jessica Madden and her band were getting ready backstage, as the cheerleaders from Main Nation Ministry decided to arrive after managing to obtain a flyer advertising Jessica's performance. "Megan, is that crazy chick going to perform?" one of the cheerleaders said, as they managed to get near the front of the stage. Backstage, Jessica was putting on her outfits for the performance along with the band members. "Brenda, get the camera ready! People might want to see the recording, also." Jessica asked Brenda. "Alright, people! This is our showstopper! No guts, no glory!" Jessica said.

Appearing onstage to the crowded 2nd floor, Jessica and the rest of the band arrived, wearing black leather jackets with each of them waved to the audience. "Welcome, folks! Welcome to the one night show! I'm your host Jessica, the guitarist is Tony, bassist is Gerald, drummer is Frank and the chick with the keyboard is Cindy! For our first song, we start up with a warm-up! We have this planned for an album and we finished recording this song a couple of days ago. Our first song for the night is called Reap What You Sow!" After the crowd cheered, the music started where the drummer Frank and Tony started up strong.

Jessica and the rest of the band took off their jackets to wear their normal attire. While Cindy is getting the synthesizer ready for the next song, Jessica shares an insight to the next song. "This next song goes out to a special group of people who have fun with riding the concrete! Even though, this song is skate-themed, I'm having this song go out to the e-sports gamers also! The reason why is because I figure some nation in the multiverse would have a video game based around skateboarding. I mean, seriously? Who hasn't? Skateboarding Heroes to you'll!" Jessica said, as Cindy started the leading tune.

Feeling relaxed, Jessica smirks a bit, before explaining the next song. "Alright, let's get a little...lustful tonight. Hope there is some single men here! I came to give you some high hopes!" Jessica said, as she let Gerald hold the mic, while she takes off her shirt to reveal herself wearing a large sports bra. "Let's change the lights a bit to a suitable color, also!" Jessica said, getting the mic back as the stage lights turn pink. "Here's I'm Feeling Sensible."

After finishing, Megan from the cheer team still wasn't impressed, even though most of the crowd was probably cheering. "Hey, Jessica! Where's the encore! You said there would be an encore!" "Yeah, Jessica! Where's the encore?!" the cheerleaders said yelling, until the crowd joined in. "Don't worry, folks! This one will take time to set up. Now, this song may be a bit emo, but I see it as fitting! Here's Invisible!" Jessica said, where the lights on the stage dimmed until they were dark. Jessica went backstage quick to put on a special glow in the dark white dress that applies under blacklight, before she stood in the center of the stage, where a blue spotlight shined over her, while she's looking down at the mic in her hand.

After the performance, the band lines up on stage and bows at once, where Megan claps, surprised at what she witnessed. "Marta needs to see this!" she thought.

by **Electrum** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 5:44 am

Centralis Herald - Sports Section - Kate McNamara

Head of Mission Thom Thant dampens expectations of a fruitful harvest during this year's Olympic Games

In a statement today, Thom Thant, the chef de mission of the Electrumite Olympic Team, and a former gold-medallist himself in the Winter Games, said that Electrumites should throw caution to the wind on media hype and expectations of a top-of-the-table finish. It is no surprise that Electrumites are disappointed in this bombshell announcement -- they have been accustomed to seeing "Electrum" at the top of the medal tally, a trend that has started six Olympic games ago in the games of Centralis and Nassau Bay. Ever since then, in both Winter and Summer Games, Electrum has miraculously made its way to the top. Sure, hosting all of the intervening Winter Games was one factor, but there was no doubt that the Summer team could pull its weight too. This revelation comes as a massive blow to Electrumite fans across their universe, as they will have to experience one thing they are not used to -- losing.

The Electrum Olympic Committee, who through Thom Thant, has given many justifications as to why this is the case. Firstly, there was a worrying change in the Olympic funding formula that previous governments have used in deciding the amount of funding that should be given to each sport, which would then decide medal chances. Team sports were heavily hit last year, as the current results-hungry government poured all of their funding into selected areas of focus, such as tennis, equestrian or the martial arts in the hopes of getting more medals than usual. Of course, the saying "don't put all your eggs in one basket" rings true here -- it turns out that the sports that the Electrum Olympic Committee were forced to focus on were also the most competitive. For example, New Saria, who fans of equestrian know are the arch-nemesis of the Electrumite team, have invested very heavily in a new Equestrian training centre. Furthermore, countries such as West Phoenicia and the Vakolicci Haven have gone in the opposite direction and have invested very heavily into certain athletes instead of sports, which means that their funding is, although unfair on a lot of their athletes, is used more efficiently than ours.

A second factor that might explain this worrying trend is the fact that we have ageing athletes -- some of our athletes have been competing as far back as the Kytler Peninsulae games. We are not renewing the talent, and in some sports, just sending the same group of athletes over and over again, with not much in the way of player development. Sure, some of those athletes are experienced and have won medals in the past, but when they retire, there is no one to take their place. Indeed, in sports such as swimming, where Electrum once had a very good team -- names like Andreas Chapman, Clara Barrymore and Cylene Andrikopolous come to mind -- now, we don't have such a high quality team, and that's because of our over-reliance on the swimmers which led to our breakthrough in the swimming events back in Kytler Bay City and Nassau Bay.

The previous factor is linked to this third factor, which is outdated governance structures in the sports federations of Electrum. With the same athletes selected over and over, sometimes without even a national qualification event, it is clear that the leadership of our sports federations have some explaining to do. Qualification events should always be held in every sport -- even if we have a defending medallist, we mustn't let complacency take hold, like we have seen in the swimming or in athletics. New blood should always be given a shot, and if they turn out to be even better than the defending medallist, then who knows what they could achieve in the Olympic Games proper? One example of this phenomenon is in sailing, where we have mainly kept the same athletes which were chosen way back to the Kytler Games. These decisions on who to choose athletes falls squarely on the federations, and they are just not doing a good enough job in selecting our best athletes. More importantly, scandals may be magnified and morale lowered from incompetent leadership, like we have seen with the Electrumite Wrestling Federation, which has undergone greater scrutiny in recent years due to cooked books and a power struggle between the President and the grassroots.

Finally, and probably most importantly, is the fact that Electrum has become more reclusive in recent years, for example, by discontinuing participation in the World Cup and UICA. This means that our athletes don't get to play against world-class teams regularly, to their detriment. It is no surprise that when Electrumites don't keep up with the latest tactic of international teams, or provide proper funding for international travel, that our athletes struggle in the hyper-competitive atmosphere in the Olympics. With new and unheard of nations appearing daily, there's no telling what would happen if Electrum were to face a team that they had never seen before. The lack of experience playing with different teams can count against them, and could mean huge upsets could occur, just because they don't know how to adapt their game.

But perhaps this won't come to pass. There have been several moments where Electrumites doubted that they would top the leaderboard, but time and time again our Olympic Team has surprised us. They were far behind the pace early on during the Aeropag and the Novonaya/Provinsk games, but somehow towards the end of those respective games, the Electrumites floated to the top of the table. Perhaps that was due to the fact that Electrum doesn't tend to do well anyways in the sports that are played at the beginning of Olympic Games, such as swimming, and that perhaps Electrumites shouldn't fear too much. Despite that, Thom Thant's statement is an extraordinary step, so perhaps it should be taken a bit more seriously, and we should be brace for an outcome we might not like.

by **Vangaziland** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 8:49 am

Olympiad Watch
Late Day 3 Highlights

There were highlights in Vannish competition away from the bright lights of the women's archery medal. There was a hard fought win and a surprise finish. Two rivals took the pitch in women's football. A rookie fighter stunned the multiverse with a finishing blow. Two people stepped forward to make their mark.

West Phoenicia. Vangaziland. There was no love lost between the two Empires. A sporting rivalry had developed between the two delegations. The Vannish women took to the soccer pitch in lavender and pink uniforms. It was not a pretty game for the Vangazi. They spent much of the 1st half being outplayed. They lost the early battle of possession.

The Phoenicians would likely appear proud of their early success. Something about their opponent motivated the Vangazi as they came out of halftime.

Enter Carmen Jarlsdottir. The Mainland-born Scandinavian plays professional soccer in the African territory of New Gazi. As a member of the Vannish Empire, citizens can apply for dual citizenship in one other territory at any given time. Gazilian football has bigger leagues than Vannish soccer. Vangaziland also doesn't have a World Cup team. New Gazi represents the Empire internationally. Basketball and lacrosse are the highest paying Vannish leagues.

Jarlsdottir scored the first goal for the Vannish women six minutes into the second half. She passed the ball to Elyssa Banders and sprinted towards the goal. The Phoenician guarding her fell back. Banders set a pass which cut through the defense and remained onside. Carmen slapped the ball skillfully, putting extra twist onto the ball. It curved slowly, throwing off the keeper. They dove, but the shot was more of a rising curveball.

She was surrounded by her teammates before she even got to celebrate. The team embraced in a huddle. "Now let's close out on defense and show them which Empire is which", said 6'0 defender Claire Cruger.

The Vannish women would step up big on defense. In one threatening situation, Cruger hit a Phoenician hard with a shoulder tackle. Her long leg extended to snatch the ball as the recoil hit the bounding player. Cruger was able to boot the ball out of bounds for a major clearance.

As a center midfielder, Jarlsdottir played well on both ends of the field. With 6 minutes remaining, Carmen made a sliding tackle that tripped up the opposing midfielder. Some were calling for a whistle. Carmen had apparently hit 'all ball'. Vangaziland would hold out for the 1-0 victory over West Phoenicia.

Baroness Jenna Vandersen watched the close win from centerfield. She spoke on the rivalry between the Phoenicians and Vangazi. "This is a case of two Empires fighting to simply make their name known. Clearly the Phoenicians are trying to appear as the most stylish and affluent citizens of the multiverse. Those who know Vannish movers and shakers scoff at that notion. So there's a clash."

Model Pictured: Andrea Leiflund

Jenna Vandersen has majority ownership in Royal Clothing Company along with a few partners. Prince Vang is another backer. Vannish Royalty doesn't just wear trends. They create them. Prince Fritz doesn't wear many diamonds, yet he owns the rights to several gem and precious metal mines across the Vannish Empire. This includes one diamond mine in New Gazi.

Prince Vang was spotted watching another Vannish athlete compete. Harriet Marsdottir is the newest member of Crossing Sun MMA. She is a sparring partner for Linda Henshmen. Harriet is seen as a fighter in development. Her chances to win it all are low, as she is not a highly scouted prospect.

Marsdottir squared off against Ruhi Chetti of Holy Marsh. The two were set to fight 3 rounds of MMA strawweight competition. Things started off with mixed results. Harriet is mainly a striker. She fought to avoid being taken down. She still ended up penned against the cage in a dangerous clench. if the fight went to the ground, Harriet would be in trouble.

She had to hit body shots and twist to wind herself free. Harriet took a few body blows meant to distract her from guarding herself. After a few punches hit Chetti in the side of the head, the clench was broken.

Chetti looked slightly dazed from the hits. Marsdottir took initiative and launched back to back punch combos. She mixed jabs with a left cross.

Time was winding down in the first round. Harriet blocked a few desperate defensive punches. A few made contact, slamming Harriet's head backwards. The fighters shifted and danced. Harriet knew she had to guard her legs. She crouched slightly and twisted into space. Cross, jab, cross. Shift. Jab, jab, cross. Many of those punches were blocked by a defensive stance.

Harriet had an ace up her sleeve. She twisted her body suddenly into a spinning kick. The back and side of her foot landed with a thud hard enough to send Chetti to the floor. She wasn't out completely. The fighter fought to try to get up. Her eyes were lost. Of course, Marsdottir was prepared to keep fighting. She started to approach the fighter as she tried to stand. The ref had to hold the Vangazi back and start a KO count. Chetti just couldn't get up.

The first round knockout was a surprise for such a green fighter. Even if she doesn't medal, she can take an Olympic highlight back home. This was worth a ton, considering the event's demonstration status. She knew she would end up on nightly sports broadcasts around the Empire.

"I have to stay focused for my next fight", Marsdottir said after the clash. "With so little recovery time between Olympiad bouts, I'm was glad to take so little stress on my body tonight."

Marsdottir is set to face Karina McAdams of Darmen in the semifinals.

by **Greater vakolicci haven** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 3:12 pm

Tennis.
Glorious, air-conditioned, tile-courted tennis. Played indoors, played as it should be, on beautifully polished cyramic tiles that sent players flying and skidding around the court in barely-controlled spins. Little round tiles could break off and fly around; sometimes they'd get hit on the racket of a player and break up into a million little pieces...if they did that and you fell over you risked cutting yourself...but that was tennis.
That was tennis in Celeria. That was tennis in the only country that thought a high-speed running game should be played on a court with a similar temperature to an icebox with a floor of skiddy slippy funtimes that with the slightest encouragement would break apart and go and take part in the game itself. That was tennisin a country whose events would never be internationally sanctioned, because the only courts they played on were obviously unsuitable to play tennis on...and it was why the Haven's best rarely did very well at the game, because it was being played on suitable surfaces for once in their lives.

The 16 year old skidded on the hard court and did what he always would do in such a situation; he put the back of his shoe down, knowing he'd find a gap sooner or later. He didn't find a gap, this court wasn't made of silly little round tiles...he found his arse, and roughly. He'd lost the set now, wasn't this just wonderful...get up Zic or you'll lose more games, get up...and now he was up and he was congratulating the man from the tiny country whose name he couldn't pronounce like he meant it. Porabasta...that was it, where even was that? He didn't know, he didn't care, he just wanted this match to be over because he had a stomach ache and more time spent on the stupid court that wasn't made out of tiles was less time he could spend on curing the stomach ache. The...he has to clear his head at this one...the second-ranked player in the whole Olympics faced the man from Porabasta again and decided to do what he was famous for. He went fast, not letting Casuas breathe. His hand was like something out of a horror movie; it spun, dipped and rose and all the time Luciano Ziccardino, 'zic,' was sprinting. His leg movements looked barely controlled but his hands were magical; he lost 3 games to a few errors but every game in that set was short and it was his set. The set featured no Casuas' flashy play, either the other man lost the point or Ziccardino made a mistake...but after 9 games and without a look at the defeated opponent, the young tennis star left the court with a shake of his head...another working day, on another shit court completed.

by **Kalosia** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 8:10 pm

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

Day 3 Recap

In tennis singles, the Round of 128 was held today. Many Kalosians were in the stadium cheering for Armani Mata, who played against Republican athlete Bruno Thomson. Although Mata lost the first game with a score of 4-6, the cheering of Kalosian fans got louder as he won the next 2 rounds and thus advanced to the round of 64. It has been announced that Mata will play against Yakuba Kairaba from Banija.

The Kalosian fans stayed to see the women's singles, where Mariza Kaľat played against Quebecois Eugénie Bouchard. Kaľat, whose name is also written Kaljat, won both games and advanced to the Round of 64, where she will play against Starblaydian Roseline Charlesetta. The various Kalosians in the arena cheered for both Mata and Kaľat and the arena roared as it became apparent that Kaľat had won her match.
Fellow Kalosian tennis player Lusinda Meriñol also played today, against Daisy Simon from Amualpye, but lost with a score of 6-2 in both matches.

In Equestrian sports, Kalosians Raul Izbilan and Agnes Bušaristë played today in the Cross Country Event. Izbilan, with a score of 39.30, came 86th, while Agnes Bušaristë was eliminated. Izbilan is currently at 92nd place out of 100 in the standings.

In Sailing, multiple events were held. In Men's One-Person Dinghy, the 5th and 6th races were held. Romeo Paskal came 26th and 31st, and currently stands at 29th with 101 points. Leading the standings is Thomas Fischer from Siovanija and Teusland with a mere 19 points.

In Men's Two-Person Dinghy, the first two races were held. Paskal paired with Ǧiankarlu Moneto, where they finished 25th of 27 pairs. In fact, it was joint 25th place, and they tied with Ambrogino Bharat and Athanas Sandy from Main Nation Ministry. Leading are Republicans Esta Heinila and Stephen Davis, tied with Gragastavians Ibrahim Kassab and Yaakoub Atwan.

In Men's Heavyweight Dinghy, the 3rd and 4th races were held. Ǧiankarlu Moneto came joint 26th out of 35, tying with Santa's Favourite Elf from Santaclausisgodistan, a country that some Kalosians may recognize, having participated in the WorldVision Song Contest a couple of times. Leading is Vangaziland's Gary Carr, with a score of 9.

In Women's One-Person Dinghy, Anita Morande currently stands 23rd out of 35 as she came 28th and 11th in the 5th and 6th races held today. That is 22 places short of beating West Phoenicia's Wen-Lee Cell, who currently leads the board.

In Women's Two-Person Dinghy, Morande teamed up with Maria Veranu. They came 18th and 27th in the first two races, both held today, and currently stand 24th out of 28. A pair from the host nation Free Republics and one from Main Nation Ministry are currently tied for first place, namely Marzhan Aslakhanov with Layla Cambridge and Veslemøy Lakshmi with Enheduanna Vidya.

In Women's Heavyweight Dinghy, Veranu managed to improve her position slightly. Having come 16th and 27th, she now is currently in the 32nd position on the leaderboard, out of 33 — a one-place improvement. Kelssek's Joanne Yates leads, however it would take a lot of effort for Veranu to overtake her.

Finally, the first two races of Mixed Multihull was held today. The pair that played for Kalosia was Romeo Paskal and Anita Morande. The two came 20th and 24th in the first two races. In the third race, they underwent an improper start, and thus was marked OCS. Currently, the two stand at 27th, or last place. It will take some effort, but hopefully the pair will be able to improve their position, and perhaps even beat the current leaders, who are Dexios ben Dan Dan and Kleio Eitana from Ioudaia, who are tied with Joseph and The Virgin Mary from Santaclausisgodistan.

La Gažetë di Monterë

(eng: The Monterra Gazette)

Opinion: How the Olympics are Being Used to Project Kalosia's National Identity on an International Scale

Thousands of Kalosians across the nation have been following the Olympic Games that are currently underway in Republica, the Free Republics. For the first time, sailing athletes were among those competing under the Kalosian team, and they made up the biggest group of athletes by sport.

It may be rather peculiar that a sport previously ignored by us at the Olympics has suddenly received the biggest representation without our team. However, when you take into consideration Kalosia's centuries-old maritime heritage, it may begin to make sense.

In recent years, it appears that the Kalosian government has tried to revitalize the nation's image by positioning itself on the international scene as a maritime state. The island nation that had stayed relatively quiet for decades had now reemerged, projecting its pride onto the shores of Rushmore and beyond.

At the 59th WorldVision Song Contest in Thatcher City, Mister X, the state broadcaster Radiu-Televižio Kalosia sent the band Lonely Lovers to perform their song "Sailing on the Stars". Sailing and the sea played a central theme in the entry's concept. The music video was filmed in the small fishing village of Legurno, and on the night of the final the members of the band were wearing clothes inspired by the outfits of Kalosian sailors (and their wives).

The song came 2nd, and it was a success for the Kalosian brand campaign.

Here at the Olympics, meanwhile, it is a different story. Despite all the funding poured into the sailing effort, it appears to be lost at sea. Our sailing athletes have not been living up to the hopes of Kalosians. Maria Veranu, for example, was last in the standings for Women's Heavyweight Dinghy at the end of Day 2. Klaudio Armandi, who came 3rd in the first race for Men's Windsurfer, was unable to repeat that result again, and has now ended up 21st out of the 37 competing athletes.

Whether the ship has sunk is not yet clear, as the Games are still undergoing. But if the government wants to save its efforts projecting this brand image, these athletes need to do better.

Or, the government and the Kalosian Sailing Federation could plan ahead and start its work towards the next Olympic Games.

By the time the next one sails around, let's hope the winds lead us not towards the murky waters and dark skies.

by **Diarcesia** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 9:08 pm

Excerpt: Arcesius Teleorasi Evening News Transcript - Interview with Frankie Bradley of Amuaplye

Imogen: "Good evening, this is Imogen Brown, reporting for Arcesius Teleorasi. With me is Frankie Bradley, the Amuaplyean cross-country skier and gold medalist. To recall in the earlier segment, one of the darker pages of the current Olympics is the spate of targeted bombings from the "Olympiad Bomber" that has claimed two lives over there and injured several members of the delegation. Hello Frankie."

Frankie: "Hello Imogen! Hello Diarcesia! Thank you for bringing me here."

Imogen: "It is an honor to be with one of the icons of Amuaplyean sports. We are discussing the matter of the so-called 'Olympiad Bomber'. With the security threat lying beyond, what do you think why... why would he do this? What could have happened?"

Frankie: *Frowns a little* "To be honest, I'm uncomfortable with this matter. One of my compatriots doing such a shameful act... He should be punished severely... I mean, he could be anyone. Some terrorist doing it for a few laughs? An athlete didn't make the cut? An extreme Galindoist?"

Imogen: *Nodding* "I understand. How do you feel the Free Republics is handling this situation?"

Frankie: "For the most part, I'm satisfied. I think it needs to go further in some areas. I got this a while ago while walking out of my house. Attempted murder. Would be bad for all of us if this happened again." *He showed the scar on his hip, caused by a tripwire-activated gun*

Imogen: How horrible. I agree that he needs to be brought to justice. How far are the authorities towards getting the culprit?

Frankie: "Pretty far. They know what equipment he uses to make his bombs, what printer he uses, what clothes he wears, a vague depiction of his appearance, where he lives, and his handwriting. Sadly, despite all of the evidence, they can't really narrow it down that much."

Imogen: I see... On a lighter note, congratulations on Amuaplye's first gold medal! How did you celebrate this!

Frankie: *Happier now* "It was amazing! I watched Michael Nelson's winning moment in television. Also drank with some friends in Perth. Coordinating with the time zones is quite fun."

Imogen: Did you get to meet any of the Diarcesian athletes? How did it go?

Frankie: "No, not really. May have bumped into one or two of them at the airport, they're the red jackets with a lynx, right?"

Imogen: "You are right there, and everyone is busy in the airport, yes. Thank you for your time."

Frankie: "My pleasure."

Imogen: *To the audience* "And this wraps up my interview with the Amuaplyean star. Up next: See the highlights of today's tennis games played by the top Circuit players. Imogen Brown, reporting in Republica, the Free Republics"

OOC: Contributions by Amuaplye

by **Darmen** » Mon Jan 14, 2019 10:13 pm

Emotions high as Darmeni Baseball Team returns to Free Republics
Memory of Itamar Arnold's murder still fresh in many minds

REPUBLICA, FREE REPUBLICS - As the Darmeni National Baseball Team concluded its final practice before it starts Olympic competition, players left the practice field with heavy hearts following a moment of silence for deceased team member Itamar Arnold. Arnold, who was gunned down in a Latroit parking garage following the team's 12-1 victory over Newmanistan in the Round of Sixteen of the 42nd World Baseball Classic, was only 21 years old.

Its been three years now since the murder, but Darmeni and Republican officials are still no closer to solving the mystery of who murder Arnold, or why. Starting Pitcher Marc Moore summed up the Darmeni thoughts regarding the team's return to the site of Arnold's murder: "Its one of those things where I think a lot of guys were starting to really put it behind them, but now the memories have all come flooding back and its a bit hard to not feel a bit down. Arnold was a bright kid, we all loved him, and its a real shame he had to die at such a young age, especially in the way he did."

Manager Sawyer Pratt echoed Moore's sentiments: "Remembering Arnold and his life is both sad but also inspiring. Returning here to the Free Republics, we have a real opportunity to play in Arnold's honor. We finished that World Baseball Classic by finishing runners-up to Super-Llamaland in a disapointing 4-1 series. Now we have a chance to push for Olympic Gold."

In other Olympic action, Theodore McKay won silver in the Cycling Road Race, continuing the Darmeni tradition of good performances on the bikes. The reigning Olympic Gold medalists in Football, the Darmeni U-23 national team also won its opening match, 2-1 over Cosumar.

by **West Phoenicia** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 12:05 am

The Cats Meow

Hello darlings it's me again Norma Mansfield.

It is so wonderful to yet again be part of the West Phoenician media delegation here in the beautiful city of Republica in the Free Republics. It is truly an honour and a blessing. I'll be here for the whole Games ensuring you all are made aware of every juicy bit of gossip and tidbit.

During my stay when I am not at the Games, you can catch me at the Garden of Eden club in the exclusive lounge with the glitterati of West Phoenicia and medal winning athletes or back at my four star hotel room drinking champagne, eating Xavier and West Phoenician peaches thanks to the generosity of the West Phoenicia Times.

The Games are now underway and West Phoenicia has hit the ground running accumulating 3 gold, 2 bronze and a bronze medal standing in the Male Cheerleading demonstration event. With the Olympics still in its early days we have many opportunities to pull in more medals and maybe even win more gold, so much gold that even Empress Cleopatra-Olympias necklaces would weigh less.

Alot of delicious drama has already reared its head at these games, one can barely move in the Amuaplye camp without a bomb going off. We in West Phoenicia do hope the bomber is caught quicker than a Vangaziland Queen skier. So he can be brought to justice. In West Phoenicia he would face the death penalty. If caught during these games he should be made to rewatch that long opening ceremony; but I don't want the World Assembly Human rights activists screaming cruel and unusual punishment.
It is sad that Amuaplye Olympic Gold medalist Byron Weaver has suffered permanent damage to his legs. But there is always the Paralympics.

West Phoenicia and Vangaziland have kicked up their rivalry like some Shakespearean play. Two empires both alike in dignity in fair Republica. From relatively new grudge break to new mutiny sporting competitiveness. Where Vangazi blood and tears makes West Phoenicians smile with glee.

The saltiness began when Vangaziland finished in the number 1 spot in the initial Men's Team Archery. Only to be knocked aside with West Phoenician archers led by Pete Long to claim the gold.

The Vangazialnd team fired back in the women's team archery by taking out the gold and rubbing it in the face of Queen of Archery Amelia Defence, Lady Violet Hungary II and Serena Tong; even though it was Free Republics who were responsible for pushing us into the third place game. West Phoenicia had never reached the finals as a team in archery before, there was no minute steal, we claimed the bronze. The real competition will come on day 4 when Amelia Defence takes the field and shocks her first competitor Sol Mesquite of Vakolicci Haven and Celeria with how awesome she is before Amelia comes for Arianne Buttessen. Hehe Butt.

Over in Weightlifting we had our first flow of tears with pay for play athlete Lady Anthea Bordremanne. She fled the venue in tears after West Phoenicians in the audience gave her a dose of reality boos.
Outspoken Maria Schtenko of Vakolicci Haven and Celeria who seems to compete in most of the nation's sports has got on her soap box and spoke out in support for Lady Bordremanne. If you want her have her, you poached a West Phoenician Winter Olympic athlete and if you poach Lady Bordremanne her daddy is sure to give the nation a gift of $250,000. Poor Maria does she even get a chance to view the Games or just compete in them?

West Phoenician and Vanzailand Cheerleaders set the war of the pom-poms tone. West Phoenician cheerleaders in perfect harmony taunted their nemesis squad. Only to have a swinging cat...Or the Cheerleading Captain and her coven paying the West Phoenician squad back with a massacred rendition of Pump it. Than had the cheek to boast as they placed 4th in the women's cheerleading final to West Phoenicia's 5th place. It was by half a point and technically 4th is the first to lose, so shady,
There was more shade than the trees covering Helios Amirya Vang dead wife's grave.

Expect more drama from these two groups as they battle it out. As It's not the WBC and World Twenty20 Cricket, Team Vangaziland may stand a good chance.

Katie Kurtz of Cassadaigua won out against Pompeia Le'Roch in the women's straw weight in the Mixed Martial Arts. It was a very close game and Pompeia, the daughter of one of our West Phoenicia First political party senators, was disappointed she failed to progress, especially with such a small pool of women. West Phoenicia will support Karina McAdams of Darmen in this event as she is the only remaining competitor that West Phoenicia likes.
It was also those pesky Cassadaiguans who won the Male Cheerleading too. We can possibly see them becoming our less annoying nesmis alongside Vangaziland in the near future.

Last but not least the beautiful and vocally talented Jessica Madden from the Main Nation Ministry performed at the Garden of Eden club last night, she sang to a full audience and has been asked to return for an encore performance at West Phoenicians bequest.

That is all for now, but if you come across any juicy gossip or tidbits or something that readers can feast their eyes on, don't hesitate to contact me. Truth or lie, it's ok, as long as it's entertaining.

by **APOC Coalition** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 3:09 am

Gaelic Gamers
Presents...

The Olympic Opinions
with Graham O'Doherty and David Norton

FROM REPUBLICA, THE FREE REPUBLICS - Welcome back to the Olympic Opinions, my friends! David Norton here with my one and only flaming gay of a cousin Graham O'Doherty. More Olympics coming your way, and will it come with more excitement or more disappointment? We're about to find out. Once again, due to the sheer number of events that we've had to keep track of, we're going to divide this post into sections so you can just click on what sport you wanna read about. If you can't find the sport you wanna read about here then too bad! You're gonna have to look for it somewhere else. Okay, let's get started.

Women's Football Game One: South Covello vs. APOC Coalition (Graham)

SOUTH COVELLO 0 - 1 APOC COALITION
                    TYMOSHENKO (80')

MATCH STATISTICS
Possession
South Covello: 51%
APOC Coalition 49%
Shots
South Covello: 15 (8 on target)
APOC Coalition: 16 (9 on target)
Corners
South Covello: 10
APOC Coalition: 9
Fouls
South Covello: 15
APOC Coalition: 22

Goddamn it, if this isn't a match and a half! Shots flying here and there, balls everywhere! I think one actually flew towards me during the game itself! Oh no, wait, that was actually during the halftime break. The girls were having a little kick-around and one of them fired off a rocket of a shot that was nowhere near the goal but was right on target for my face! At least it looked that way to me at the moment. The ball didn't hit me, but a poor fan beside me lost his beer when the ball smacked right into his cup! Bet that ruined his day!

But guess whose day wasn't ruined? Mine! And the day of the tens of thousands of Coalition fans who flocked to the Free Republics to watch their football team win yet another game! But goddamn it, they made us wait for it, and because we all had to wait so long for it, the win just feels that much more lovely! South Covello really made us work hard for this win, much like Ethane did for the men's team a day earlier. This game, the goalkeepers really shone through. I mean, just look at the stats above. 8 shots on target for South Covello and 9 shots on target for the Coalition! If anything from this game was a surprise then it absolutely has to be the fact that this game finished 1-0! You were simply not expecting that kind of result if you had seen the chances that both the Coalition and South Covello had throughout the game.

And believe me when I say that we have had numerous chances to break the deadlock. Two very notable ones come to mind. First one was sometime around the half-hour mark. Bisera Haralampieva had just played Kelly McGinnis through the South Covello defense, and we were all sure that she was going to score the opening goal. Lo and behold, Kelly strikes the ball right at the Covello goalie's chest. She'll never make an easier save than that in this game, that's for sure. And then there's the second chance just five minutes into the second half when Britt Hanokssen let loose an absolute thundercunt of a shot that crashed straight at the woodwork and straight at the foot of a Covello defender, who kicked it away for a clearance to midfield. Rumor has it that the post is still shaking to this day.

But now the goal itself, the goal that meant the difference between a boring 0-0 draw and a thrilling down-to-the-wire 1-0 affair. Everyone could feel that a goal was coming by the 80th minute; it was just a matte of who was going to score it first. The Coalition had a corner, and Elene Liner struck a peach of an inswinger that was just begging to make contact with someone, anyone. And that someone would turn out to be Yelena Tymoshenko of Dinamo Bender Women over in Pridnestrovia. She used to be a starter for the Pridnestrovian women's football team alongside her "partner in crime" Tatiana Gevorgian before they were slowly but surely replaced by another center back partnership in Aygul Kartal and Beyza Kundakci (don't ask me to spell that out properly; my keyboard doesn't have the right keys!). People thought that Gevorgian and Tymoshenko's international days were numbered, but when the Coalition decided to participate as one big unified team, they both found a new lease in life. And they might just have made a case for their inclusion back in the Pridnestrovian team with their inspired performances today, along with Tymoshenko's first international goal in so many years. There might actually be something more in store for us this Olympics than just the honor of participating.

Women's Basketball and Men's 3x3 (David)
I do hope that you will forgive me the unforgivable crime of combining two sports reactions into one in Gaelic Gamers. My take on the situation is that since basketball and 3x3 are pretty much the same sport at the core, I might as well just combine my reactions to the two. I'm sure that now that you have seen things from my point of view, you are all going to appreciate what I have done for you now. All right?

Okay, on with the reactions. Women's basketball first. And for one, I was surprised. I know that women's basketball is very much a fringe sport throughout the Coalition and even in Abanhfleft itself, where almost everybody and their mother is a basketball fan, but deep in me I had always believed that the Coalition would be able to assemble a team capable of pushing for a medal in the Olympics. But this first game against Titaniumland has quickly brought me back down to earth and given me a reality check. And it's also made me realize that women's basketball really has a long, long way to go before it can finally be considered as being on the same level as men's basketball. Oh, shut up, feminists! Search your feelings; you know it to be true. At least when we're talking about Abanhfleft and the rest of the Coalition. Oh, sure, I'd love nothing more than to rectify the situation and put our girls on an equal footing with the boys, but the problem that I see is that no one has a solution that actually makes sense to solve this problem. All right, maybe Olympic exposure is the best solution. Showing young girls that they can be the next ones to actually represent the Coalition in the next Olympics will surely inspire them to take up the sport. But not when the team plays like they did against Titaniumland. That was just dogshit, that was. I wouldn't even be surprised if they don't bother to show replays or highlights of this game back home in Abanhfleft; this was a classic performance to forget.

Now let's move on to 3x3. Our first opponent was Santaclausisgodistan. Kinda reminds me of this old nation named Gregoryisgodistan where their leader was named Gregory and he declared himself a god so the locals had to worship him or else. Well, old Greg's gone now, and so is his country, which is now called South Covello. I believe Cousin Graham talked about them a little in the above section. Anyway, back to 3x3 and Santaclausisgodistan. To be perfectly honest, I have no idea if this place is actually led by a guy named Santa Claus and if he had declared himself a god, but what I do know is that the people here wear Santa Claus suits (red everything with white fluff at the edges) no matter what. I've certainly never seen basketball played in Santa Claus costumes before, but surprisingly, they made it work! But not too much though as we managed to beat them in men's 3x3. Coach Leo Baxter, himself an early practitioner of 3x3 here in Abanhfleft, seems to have imparted a lot of his knowledge into this Coalition team to help lead them to victory. Not a dominating victory, sure, but a victory nonetheless.

Women's Rugby Sevens Game Three: Neu Engollon vs. APOC Coalition (Graham)

Neu Engollon (26)
Try: Renvier 1' c, 7' c
Delisle 3' m
Amante 13' c
Con: Ferber (3/4)

APOC Coalition (14)
Try: Panasenko 8' c
Railsback 9' c
Con: Larusso (2/2)

Some more rugby for me! More rugby, more fun, bitches! Except not this time. Someone finally figured out how to defeat the trio of Asaro, Larusso, and Railsback, and frankly, I don't like it. Not one bit. Then again, what can you expect when you're up against Neu Engollon? Neu Engollon has always been a rugby superpower, usually in union and sevens, so it's no surprise that they have run roughshod over our little Coalition team. But by God, being 19-0 down at halftime is just a nasty piece of business. And Neu Engollon have been more solid than the other teams we've faced in women's rugby sevens up to this point so there's that point to them as well. Our own backs weren't able to be as explosive as they usually are at the start, and that cost us big time as the game went on. Rosenda Railsback finally got a try to her name in the 9th minute but by then, the damage was already done. Thank you, good night, bye bye!

Men's Rugby League Nines Game Two: Polkopia vs. Abanhfleft (Also Graham)

'Nuff said.

And that's all she wrote, gents! There are some other results that should have been worth mentioning but since neither Davey nor I know the rules to them, we just haven't bothered. XOXO from Graham, and goodbye from Davey.

by **Liventia** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 3:54 am

Liventian researchers find 'missing' Olympic records
OREAN-- Multiple Olympic records have been re-written overnight after Liventian researchers published what they describe as "definitive" information about "missing" marks.

The team from Orean Harvey University spent months looking into published results beginning with the very first Olympic Games in Ashford, Casari, and lasting up to the ongoing Republica event. Professor Simon Urquhart, lead researcher and head of sports history at the university, said his team found records that "may well have been lost to time" in archery, athletics, cycling, modern pentathlon, shooting, and weightlifting.

"We noted that the last published version of the records books didn't seem to include athletics marks from Lasft, which was a big sign to us that something was missing. Using that same principle, we also looked at archery records for the Kytlerian Games as well as from Emberton, which is going further back."

A big issue, it turns out, was in the different scoring formats used in modern pentathlon and shooting across different Games.

"That meant we had to keep track of two different sets of results in the same event, and in shooting often four sets of records because qualifying and finals are split," Professor Urquhart explained.

"And then we had the issue of Olympic marks from Ashford, which are way out of modern reach.

"We've proposed to the Olympic Council that those records be re-designated as 'best' times, but that we recognise the next performance down as the Olympic record."

The full list of updated records, as published by OHU, can be found here.

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 3

Dear All,
Firstly, I want to start by congratulating our first medallists of the Games. We're on the board, and while we still haven't won a gold, we should not get too caught up in medal fever. I'll keep today's briefing short.

Medallists
Congratulations Joshua Halliday for winning his second Olympic bronze medal in the men's 60 kg judo. It's a repeat of his performance from Aeropag and very well-deserved. We also picked up a silver thanks to Sophia Greenway in the women's 48 kg, which is an incredible feat as she went out in the last eight in Aeropag.

The judo team have a lot to be proud of and we look forward to more success from them in the coming days.

Josie Glenn picked up our third medal, another bronze, in the women's 53 kg weightlifting, which was slightly unexpected, but a welcome surprise. All three athletes will, of course, be rewarded with funding money for their medals as per the LOA's remuneration plan.

Miscellany
I understand some of you are disappointed at the lack of a traditional Olympic Village in Republica, but I hope that hasn't discouraged you from mingling with the other athletes from other delegations. Of course, you are all reminded that you are (for the most part) adults, and should behave thusly. There have been reports of some cheerleading teams getting into mischief and I hope you avoid that.

One final reminder that you can make use of our LGBT liaison, Jenny Trainor, who can be approached personally, or emailed at <jtrainor.lgbt@olympicassoc.len>, as well as our trained mental health liaison officer, Tom Delaney, who you can approach or email in confidence at <tdelaney.mh@olympicassoc.len>.

Best regards,
Javier

Javier Rosario
Chef-de-Mission, Liventia Olympic Association

by **Vangaziland** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 6:57 am

MEDIA WATCH
A Look At Two Empires

West Phoenicia propaganda shrill Norma Mansfield wrote a scathing article about the Vannish delegation while reporting on a developing rivalry. Mansfield has made her career as a writer by exploiting gossip for profit. Throughout all of the passive aggressive insults and attempts at slight, one phrase in the article caught the attention of our staff.

"As It's not the WBC and World Twenty20 Cricket, Team Vangaziland may stand a good chance.", Mansfield wrote. This caused writers and editors at Media Watch to ponder a question. Do Phoenicians have bragging rights over Vangazi in athletics? This is a question we will research and present in crystal clarity for all of the world to see. The championships each nation has won might even say something about each Empire's citizens.

To start, let's take a look at West Phoenicia's world championships.

Water Polo International Championships I
Water Polo International Championships II
World Softball Classic #3
World Twenty20 Championships XI
World Baseball Classic 44

It is no surprise that Mansfield chose to call Vangaziland out in baseball and cricket. The Phoenicians are one of the top 3 teams in International Baseball Classic rankings. Post WBC 44 rankings are still pending, but the Royals will be looking to climb from #17 closer to the top ten.

"Our baseball program is rapidly catching up to West Phoenicia's", said 2B Pete Kelderssen. Pete will be competing in the XIII Olympiad. "There will be a day when the Royals are ranked closely to the Confederates. On that day, I promise the Phoenicians will sweat thicker than they do under an antebellum sun."

Most of West Phoenicia's success comes in sports that involve grasping wooden sticks. They won season three of the World Softball Classic. They also won World T20 Championships XI. Vangaziland has not developed much of a T20 program. It is seen as one of the most niche sports of them all on the Mainland. The Vannish Empire has still had success in the sport, as we will soon see.

The Confederates also have two water polo championships. The Vangazi take water polo as a game. Vangaziland's only real polo sports teams are in country clubs or a handful of universities. It's a way to recreationally compete. The Phoenicians take it seriously enough to win silverware. That should be commended.

Now let's have a look at Vangaziland's titles. We will have to break them down into three groups.

Van Eaux Royal Regatta - Esportivan Team Points' Trophy
World Lacrosse Championships 28 - Vangaziland
World Lacrosse Championships 29 - Wrexwic
International Basketball Championships 26 - Vangaziland
India Football League - FC Bakati North - Regional Champion - Jhalpharezi
All India Cricket Blast T20- Jhalpharezi

The is one difference between the two Empires that stands out right away. Vannish colonies also win titles for the Empire. Some of the reason for this international success is because Vangaziland does not treat their territories like batteries. The relationship between the Mainland and the colonies is symbiotic. Mainland money has gone into developing territorial programs.

We'll start with T20. Vangazi may not care about cricket. The Jhal do. The Jhalpharezi Spice won the inaugural season of the AICB. This was in a region that has a passion for the sport. The Spice lost season 2 in the playoffs, showing the league is no cakewalk. If the Jhalpharezi Spice entered international cricket and built over time like other Vannish teams, the T20 world would be taken by storm. It should be noted that the Spice Football team added a regional soccer title.

The Vannish Empire holds silverware in their coffers. A jab at the land's success in the sport falls flat. Is the difference between a regional and international title worth raising one's nose? Let's use other, more influential sports as a tiebreaker. Shall we?

The Vannish Empire won back to back World Lacrosse Championships. WLC 28 saw Vangaziland defeat colony Wrexwic in the Championship Game. Wrexwic was in their first season of competition. The Wrexish colony came back to win WLC 29. The Vangaziland Royals rank #2 in the WLC. Wrexwic's Wasps sit at #4. The WLC is a long running, consistent league. It's no World Cup by any stretch. It's still a sport with history and prominence to many.

Lacrosse speaks for the skill and physicality of the Vangazi. We see players like 6'6 Lars Swenson or the speedy Taye James. Between Vangaziland & Wrexwic, the Empire can put a serious grasp on the sport. This means a lot to Vangazi, since lacrosse has been one of Vangaziland's national sports throughout the modern era.

The other sport is basketball. Vangaziland won International Basketball Championships 26. This came at the end of a long fight to bring the Royals into the #1 ranking in the sport. This means Vangaziland has three top five teams in their two national sports. This is a major accomplishment for the Empire. The two sports were declared before Vangaziland entered international competition, long ago.

"It means a lot for us to establish success in both sports", said Steven Eaglesen. Eaglsen is the backup PG on the IBC's Royals. Eaglesen has also captained the men's Olympiad team to back to back Olympiad gold. West Phoenicia has more total medals by a long shot. The Vangazi have a smaller delegation meant more to showcase an Empire's athletes. With less than half the competitors of West Phoenicia, Vangaziland is not chasing the medal totals.

As always, the story is more important. This one list doesn't tell the story of international Vannish success. Let's move to motorsports.

Cross Rally Championships @ Enfaru - Winner-Jessica Franssen, VNG
WGP2 I - Drivers Championship-Jang Xiaopeng, Constructors Championship-VMR
WGP2 II - Drivers Championship- Karli Schmitt, Constructors Championship- VMR
WGPC 16 - Drivers Championship-Jessica Franssen

Nations that aren't involved with motorsports can lobby as many critiques as they like against motorsports. Perhaps they don't feel its a sport. Maybe they see this as niche. Here is a fact. Events in the WGPC, the WGP2 and NSSCRA are some of the most bitter, hard-fought tournaments in the multiverse.

Each season is a marathon requiring nothing less than maximum effort for any success. But why do teams have to put up such backbreaking effort just to compete? Vannish. Motors. Racing.

The WGP2 may be one of the most incredible stories for the team. Open wheel events often hold driver and team championships. The later is known as the Constuctors Championship. The WGP2 team has hosted two seasons. In that time Vannish Motors Racing ran a stampede, taking all four cups.

This was no easy task. This was not a niche league where a minor flurry of effort could blow the winds in one's favor, like Water Polo... This was a bare-knuckle barnyard fight between fierce apex competitors. It is definitely also a marathon, compared to a small group stage sprint.

Since the community is so tight knit, every driver stands out. This is amplified by the fact that it's mostly an individual sport (despite managers and pit crews). This creates stars. Jessica Franssen didn't just win two championships in the WGPC. She managed both winning WGP2 teams. She was in charge of pit strategy and guiding her drivers through every race. Jess is a polarizing figure, just for her success alone. There are people who hate her just for what she's accomplished.

That is one way to know you are a star. The Vannish Empire creates Stars. People like Jessica Franssen aren't spoiled aristocrats, as many Phoenician athletes seem to be. These are athletes at the peak of their career who do nothing other than compete. Vangaziland is known for its many self-made female athletes. Many balk at women like Lady Defence-Heywood, who seem to be known mostly for marrying into money.

"I think she sets a dangerous example for women everywhere", said Imperial Royal Jenna Vandersen. The Baroness helped her team win the WGP2 I Constructor's title. She will race in the women's Olympiad event.

There's still one more area that needs to be looked at. Combat sports.

Multiverse Fighting Championships
-Linda Henshmen, MFC Welterweight Championship
-Marcus Frankerssen, MFC Light Heavyweight Championship
-Otto Bjorn, MFC Heavyweight Championship
Multiverse Boxing Organization I - Champion-Abigail Kaldwell (Wrexwic)
Ilysea Amphitheater Classic - Boxing Champion, Linda Henshmen (Vangaziland)

The story of Vannish fight sports begins with Linda Henshmen. She won a boxing championship in Ilysea, defeating men and women alike. Linda fought again in MBO I. She made it to the Championship bout, only to be defeated by colonial Abigail Kaldwell. Linda cross trained in mixed martial arts.

She was one of three Vannish athletes to enter MFC competition. They all won titles. Two of the belts were won on Vannish soil, in fights scheduled in Emeros and Blue Coast. This came after Vangaziland established itself as a nation of tough fighters. The consistent thing about Vannish sports is that a delegation or event is targeted. The Empire works to build skill in that area through sheer effort, intense recruitment and improved training.

The thing about Vannish sports is that Royals teams are expanding across the multiverse. There may come a time when Vangaziland also fields top 5-10 teams in baseball and gridiron. Vangaziland lacks an official World Cup team, though New Gazi has had ups and downs in the sport.

Vangaziland is no Starblaydia, a nation which is legendary in international sports. Vangaziland is still one of the multiverse's rising hotspots of top athletes. The entire picture of Vangaziland's titles build a picture of a hard punching, fast driving persona that can give and take a lacrosse hit with enough agility to cross one over on the basketball court. In each sport, Imperial success has been reinforced time and time again, from three seasons of fight sports to IBC and Olympiad basketball success.

With the Vannish Era of Sports just starting, the question remains. Are Confederate athletes in a spot to toss their nose up at the Vannish Empire? The battle has only just begun. There are a multitude of seasons lined up for future competition. Each team will have plenty of chances to throw shade and prance around the other.

It's best not to compare, but admire each delegation's best qualities. A nation of repeat water polo champions might have talented frogmen, after all. Phoenicians will surely tout their Olympiad success, ignoring the difference in delegation size.

The best part of the Mansfield article is the downplay of the downfall of Lady Defence-Heywood. The Phoenician archer made comments designed to draw attention to her before the first archery event. She failed to earn a BYE because Vangazi Arianne Buttessen placed 5th. Arianne is scouted as having half the rating as Defence-Heywood. The Vannish stepped up. The Phoenicians did not.

After being called out by Vannish cheerleaders, Lady Defence failed to bring her team into the championship match. It was clear that there was supposed to be a rematch. The Lady Confederates once again failed to step up. They will limp away for a consolation bronze. This was an event they wanted to win, not just for the record books.

Lady Defence had opened her mouth. She badly needed to save face. The Vannish women schooled her with their skill as she was sent home as third best. She would be known for not getting her team into the big match. The reason why the Mansfield article is great is because she triples down. Now Lady Defence has to step up in individual competition. She should. She is one of the top rated competitors. Even Elissa Hill is a few notches below her in talent.

"I think the triumph on the Vannish women highlighted against the downfall of the Phoenicians is like the quintessential story of good versus evil", said Elissa Hill. "The example of rotten wealth in the Lady, versus a team of underdogs. Hill won a TV competition called Miss Elf Vangaziland. It included archery and various tasks oriented to fantasy genre writing. She is a people's champion of sorts.

If Lady Defence does not take pure gold home in individual competition, the entire multiverse will have an omelet made from the egg on her face.

The rivalry should be great for the sport. Both delegations are in a battle of effort and endurance. It is really early in the competition. The Confederates should ask themselves if this is a battle they wish to continue. It would be so much easier to relax. Margaret can surely give them enough of an edge based on their effort thus far. Surely.

If Phoenicians do see fit to tease Vangazi over their sporting history, the list to reply with is still developing.

by **Mattijana** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:15 am

The Olympic Review: Day 3

By Katarina Markovic, comedienne & sports writer.

It's been another compelling day of action in Republica and to sum up all of that compulsiveness into one little nugget of sports journalism, I'm back from feeling like an insomniac. It's time for your day 3 roundup.

Today really was an exciting day too. As well as the normal dose of superhuman acheivement and passionate battling, there was some good old fashioned beef.

In fact not only was their beef for dinner and lunch, there was beef for breakfast (or at least a mid-morning snack). Mattijana's women's 4x100 freestyle relay team swam brilliantly to claim what looked like a silver medal. Having celebrated wildly for a good few minutes, they got out of the pool to find there was an investigation going on for a false start.

Imagine that! One of our experienced athletes, who won bronze at the last games and has trained for four years to get here, started their leg before the swimmer before her touched the end of the pool.

Well apparently that's what Kara Feraniĉ did before starting the anchor leg of the race with Mattijana neck and neck with the Greater Vakolicci Haven for the lead. Now if she launched off the blocks with clear daylight (or water, or whatever) between Julia Lijari's fingertips and the wall, then that would be a justifiable investigation, but there wasn't.

In fact, the video replays of Feraniĉ's start showed that there was absolutely no way of telling whether she had false started. In fact the decision was so tight that the race officials took ten minutes to make up their mind. After this long, you would think that they would give our team the benefit of the doubt, but no! They were disqualified.

Naturally, our girls protested, also seeing there was literally no way of telling whether Feraniĉ had jumped the gun, but to no avail and the team would leave with only boos directed towards the officials in their ears.

There was good news elsewhere however as Marko Radovlija won bronze in the men's 400m freestyle, Mattijana's first medal of the games. The 26 year old finished ahead of Agat Halisthertes from Ioudaia by just 2 hundredths of a second. Shortly afterwards, Matej Grinsko and Jelena Rakitic both guaranteed their progress to the men's 100m breaststroke and women's 100m butterfly finals.
Grinsko in particular is looking for top honours in his event having won silver back in Kelssek last Olympiad and is looking in good nick. The Ljubala native set the fastest time of anyone in the heats and backed that up by winning his heat in the semis.

Anyway, no-one won anything or had a ruck in those races, so we won't go into the details. What we will go into is the continuing disputes between the Vannish and West Phoenician delegations, which is quite frankly hilarious.

The whole thing started out with a tiff of the tumbles between the two female cheerleading teams, who aimed some verbal jousts towards each other in a corridor somewhere over lunch (which coincidentally, is how most of my work arguments start). That progressed into seriously well thought out dance routines taunting each other about the archery and male cheerleading events, among other things. Ultimately, the joke was on both of them as the time they wasted coming up with the extra routines and not training meant they finished fourth and fifth whilst some relatively unheard of team from a relatively unheard of country won.

Whilst those embroiled in the rivalry seem quite comitted, those from the outside world looking in are laughing, or possibly crying. The rivalry is as serious as a row between a pair of spoilt teenagers, which actually is kind of what they are.

West Phoencia is a country reknowned for producing characters more shallow than a paddling pool, including last olympiad's women's archery champion Amelia Defence. Unfortunately, Defence seemed more bothered about ridiculing her opponent's appearence and showing off her bling than actually doing some archery. Meanwhile the likes of Steena Karlsson on the Vangazi side also seem to have their fair share of daddy's ponies.

In a way, the pom-pom wars, as dubbed by West Phoencian gossip specialist Norma Mansfield, are really quite sad. You have two nations who have produced world class athletes, yet they are being tainted by meaningless, baseless cat-calling. If ever there was a time for unity and mingling between nations, it is now. Hopefully the leaders of both delegations will step in and give the ringleaders (in rows like this, there are always ringleaders) a hella stiff talking to.

Anyway, back to the sporting action. Mattijana's women's football team unfortunately went down 2-0 to Vekaiyu in their opening game, but there's still 5 games to turn it around, so all is not yet lost, especially with one of the tougher games out of the way.

And there was more HOCKEY! After the men's draw against South Covello, the women went one better by thrashing Baranil 5-2. Captain Jasmin Basic scored twice from penalty corners, Sophia Illicic scored a pair of classy deflected goals whilst winger Daniella Lusova was also amongst the goals, drilling in low after Illicic's shot rebounded off the post.

The team is a new-look one after the likes of Katarina Zafarova and Jessika Buric retired following the last games. Whilst Baranil will not be the toughest opposition faced by the side, they looked slicker than a monk's hairdo going forward and were well-drilled from penalty corners. Defensively, there is still work to do, but its certainly a solid start.

On the Judo mat, Katija Lisicki claimed her second Olympic bronze and Mattijana's second of the games. The Burges-based fighter lost to Liventia's Sophia Greenway in the semi-finals, but overcame Ginger Pearson from Amuaplye in the bronze medal match to claim some metal.

So now onto another sport dear to the hearts of Mattijanans, the tennis. It was the round of 128 earlier today at the Capital Country Club and whilst the somewhat elitist venue wasn't to the taste of many Mattijanans, the results largely were.

Mattias Burges, the main men's hopeful, came through in straight sets against the not so handy Mr. Handy of Kriegersien 6-4, 6-1. The 13th seed looked in good touch against a robotic opponent who looked rather umm...rusty at times. There were also comfortable wins for Aljaz Corluka and Julian Slazic, whilst Sami Dominikanov came through in three sets against Batera Siwara.

The women's side was unfortunately not quite as succesful. Dominika Lisicki, the Mattijanan number 1 and 9th seed, won well against Taeshani Tonya Milk, but young prodigy could only produce a frustratingly inconsistent performance as she went out in three sets against Roseline Charlesetta. Though not really expected to trouble the higher rounds, Sabina Soca and Lara Basic were also knocked out and will divert their attention towards the doubles tournaments.

Katarina's Handy Guide to: Tennis Courts

A tennis court is a tennis court you may say. They all have some tramlines, a baseline, that funny line down the middle that stops halfway down and the most important part, a net.

But despite the (admittedly many) similarities, the surface of the court can apparently produce some huge differences. Just ask Aljaz Corluka, who seems to turn up when the court's made of concrete, but is absoutely useless on anything else.

Hard: Probably the most common court type and the one used for the olympics, hard courts offer a nice medium bounce and speed. Some courts are faster or grippier than others, but not by much. They do have a nasty sting in the tail however as they are pretty nasty to fall over on.

Grass: Utterly brilliant to play on, but only really available for a few weeks in the summer, grass courts are fast and offer only a low bounce. This makes your big 6' 8 bloke with a big serve very useful. These are also the best courts for diving around on, which is the only thing I'm really bothered about.

Clay: Mattijana's favourite court surface, clay courts offer high bounce but are painfully slow. This favours consistent players with good fitness and the patience to grind down an opponent like an almond. Clay courts are not made out of bits of old pot, because that would be ridiculous. They do stain your ass bright orange if you fall over though.

Tiled: Unique to the Greater Vakolicci Haven, hence why their players are always rubbish in the rest of the world, tiled courts are very slippery, a nightmare to play on and sometimes disintegrate to give horrifically uneven bounces. Avoid at all costs.

by **Free Republics** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 7:55 am

Day 4 Cutoff

by **Vangaziland** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 9:54 am

Several of Vangaziland's cheerleaders found themselves riding on a bus across the city of Republica. They were riding a charter sent to take Vannish fans from the Olympic campus to the Men's Skateboarding Finals. Vince Tagge was competing. The girls mainly just wanted to see a good show.

The back of the bus was a bench that spread across the rear of the vehicle. Stina Karlsson sat in the middle. She looked down the center of the bus like a hawk. Raychelle Millward sat to her right. Liz Marsden was the consiglieri to her left. The girls spent much of the ride chatting. As the bus got closer to the skate park, Liz pulled out her phone.

"Do you two want to see something gross?" Liz scooted along the open seat between her and the captain. Millward also scooted inward. "Have you ever read international articles?" The other two shrugged. "They're so yucky."

"Lemme see", said Stina as she leaned her head closer to the phone. Liz pulled up an article from The Cats Meow.

"Look at this", said Liz. "She laughs about how Vannish tears make them smile." Liz paused and made a dramatic flex with her shoulder and arms. "Not in cheerleading, bish."

"Mmm hhm", replied Millward. "We won THAT battle." Vangaziland's cheerleaders were instructed to carry lip gloss at all times. When they passed a Phoenician cheerleader, they would have to take it out and say 'we didn't forget it'. This is in response to the performance the Phoenicians performed in the Vannish village.

"Look. She talks about us", said Liz. "She said 4th place is the first loser."

Right away Stina Karlsson replied. She didn't even hesitate. "It's better than the second place loser... Bish!"

Raychelle laughed in an almost canned manner. She was there to support Stina. The entire situation was pretty funny. This fact was not lost on the Vannish women. For most of the Vannish delegation it would be horrible to be summarized by the reputation of the cheerleaders. For the cheer squad, it only meant they were making waves.

Raychelle grabbed Liz's hand in a gentle grasp and pulled it over so she could read. "She talks about us again", Raychelle said. "She called you a swinging cat and said we're your coven."

Now it was Marsden's turn for a snappy reply. "She shouldn't mention covens while posing in a yellow witch's robe."

Not only did Stina and Raychelle laugh. Teana and Yuuko laughed in the seat in front of them. Liz started to speak again. "But check this article out." She searched for a different article, auto-fill brought the article up on her search. "Some writer called you out, Stina. She said you have 'daddy's ponies'.

"Nuh uhh", Stina said. "Just because I drive an import car from Saint Kanye doesn't make me spoiled."

Eva Cszonka overheard this on the opposite row in front of them. "Well, your dad did buy it though", said the Esportivan. She was embarrassed over the reputation surrounding the team. She just wanted to compete.

Stina looked over the article. With a giggle she added, "She says we're cat-calling, but her article is cat-calling too."

"We're just the best at it", said Liz Marsden. "If there was a demonstration gold for drama, you'd best believe the Vangazi would win that." Liz twisted her neck as she spoke.

Raychelle also read the article. "She keeps saying how funny this is", said the Imperial Military Academy cadet about the comedienne's writing. Millward will likely not cheer professionally with the others. She is set to become a lieutenant in the Vannish Army or Imperial Marines. The strict hand she has developed under Karlsson's reign will likely make her one of the toughest officers of her class.

"I don't see how anything is funny", said Liz as she blew a puff of golden hair from her eye. "This is like... The most serious thing."

"I'll show you something else yucky", said Raychelle. "Right from our own homeland." The black right hand woman of the squad quickly brought out her phone and set a video to play. It showed Jessica Franssen speaking to a camera outside of the dorms.

"It's an insult to lump all Vannish athletes in with a handful of cheerleaders. They are just a few college athletes out to have fun. They annoy me above all else. So please don't compare me to them." Jess was dressed in a slinky tennis style skirt and polo. "But they're not so terrible."

"Is she trying to be mean or nice?" Stina peered curiously at the brown-haired Vangazi on -screen.

"She's just being a mom", Liz said as she leaned back and crossed her arms.

The others giggled as the bus pulled into the parking lot near the skatepark. "Skateboarding!" Kira Moller called out excitedly from the front of the bus. Tickets for the event were not easy to come by. The Vannish delegation handed the cheerleaders the exclusive tickets in what could only be seen as a reward. The women were also offered international cheerleading contracts in sports ranging from the IBC to the World Bowl.

Many people, including some in Vangaziland, believed the cheerleaders should be disciplined. The cheerleaders hadn't done anything too public since Marsden's event. Stina had the ladies 'laying low'. They had Vannish Olympiad Delegation officials wrapped around their golden fingers.

The world was only just starting to hear tales of Stina Karlsson and her rise to cheerleading infamy.

While Eva Cszonka watched men's skateboarding, her boyfriend Matt Theobold prepared to compete for the Vannish flag. Vangaziland's gaming team is considered an underdog by many metrics. They are a team of amateurs, an amalgam of college gaming clubs. Theobold was the captain of the first person shooter team.

They learned the map and had a few minutes to strategize. The team loadout was important. "Let's go submachine guns", said Theobold. "I'll take the MP7. You get the AK-74. You're good on the big gun, so take the M60 with rapid fire... Keep up that base of fire, man!" Theobold took command of his unit in a way that might make Stina Karlsson proud. The gamers were making a video and blogging the event. Eva would get to see the results, although they usually bored her.

The map was mostly medium range with a few close quaters situations. One team controlled high elevation. The others ran around the map sprinting on opponents with the advantage of the lighter weapons. The Vangazi could raise their weapons faster than many. They also seemed decent at controlling the fast rate of fire of the submachine gun.

The rapid fire weapons fired in tightly controlled bursts. Theobold's friend of bright red hair rained suppressive fire down from a wedding chapel tower. The reverberations of the heavy machine gun echoed off the bell as he shot. As Theobold jogged around a twisting corner, he was faced with the sudden arrival of an opponent. The team from El Chupacabras was quick. Theobold made the right choice to sprint into him and use the knife button. The hit finished the opposing team's best player.

The move drew roaring oous, ahs, cheers and jeers. The tower was starting to take more fire. The heavy weapon withdrew. The gunner switched to a pistol and sprinted to a new position in the corner of the map. He met up with gamer Dan Barters. Both Vangazi were taken down in a hail of crossfire. The Chupacabra was fallen in the process.

The red-haired avatar of the heavy gunner was waiting to be revived, dragging himself into an open janitor's closet. Theobold sprinted across the map as the medic. He ran into a party of two others while heading towards an exit corridor. With speed, he sprayed a pattern in the hall which dropped both opponents. He had chosen one of the lightest and fastest submachine guns. The controls were intuitive, making it feel as if he could react faster than he could even think.

He eventually revived the gunner and moved him to his new position. The pair had to fight their way up a set of building stairways. The pistol and SMG combo seemed to work. "It was crazy. We knew we were literally representing the Vannish flag while we were competing", said Theobold.

The Vangazi took the advantage into the late stages. The players found ways to hold out and stay alive. Vangaziland won 16-9. Theobold had 7 kills of the team's 16. He only had 1 death.

Vangaziland is #2 in men's FPS Group B. Their points differential of +10 is second only to host nation Free Republics.

"The road ahead won't be easy", said Matt. "We'll have to train extremely hard for this. REDUP energy really helps with late night sparring."

Matt was asked about his relationship with cheerleader Eva Cszonka. "It's great", he said. "A few people give us grief, but they're not so bad. They really don't take themselves as seriously as it might seem some times." He was asked for clarification, since video showed the force used to shove him into a wall. The clip would be played alongside reports of his success on the day. "Liz was just playing", said Matt nervously.

His Adam's apple sunk as he took a deep gulp.

He was asked why Liz wasn't watching his match. "She's watching another Vangazi compete for a medal", Theobold said. "I'll have group games here and in other team competitions. She watches our video. She only gets one chance to enjoy the games."

There is still a long road ahead for a team that many consider underskilled. If they fight hard enough, they may be able to overcome talent with instinct. Theobold and his crew hope to beat the odds and advance into the later stages of the Olympiad.

by **West Phoenicia** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 11:24 am

West Phoenicia Fencing athletes returned home with two medals after the last Olympic Games.
Allison St James, took home the gold in the Women’s Individual Épée. She has declined to appear at the Olympics in Republica. Instead Lady Dottie James has qualified for that position that was open.

Merry-Pippin Baroda who arrived home with a silver medal in the Men’s Individual Foil has accepted a spot in the team and is in Republica to outdo his last performance where he lost 11-12 to Khalid Bourne of the The Atlae Isles.

With his dark eyes and raven black hair and toned tanned physique he has quite a large following of female fans. He also happens to be apart of a powerful family in the Confederate Empire of West Phoenicia.
One of 9 siblings his mother is Baroness Inga Van Winterhorne-Baroda; a powerful newspaper magnate who owns The West Phoenician Times and Channel 20, the Women's Channel Network.
One of his older sisters Angelique, is Empress and first wife to Emperor Glenton Gryphon-Bush II. Another sister Baroness Honey Baroda, is Minister of the Arts and leader of the Aristocracy Party which is part of the Coaltion government. While one of his older brother's Lord Lucius Baroda, is a famed actor and director. While other siblings are married to other royal houses in the world. It has been know this is not a family to mess with especially at the Baroda clan have the Emperor's favour.

While a member of the nobility, he does drop the Lord title when he is competing. Wanting to be acknowledged as a fine fencing athlete rather than a member of the Aristocracy. He has been popular in West Phoenicia to raising the number of younger people into the sport of fencing and for his unwavering support of the Duel Act. A bill being discussed in parliament which which will reinstate dueling with pistols or swords as a method to work out grievances that have inflicted a families honour. If passed the victor of the structured and organised duel will not face repercussions or imprisonment if they are victorious.

Merry-Pippin Baroda hopes his time in Republica will be fruitful. There is high hopes for his individual event but West Phoenician sports pundits believe the team foil event will not reach the same success.

Unfortunately Merry-Pippin Baroda was not to win back to back medals. Losing to Varius Eugenijus of Main Nation Ministry in the round of 32. While disappointed with the loss Merry-Pippin is one of three men registered to play in the Fencing Team Foil where he hopes the team can place.

by **Porabasta** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 1:11 pm

Fatima Zoido becomes national hero with shock win over number 1 seed

▪Zoido (seed 136) stuns Amanda Acemonster in women's tennis singles round of 128
▪The 28 year old defeated the Kriegiersien champion 3-6, 6-4, 6-1
▪Zoido breaks down in tears and describes it as the best moment of her life

The Daily Moon - Nacho Vilaboaz

Fatima Zoido was once a promising tennis youngster. A Porabasta open winner at just 18 she had a bright future ahead of her. However it wasn't to be. Zoido tore her ACL just a few months after her Porabasta open win. It took 14 months and two surgeries before she was able to play against and when she did, she was never the same. Her career went into a downwards spiral as she got injured again and again. She slipped slowly in to irrelevancy and was marked down as just another failed prodigy. However she always kept hope that things would get better and a decade on from the start of her injury troubles she managed to force her way in to the tennis team and travelled to Porabata's debut Olympics. After winning her preliminary round tie against Myra Carsha, Zoido went in to the round of 128 as the lowest ranked player, meaning she'd face off against the number one seed, Amanda Acemonster. Nobody gave her a chance.

Zoido was suddenly put in an unfamiliar position. Thrust in to the limelight, centre stage, with billions of people watching. The game started off as everyone expected, Acemonster comfortably took the first set 6-3. "I was sitting there, after the first set and I started to doubt myself," Zoido said, "I was thinking, have I given myself false hope again?". "Then I thought, no I'm going to win this time. I know I am". Zoido looked a little shaky and nervous at the start of the second set but eventually eased in to the match, taking a 5-4 advantage. Acemonster lost her composure in the tenth game, netting successive forehands and handing Zoido set point. Zoido hit an incredible ace to make the score 3-6, 6-4.

She came out for the third and final set bringing with a confidence and self belief she hasn't had since before her injuries. Acemonster looked stunned as Zoido took a 2-0 lead and the Kriegiersien champion soon lost all composure. Acemonster made a surprising number of errors and Zoido, who was playing better than she ever had before took full advantage. The score got to 5-1 and only then did the crowd start to believe that this was actually possible. Zoido lobbed Acemonster beautifully to make it 40-30 and set up match point. Zoido took several deep breaths as she prepared to serve for match point. Her hands began to tremble just a little. This was it, just one point away from something magical, her name would go down in Porabastian sporting folklore, she just needed to score one more point. Zoido's serve was powerful but Acemonster returned it with venom, and the two began a long rally that felt like it went on for hours. However, the rally came to an end when Acemonster's backhand sat up perfectly for Zoido. Zoido smashed a lethal forehand down the line and despite Acemonster's best efforts she couldn't stop it.

That was it. It really happened. The crowd cheered and Zoido dropped to the ground in tears. Her face was full of pure joy and the look in her eyes suggested that she had found her true self again. She went over and shook hands with Acemonster, who congratulated her on her win. Afterwards, Zoido gave an emotional press conference, "It's the best moment of my life", she said, wiping away a tear "to beat the best tennis player in the world at centre court in the Olympics. It's the stuff of dreams". This is exactly why Porabasta signed up for it's first ever Olympics. Stories like Zoido's are heartwarming and inspirational. It really is the stuff of dreams. Now she'll have to do it all over again in the round of 64 against the number 2 seed Renee Richardson. However no matter what happens, Fatima Zoido will go down as a national icon and the perfect example of why you shouldn't lose hope no matter what the situation is.

by **Kriegiersien** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 2:05 pm

Olympic News from the Schoenwetter Herald

from our reporter on site: Harald Herald

The tennis drama

Amanda Acemonster lost. It was the biggest shock for the nation yet, when the Top Ranked player lost her first match against one of the weaker tennis players from Porabasta, Fatima Zoido, who played the match of her life.

Winning the first set, Amanda suddenly got nervous in the second. After dropping it 4:6 to the underdog, she totally broke down in the last set, losing with 1:6. Suddenly missing her strongest weapon, the service, making a lot of double faults and not being able to adapt, she fell down after the monster rally match ball, weeping uncontrollably, like her opponent, just not out of joy, but horror, not being able to stand up and congratulate Zoido for quite a time.
It was clear that she is extremely strong, but seems mentally not up to the task, as everyone expected her to win a medal, after she dominated the local tennis scene.

The ground turned green from Amanda's (venomous?) tears

“There is a reason she wasn’t nominated for mixed with the other dominating player in Kriegiersien, Mind Driel”, hinted the Kriegiersien captain of the tennis team.

She still has a chance to progress in the doubles where she plays with Esther Ada.
The table tennis silver medalist not only won her first round match in Table tennis, but also advanced in Tennis later. How she will react to these stressful schedule is to be seen.

On another note veteran Wilhelm Schmoe played his last official tennis match. His loss against Mehmet Demirel from Anollasia was not unexpected. After a last shared photo with the ‘young’ talent which ended his career, he praised him after asking for an autograph.
“A nice lad and great player, I think he can get far.” Asked about his own future he said “I have grown up kids, a big garden, some further hobbies and a job as teacher in the Tennis Training Centre in Schoenwetter. I don’t think I will get bored.”

The first win at this Olympics that brought Kriegiersien on the medal table came from Lissy Coward. One of many emigrants from the nation of Lazy Cowards, she won silver in WEIGHTLIFTING - Women's 53 kg.

Today on Who is…. :?:

Lissy Coward

Born in the nation of ‘Lazy Cowards’, having no chance to compete internationally for a country that just does anything to not be bombed into Oblivion and minimize international connections, she decided to go back into the nation where the Lazy Cowards once emigrated from, living in a diaspora with other countrymen.
Even though these people now have a very funny accent, they can still communicate with the people in Kriegiersien, but prefer to stay together. After years of training hard in a Lazy Fitness Centre, while working at a supermarket, factory or on building sites, she was able to win the qualification for the Olympics in her weight class. The opposition, especially from her other original countrymen, was big.
Winning a medal now is a fantastic thing for her whole cowardly community in Kriegiersien, people coming from a nation which knows nothing than laziness and card games otherwise.

The second medal and first bronze came from Nova Swimtob, in Women's 100 m Butterfly. But afterwards the swimming coach gave a rather irritating interview:
“Our Androids didn’t made into any finals yet, except one. Ok, she has won a medal now, but that they both get sometimes beaten by even our weak mutants from the vault and are so far behind is a shame. Shame. Shame. So many shiny things have put into the building of these two that could have been used for health care, vaccines for or feeding our kids, building new great Superweapons. What a missed opportunity”, she said, shaking her head, while Nova Swimtob was standing calm beside her, with a sad face, the bronze medal around her neck.

After a shared record in the qualification together with Treina Kash, Ery Inie was at the end close behind her opponent from South Covello in Women's 10 m Air Rifle. After the great qualification she missed a bit of that perfection in the final.
“A record is great. But I would prefer to be in the history books as Olympic champion”, said silver medal winner Ery afterwards.

****

How to win (more) medals – a short survey

After the mediocre start now the question arose again: How to win more medals? 2 silver, a bronze, but no gold. We have looked, among others, into publications from Electrum, Liventia and Kelssek for that matter.

Only two times Kriegiersien got under the Top 10 Nations at the medal table, both times the Winter Olympics. At the last Winter Paralympics Kriegiersien became 4th, but with being one of the 4 biggest delegations and only a few participants at all, that wasn’t satisfying.

So why is Kriegiersien even with a lot of Investment in Sport, second only to Military, only average? Here are the problems.

First the Isolation outside of Multi Sport Events doesn’t help to get the grip and experience of international sport. Surely the skills and tactics of the athletes of Kriegiersien are a secret and surprise for their opponents, but vice versa. The connections needed to not only participate, but also win a competition are missing, as does experience with the circumstances. Further relationships to other nations to exchange knowledge and make the ties to judges and educate coaches (and referees) are left behind an iron curtain.

A big point is of course the missing home advantage. Even though the costs are high and the work that has to be put into it tremendous, the host has possibilities and advantages that help to win the events. Kriegiersien hosted only one event until now at all. A very small Nations Cup in women’s Basketball before the Olympics.

The continuing inconsistency in the line-up of the delegation doesn’t let the nation appear serious. Sometimes partly fantastic beats, sometimes Zombies, Zombierobots or Cyborgs, there was never a clear way who represented and got supported in the nation. Training facilities were closed and plans dropped or discontinued after a while and hastily replaced.
Sometimes training own young athletes, then again naturalized athletes from other nations were ‘imported’. That missing basis is hurting the development of the nation and fails in having a clear, understandable and comprehensible approach.
The “only one Top athlete per discipline” Idea is not kept up. This inconsistency leaves some disciplines frail, because not one decent athlete starting, others have only one good athlete without help (which is needed in e.g. road races or running events) but then again massing multiple Top athletes in one event, wasting them for one Gold medal. The path taken is, again, not clear.

Also important disciplines are underfunded, while others get money that is wasted.
Team sport games, that need many athletes in one team, get the same money as sports where medals are easier to win, like the fighting sports. Overrun sports with much competition like athletics got suddenly massive funding.

Last there is no looking ahead, into the future. Because demonstration events don’t bring medals for the medal table, they got no attention. That could have consequences when these sports get Olympic later and are a missed opportunity to present the nation now.

So is there any hope to get better in the next years, as old Powerhouses vanish, nations disappear and new ones emerge?

Without a clearer involvement in the community and it technologies, it seems unlikely, even if Kriegiersien is a big nation with nearly 13 Billion people. But that is not enough.

by **Kelssek** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 2:39 pm

KELSSEK'S HOME FOR THE OLYMPICS
> Watch live and on-demand
> News
> Full results
> Athlete and team profiles

SWIMMING
Finals frustration continues for Kelssek swimming
Hopes were high with a Kelssekian carrying the flag at both of the day's finals. But it was another disappointing evening session for Kelssek at the University of Republica Aquatic Center as the medal drought in swimming continued into the fourth day of competition. Catherine Robitaille touched the wall in third place in the 100m butterfly but then fell behind in a four-way scramble with Ivett Escamilla, Nova Swimtob, Jelena Rakitic for the bronze medal. Caleb Gosselin was well off the pace in the final of the men's 100m breastroke, finishing sixth. To cap things off, the men's 4x100m freestyle relay team failed to qualify for the final although they were tipped as one of the favourites... [more]

SOCCER
Lapierre steps up in draw against Baker Park
Gabriel Lapierre scored two goals in a 2-2 draw against Baker Park which helped keep Kelssek in contention. The 1093 Club de Atlantea midfielder, wearing the captain's armband at the Olympics, seems to have responded to his coach's call to take a leadership role. But the under-23s still face a massive challenge to qualify from the group stage... [more]

WATER POLO
Preview: fixtures guide
Could Kelssek repeat the incredible accomplishment of winning both women's and men's gold medals in water polo? The competition gets underway in two days, but first here's when to watch their group stage matches. All times Coastal.

Women's
MD1: vs. Santaclausisgodistan - KBC1, JUL 18, 23:00
MD2: bye
MD3: vs. Cosumar - KBC1, JUL 22, 19:00
MD4: vs. Darmen - KBC1, JUL 24, 22:15
MD5: vs. Titaniumland - KBC1, JUL 26, 19:45

Men's
MD1: vs. Main Nation Ministry - KBC1, JUL 17, 19:45
MD2: vs. Cosumar - KBC1, JUL 19, 21:30
MD3: vs. Taeshan - KBC1, JUL 21, 21:30
MD4: bye
MD5: Locharia - KBC1: JUL 25, 22:15

by **Sargossa** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 3:36 pm

“Say that again”, Luca Leoz had the phone to one ear and his finger to the other. “What? What the fuck is an Illahee?”

The Olympic Authority President was receiving word from a stadium somewhere in the Free Republics that Sargossa, the three time champions of Rushmore and the 19th best footballing nation in the entire sportiverse, had just been turned over by a nation hitherto unknown to the sporting public back home. A medal in football had long been an unspoken goal, even more so since the women added an Olympic silver to their otherwise bare trophy cabinet, but a single point from their opening two matches meant a likely long wait for that goal to be realised.

César Gallo was quite enjoying the respite. The nation’s Elite Aquatics Director had endured the OAS chief in his ear for another long session in University of Republica Aquatics Center, before his phone started to buzz with updates from the day's other events. Not helped by Sargossa’s men crashing out of the heats of the 200m Free, the 100m Backstroke and the 4 x 100m Free. The 100m Breaststroke final also came and went without any Sargossan representation. A particularly damning fact given the nation’s pedigree in that particular discipline. Marc Sarasola’s performance from Kytler Bay remains the time to beat for Olympic competitors but the current crop looks an awfully long way shy of that level.

Not for the first time Gallo silently thanked a deity he didn’t actually believe in for women. First Camila Rasgado reached the final of the 400m Freestyle. Then Vivian Carvallo and Asia Navarro scored a one-two in the opening heat of the 100m Backstroke to both advance to the semi finals, Carvallo as the fastest of all the qualifiers. And in the 100m Breaststroke, another Olympic record held by Sargossa, Naomí Alarcón and Iris Sainz both won their respective heats.

It was a busy evening for Alarcón as she headed out once more to the pool. Headphones on and head bowed, remaining utterly focused as the knots of Sargossan support cheered her arrival. She took her place among eight of the very best in the world, in the final of the 100m Butterfly. In the stands Gallo had another silent conversation with that deity just as the competitors dove into the pool. The presence of Ivett Escamilla ensured that the University of Republica Aquatics Center become a cauldron of noise. Which grew and grew as, at the turn, the home favourite was well in the mix. Cassadaigua, Cosumar, Kelssek, nations with fine sporting pedigrees were all in the tussle as the swimmers sped towards the wall. But it was Alarcón and the Dagan McDonald who were leading the pack.

Alarcón, McDonald. McDonald, Alarcón. Gallo could barely stay in his seat. He gave up trying and leapt out of it as the two swimmers touched the wall seemingly in unison, with Nova Swimtob and Escamilla not far behind. The sound level fluctuated as thousands of heads turned towards the big screens. Cheers took on a slightly more dismayed tone as the confirmation popped up of Escamilla’s fourth place. Not that Gallo noticed. Instead he pumped both arms in the air as the glowing yellow text confirmed the fact that Naomí Alarcón had taken second. Admittedly it wasn’t the gold that it potentially could have been but it was a sodding medal and that was good enough for him. The nation was off the mark and it had been entirely down to his Aquatics team.

He turned to look for Leoz, time to receive some credit for a change. He spied the president several rows back in the entrance to the concourse, phone still glued to his face.

“Mr Leoz. Luca!”, he yelled loud enough to get his attention. As Leoz lowered his phone turned to face him Gallo pointed towards one of the big screens, which still showed the final positions.

“Brilliant!”, Leoz gave him a thumbs up. “We got three competitors through the Archery first round! Unbelievable, right?!” He returned the phone to the side of his head and strode away down the exit, leaving Gallo pointing at the screen as the crowd started to file past him.

“Yes, unbelievable.”

by **West Phoenicia** » Tue Jan 15, 2019 4:11 pm

Amanda Chatterman, leader of The Animal Justice Party and a member of the West Phoenician House of Representatives which currently holds 79 seats in the House out of 2,464 seats and 9 seats in Congress; used her question time to condemn The Equestrian events and Horse racing at the current Olympic Games being held in Republica, Free Republics.

“It is appalling that the barbaric acts of horse races and equestrian are still classed as events at the Olympics. Each year hundreds of horses are injured and many are killed after breaking legs, than as owners see little value in keeping them alive they kill them. All the while people cheer from the stands in the hopes of winning it big. While bookies drip in money, horses are abused, forced to run to entertain us and murdered when they fail.”

“Horses are not here for us to be entertained, they are a not slaves, they have rights!”

“Equestrian is just as bad and evil, horses are often injured during Eventing and Jumping for what? A shiny medal for the rider and a pathetic sugar cube for the horse.”

“Someone needs to step in and be the voice for these horses. I am utterly disgusted that West Phoenicia has sent athletes to compete in the Equestrian and Horse racers and that the West Phoenician Olympic Council funds this atrocity. The Animal Protection Act 2016 was created to defend animals. But the law needs to be amended to outlaw horse racing and Equestrian in West Phoenicia, with a goal of one day the law applying to all nations. I urge animal lovers to either boycott the whole Olympics or turn off the television when these events are aired to show your solidarity.

West Phoenician swimmer Anna Patches who just missed out progressing in the 100m Breaststroke voiced her support as she took a moment to catch her breath after a tough heat where she had placed 5th. Out of breath she applauded the calibre of the other swimmers and was looking forward 200m Backstroke even though the 100m was her stronger event. She went on to praise the Animal Justice Party for all their fine work. And would not be going to cheer on the Horse racing or Equestrian event.

While Lady Violet Hungary II who lost today in the first round of Archery too Caroline Penskiona of Vakolicci Haven and Celeria disagreed saying only a small percentage of horses are injured, Just like any other athlete who plays sport there is a risk. But West Phoenicians needed to get behind all West Phoenician athletes, and that meant The horse racing and Equestrian. We are in with a good chance these games. A boycott will affect the morale, we can't have that.”

Amanda Chatterman went on calling everyone to rally behind The Centaur Club activists. A small group of animal right activists who have travelled to Republica; Free Republics to protest at the Equestrian and Horse racing and do there best to disrupt the running of those events.

8pm; After the Equestrian Eventing - Jumping - Qualifying.

Emily Woods smiled and kissed her aunt Jackie on the cheek. “I love having you at my competitions, I feel it always brings me luck. Even if we lost the team event today.”
“You are an amazing rider, you are progressing to the individual event which is amazing. And with a team ranking of 6th place. Your group did so good. Just pipped at the post by some nations who probably slept with a judge. You have natural talent, Just like your mother, my sister had. Her warm eyes began to well up, as she remembered her sister and the smile she had on her face every time she rode her horse. It was hard to believe her sister was now dead 10 years. Killed by a drunk driver as her sister was out walking the dog. Jackie had taken her niece Emily in at the time who had been ten. It was her love of horses that kept the poor girl sane.
“Let's go have a hot chocolate and unwind before you have to go back to the village to prepare for the next event,”
“Great idea!” Emily replied, her smile growing. She needed to shake off the loss today and think about tomorrow.
“Why don't you go and meet me at the car. I just need to use the bathroom,” Aunt Jackie said as she trotted off.

Neither woman was aware of the trio of figures who stood watching and waiting in the shadows. “Now, one of them said as each slid on a red balaclava and followed the older woman each held a riding crop in their hands.

The three figures were members of the The Centaur Club, their goal was simple, make people aware that animal cruelty was never okay. And animals were not a form of entertainment.

“Are you a friend of that Equestrian rider Emily Woods?” A feminine voice said as they moved closer to the middle aged woman.

“I'm her aunt actually. Are you a fan of Equestrian? I could get her to sign an autograph if you like.” Aunt Jackie spoke before she fully turned around. When she did she stood like a deer in the headlights.

“Who are you?” she whispered a breath.

“We don't like animal abusers, you should be ashamed that you are related to a girl who uses animals for sport.” the cold menacing voice said cooly.

Before Aunt Jackie could respond, the three figures lunged forward knocking her to the ground. Jackie cried out as she landed with a loud thud on the gravel. Dust and gravel flew up in the air like a mini typhoon. She raised one hand in a defensive position as the first blow from riding crop hit her left palm. She let out a yelp of pain as another crop lashed across her face.

“How do you like it!” A voice called out as the three increased the speed of the riding crop whipping. “Think of the poor horses and the pain they go through.”

Aunt Jackie collapsed calling out for help, as pains exploded across different parts of her body. She prayed it would end soon.

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