Games of the XV Olympiad — roleplaying thread

[Acastanha]

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Accident Happened

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As Acastanhada delegation arriving in Electrum for their first ever Olympics, an interesting things happen along the way. After the Olympic official reveal the athletes participation and drawing for each and every sports discipline, it comes to the attention of Acastanhada official about certain mistake. This makes the official checking up everything back from their official participation documents to the Olympics officials.

It is a shame that our official makes a crucial mistakes which can give a disadvantage to our athletes who will compete in the Olympics event. Although it is our first participation and mistakes might happen sometimes, but I think this mistake is something more of an embarrassment in our side.

Cezar Ordonna
Acastanha Olympic Delegation, Chief de Mission

When the online users are flooding the Acastanha NOC account for the explanation, the officials finally release an official statement right on the opening day of the Summer Olympics. On the statement it is reveal that Acastanha Olympics official have wrongly put athletes names on one number event. This mistake is just noticed on the opening day which makes it difficult to make any change. This happen in Athletics Men's High Jump number. The official was supposed to enter Syaiful Abraham and Andre Kappakachar as Acastanha entry in the event but they wrongly put the name of Sergio Vanchar and Cezar Marana who are entered in 20 km and 50 km Walk. Both athletes (Abraham and Kappakachar) have represent the country in the same number during I Melayu Olympiad which was held before. The reveal of the mistakes have outraged the sports fans in Acastanha. They hope that both athletes can still participated in the event even though with the simple yet crucial mistake that have happen.

This is utterly irresponsible for them to do such things. They should have been double check all of our entries before officially submitted our participation to the Olympics officials. This mistakes can't be fixed.

Sports fan

Comitê Olímpico Acastanha have issue an official apology on their media account towards the athletes and also to all sports fan. The official who made the mistake have been given warning and a possible dismissal. Further investigation is made by the official to check if there is any other mistake.

[Alezian Union]

SYNOPSIS
The Alezian Union (mostly Mosin-Nagan) explained The Alezian Union's capability in badminton and how it got there. And North Alezia flexes his badminton smashes towards South Alezia.

FUN FACTS
1. Even though most badminton players in the Alezian Union are of Indonesian descent, there's not a single Indonesian playing this olympics. Most of them came from Mosin-Nagan a.k.a Georgian, the second biggest (but still scary) market of badminton after North Alezia.

2. North Alezian players recorded the most amount of smashes done in badminton compared to other regions.

3. The best waves to do some sailing in the Alezian Union is really in Pantabang Islands. His beaches are just top for those. Plus Sailing and Beach Volleyball!

4. South Alezia's scars in his hands came from World War 2. Countries do live that long yes. There's an additional long scar in his back (hidden under his clothes) that came from the South Alezian Revolution of 2021. North Alezia have a scar near his left chest that came from the North Alezian Revolution of 1988. Both revolutions literally changed the governmental type of both countries. Long story. Probably would explain later in future comics.

[Chromatika]

By: Min Do-Hyun, Olympic Correspondent

All about Fencing
Schedule:
Day 1: Men's Individual Sabre, Women's Individual Épée
Day 2: Men's Individual Épée, Women's Individual Foil
Day 3: Men's Individual Foil, Women's Individual Sabre
Day 4: Women's Team Épée
Day 5: Men's Team Sabre
Day 6: Women's Team Foil
Day 7: Men's Team Épée
Day 8: Women's Team Sabre
Day 9: Men's Team Foil

Who:
Men's Épée
Jurian Sands, 24, Felswyr (Bronze Medalist)
Carson Teodore, 23, Randan
Myung-Shik Jang, 26, Z'ai'ai
Women's Épée (Silver Medalist)
Ami Wallace, 27, Lanar
Estelle Roberts, 25, Knetyohai
Cara-Ann Stewart, 28, Chromia (Bronze Medalist)
Men's Foil
Viktor Asmiov, 31, Tihon
Terrance Vicomb, 24, Lhor
Sandoval Liere, 28, Wirr Tsi
Women's Foil
Do-Yeun Park, 20, Cheonju
Ji-Min Jung, 24, Urrheddiao
Bo-Ra Kim, 23, Alnio
Men's Individual Sabre
Xazi Igfhan, 27, Hanai
Potter Kiero, 29, Sanar
Odo Watson, 26, Inon
Women's Individual Sabre
Jinyi Xiang, 24, Tor
Sara Hoyashimi, 21, Myana (Gold Medalist)
Gina Carth, 27, Chromia (Silver Medalist)

Story Blurbs:
Men's Épée: Can "The Mountain Brothers" improve on a decent showing from the Fourteenth Olympics?
Juriah Sands earned the Bronze Medal in the last Olympics, while Teodore lost in the Round of 32 and Jang all the way back in the Preliminary Round. As a group, they ran into the buzzsaw called the Royal Kingdom of Quebec in the first round and got manhandled by a score of 31 to 45, completing a disappointing tournament for both Teodore and Jang. Now, the three of them return, Sands adamant on going for the gold - the twenty-four year old from Felswyr do remain the best hopes for Chromatika - while Teodore and Jang try to improve their prospects while avoiding the Quebecois at all costs.

Sands, who won the Olympic trials handedly over Teodore, is known for his acute, sharp attacks that catch his opponents off guard; Teodore is the type to wear out an opponent, while Jang is like a blunt instrument, committing to the same thing enough times until either it works or he loses. The three fencers from the Mountain District will be hoping that their prospects are golden.

Women's Épée: Now with One Eye, Cara-Ann Stewart Marches On
Imagine this: You're the youngest fencer on the Chromatik Women's Épée team, and you make your way to the Semifinals, losing to the eventual Gold Medalist while getting the bronze by a single point. You lead your two older teammates - Estelle Roberts, who lost in the Round of 64 and Amy Wallace, who lost to the eventual Silver Medalist, to the Team Final, where you lose to - you guessed it - the Royal Kingdom of Quebec (and Shingoryeo). You're being highly regarded as one of the best in the multiverse, and you're not even twenty.

Two years later, you get into a hit-and-run where a piece of debris pierces your left eye, and despite all the best medical efforts available, you lose the eye. Despite all the challenges that brings, you keep fencing, and somehow make it back to the Olympics as the third-choice fencer behind Roberts and Wallace.

Now, Cara-Ann Stewart is the talisman of the entire fencing contingent, a reminder of what the human body can endure and still end up excelling in the sport. This time, every round she wins will be a testament to her fortitude. This time, the nation will hang onto every point.

Men's Foil: "Avoid the Quebecois", Comes the Clear Warning.
Uh... See the trend here? Viktor Asimov lost in the Round of Sixteen against the eventual Bronze Medalist, from Quebec. Sandoval Liere? in the Quarterfinals by a point against the eventual Gold Medalist, also of Quebec. Yes, Terrance Vicomb fell way before that, but it was all Quebec.

Asimov, the most senior fencer representing Chromatika these Olympics, has replaced his speed with some tactical knowhow in his age; Liere is more of a blitzer while Vicomb just lets things come to him. As a collective, they lost in the Round of 32. The Round of 32! Remedying that is actually the highest priority for this bunch who still have a lot to prove.

It may be Asimov's last dance. He'd really like to make it count.

Women's Foil: The Korean Contingent
Why are all three Chromatiks in Women's Foil Korean-born? There isn't really a single reason. Somehow, the three of them - from very different corners of Chromatika - have made it in the squad and stayed there despite the disappointing results last time around. Not a lot to say - the three of them keep beating each other in domestic competitions, and nobody else is even close to them. Internationally, though? They would like to just not embarrass themselves.

Men's Sabre: The One-Man Team - Story of Xazi Ifghan
In this discipline, the talent level does stratify rather sharply. Xazi Ifghan is the only one to make it to the Quarters, he's also the most exciting to watch. Potter is a very defensive player who only attacks when the opportunity is crystal-clear, while Watson has good fundamentals. If Xazi doesn't, though? Don't expect much from this squad, not like the women's side.

Women's Sabre: Iron Sharpens Iron
The story of Jinyi Xiang, Sara Hoyashimi, and Gina Carth is inspiring. The three of them have known of each other since Carth was nineteen and Xiang was thirteen; they keep trading championships, bouts, and competitions. Last Olympics, it was Xiang that fell off first in the Round of 32 with the other two making it all the way to the end, Hoyashimi winning the Gold Medal by three strokes. They did fall off in the Round of Sixteen... An upset loss to Renzynistan.

In the years since, Xiang has actually been the best of the three, winning the domestic championships the last two times. Hoyashimi does have the aura of an Olympic Champion, while Carth does have the veteran experience.

Besides the Épée competitions, this is the group to watch.

[HMS Onslaught]

[Aboveland]

Athlete Spotlight: Edvin Henstein, From Rags to Rushmore

In preparation for day one of the 15th Summer Olympics and thus the first set of medal-awarding events, we take a closer look at one of the athletes of Team Abovian Union ready to make a mark on his competitive debut: sixteen-year-old Edvin Henstein of Bjørnskog, northern Aboveland.

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SOMER | SOMER URBAN PARK - As the first day of the 15th Summer Olympics in Bunjil, Electrum, draw nearer, Ælunder Nyttispalvelu kicks off a series of special feature articles focused on a specific Olympic debutant of the day, with a spotlight on the sole representative of the Union in skateboarding—potentially, one of the biggest medal hopes of the delegation.

Edvin, sometimes cited endearingly by the media as “Aboveland’s only rebellious teen”, was born in 2005 to a logging father and a shop-owner mother, in the small lakeside town of Manfredstad, today the city known as Bjørnskog. At the time the furthest town from the then-capital Ayarii with little connectivity to the rest of the nation, life in Manfredstad was more bleak than serene, and through his formative years Edvin and his family had little to write home about. As a child, he as much as his peers suffered the effects of an inefficient, decentralized, often non-functional education system, and by the time the Republic of Aboveland had come to be in 2013, there was a lot of catching up to do for the children of Manfredstad to stack up to the national average academic level.

As an influx of new settlers arrived in Manfredstad before it was given its new name, the small town of now-Bjørnskog saw a violent and sudden increase in crime and lawlessness, while its public services and institutions in areas such as education, power and plumbing infrastructure, and peace monitoring (law enforcement) had not received the pertinent budget reinforcements and attention needed to cover a ballooning population. The once-stagnant northerly town in a state of abandoned disrepair had suddenly come close to toppling over into anarchy, and what was supposed to be a breath of fresh air for the Norden-maakunta town soon proved a pressing headline issue.

However, the new democratic government spearheaded by Kaisla Saari acted swiftly, while navigating domestic terrorism threats and regional turmoil, to put things in order, and by 2015 the new town of Bjørnskog, its population tripled since the formation of the Republic, had finally settled in with its new inhabitants.

Edvin, though, by now age ten, had both had to cope with the changing, hostile environment of his hometown and the departure of many of his childhood friends, whose families had fled Bjørnskog in the height of the turmoil. Though life was, seemingly, starting to fall into the new Abovian standard for normal, his new life in his unrecognizable hometown took some getting used to.

Edvin struggled to make friends with the newcomers, who’d migrated from better-off (read: not miserable) areas of Aboveland where family budgets allowed for folkrace to be the most common pastime, and spent his free time toiling around the overgrown cement parks of the old city center with his skateboard. His angry—perhaps dejected—experimentation, often times hours-long and entirely absent from his concerned parents’ radar, quickly became a hobby, and what had become a hobby, thanks to a creative method of managing the money his parents lent him for supermarket trips, he was able to turn into a proper after-school activity. Upgrading his decade-old board, and garnering the confidence to find newer, smoother parks and plazas closer to the center to practice his tricks, he rapidly began to gain a following among frequent passers-by—much to his parents’ disdain, as his audience grew proportionally to how steeply his grades dropped.

Still, Edvin pressed on, and by 2019, almost half a decade since he’d first taken up skateboarding, the lonely Manfredstader-turned-Bjørnskogger he’d even begun to garner an online following. His follower count quickly surpassed the 60-thousand strong population of his hometown, and soon enough, he’d risen to become something of a national star. After a couple of years had passed, the Abovian Olympic Committee finally announced their entry into their inaugural Summer Olympics, and seeking to fill at least one slot in the skateboarding category, called up the young northerner with little hesitation—irrespective of the fact that he’s never competed in skateboarding before.

“I dunno, like, it can’t be thaaaat different from what I’ve always done,” he said, verbatim, from the athlete’s village in Somer, Electrum—with a slick new split blonde-dark mullet to boot. “Like, I’ve never skated to impress anyone; I just [fooled] around with my board for a while and people started to watch. And it was like, woah, okay, I guess I’ll keep going.”

Edvin claimed that, at first, he was misunderstood, then watched ironically, until people caught on to what he was doing.

“Like, it’s pretty dumb that like, nobody had like ever seen a skateboard or something.” He smiles shyly, looking down at his feet but then quickly snapping back into his trademark, laid-back matter-of-factness. “The new people that came to Manf—Bjørnskog—were acting all weird. No, actually, wait, it was the grandmas first that frickin’ annoyed the heck out of me, all like ‘oh, what are you doing, oh, you’re so annoying, oh, get a job,’ even though I was like thirteen and doing my own thing like really quietly.”

He crosses his arms and reminisces on his rise to stardom, staring symbolically up at the clear Electrumite sky.

“But then I got like pretty good at it, I mean like, not peeling my friggin’ wrists off, so I went to the new parks in the center where more people went around, and there they all looked at me as if I were a freak.” He swats his own admission away. “But I didn’t give a frick,” he says, mindful to steer away from profanity in his interview despite Aboveland’s lax censorship laws. “And when people caught on that I was actually doing some pretty cool stuff then they started supporting me.”

He holds up his board, plastered in old government department stickers on the bottom and complete with marbled neon yellow and pink wheels front and back.

“They were like, dude, make an Instashit or something, and so I did, and then I got like brand deals and stuff from abroad.” He chuckles. “And my parents didn’t know anything until I failed chemistry!”

Before signing off with Ælunder Nyttispalvelu, he revealed his hopes for the competition after some pondering, telling his thoughts with a shrug.

“I dunno. I’m pretty good at this; else I wouldn’t be here. But I can’t say anything else, I’ve never competed.”

As he was getting ready to call the interview off, pulling his microphone from his shirt, he brought the nub back to his mouth for one final remark.

“At least I’m still the best skater in Aboveland!”

Also among Team Abovian Union's debutants for day one: Robin Soinien and Noora Saaremaa in road cycling against a tight field of 240 competitors, and the women's fencers looking to mount a credible challenge in the Indivudal Epée to accomplished atletes such as Juriah Sands of Chromatika and Helene Grumier of Quebec and Shingoryeo

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[Brookstation]

THE DREAMLAND GAZZETTE

Brookstation's very first journey in the modern Olympics started two days ago. The Brookstation flag was held high by Sam Maher and the 200+ athletes went on to participate in their first olympics.

WATER POLO
Group N
Pemecutan (PCU) 6–8 Brookstation (BRO)
Alezian Union (ALE) 10–11 Diarcesia (DCS)

Group N Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts
1 Brookstation 1 1 0 0 8 6 +2 2
2 Diarcesia 1 1 0 0 11 10 +1 2
3 Alezian Union 1 0 0 1 10 11 −1 0
4 Pemecutan 1 0 0 1 6 8 −2 0

The Scott women team showed their talent on the big stage. Despite being in a group with hard opponents, the Scott women managed to be in the top of the table. The Scotts are looking forward to win a medal in the sport.

BADMINTON(WOMEN)
Group 1
Miranda Guillem (CMT) 21 22
Janni Besta (BRO) 18 20


Group 1 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Miranda Guillem 1 1 0 0 2 0 +2 1
2 Janni Besta 1 0 0 1 0 2 −2 0

Janni Besta lost in her debut match but losing is never looked down by the Scotts. The Scotts acknowledge the fact that she was the first badminton player from Brookstation to play a match in the olympics.

RUGBY SEVENS(MEN)

Group E
Apox (APX) 17–15 Banija (BNJ)
The Jovannic (JOV) 14–24 Valanora (VAL)
Brookstation (BRO) 5–29 Bollonich (BOL)

Group E Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Bollonich 1 1 0 0 29 5 +24 3
2 Valanora 1 1 0 0 24 14 +10 3
3 Apox 1 1 0 0 17 15 +2 3
4 Banija 1 0 0 1 15 17 −2 0
5 The Jovannic 1 0 0 1 14 24 −10 0
6 Brookstation 1 0 0 1 5 29 −24 0

Brookstation suffered a devastating defeat to Bollonich but fans are not much concerned as Rugby is a rare sport in Brookstation. ALthough we are placed at the bottom, we look forward to some wins.

SAILING

The Scott athletes are doing pretty good in this sport after few races but the most hope is on David Diamond, who is one of the Scott hopes of bringing a medal. He is in a very good position after three races

Race 1-3 R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10 R11 R12 Total
Zulkifli Harawanto (ALE) 3 34 1 4
Francois Le (ETM) 1 22 4 5
Tommy Bruce (TLI) 7 3 2 5
Daniel Ervanger (NEG) 9 23 3 12
Dilsalam Madris (DCS) 15 2 11 13
David Diamond (BRO) 25 6 8 14
Wilmar Blau (RWH) 29 11 5 16
Brandon Cooper (HAN) 10 7 49 17
Spartakus Þórlaugursson (GRÆ) 4 13 28 17
Lee Chuck junior (KGS) 5 37 13 18
Adriano Mano (SRG) 14 5 21 19
Leading Seaman Bryan (HMS) 8 20 12 20
Oka Laksana Putra (PCU) 16 4 27 20
Sam Hirst (LEN) 6 43 14 20
Gerry Gonzalez (HOP) 13 14 35 27
Owen Stern (TMB) 31 17 10 27
Tom Poynter (KSK) 27 8 19 27
Ricky Duncan (AME) 12 26 18 30
Timur Ponikarov (MYT) 21 10 30 31
Wilhelm de Gries (CMT) 11 25 20 31
Lon Cook (BOL) 17 16 16 32
Bongsisi Mushiya (BNJ) OCS 27 6 33
Felip Gabriel Rosa (NHE) 18 15 33 33
Eddie Guerrero Etheredge (LNS) 36 21 15 36
Rufus Rienvalt (VKL) 30 29 7 36
Fr Triandaphyllus the Trendy (ARC) 28 40 9 37
Karv Begunst (GRU) 46 1 38 39
Anton Lupin (OST) 22 19 22 41
Pablo Fraire (OVO) 2 41 39 41
Varuna Singh (KWP) 32 9 40 41
Adam Hoy (AST) 20 OCS 26 46
Salvatoro Mikaloro (VEK) 34 12 43 46
Spiro Ianadies (FSS) 24 28 34 52
Jean-Philippe Cross (QUE) 35 31 24 55
Malo Bainbridge (MRT) 26 32 29 55
Vili Glušković (SRE) 23 38 32 55
Kannig Abrassart (OAM) 19 39 37 56
Johan-Liam Bergen (SAL) 42 18 45 60
Jomiail Ruiaa (VLT) 47 24 36 60
Kieron Zybach (KRY) 44 46 17 61
Eric Castelon (CRT) 40 48 23 63
Klaudio Armandi (KLS) 38 47 25 63
Dean Sazerac (AUG) 37 30 48 67
Jake Smith (EUR) 33 36 44 69
Lysippos ben Bogdan (IOU) 39 33 50 72
Narciso Walter (SCR) 41 35 41 76
Vincent Lamian (TKT) 49 BFD 31 80
Ailbhe Coke (DAR) 48 44 42 86
Ruud Kindvanwilaam (TSA) 45 42 46 87
Lars Lange (ABL) 43 45 47 88

Fans have become very excited and have taken over the streets in order to cheer Diamond and hope that he excels.
Let us all hope that Diamond succeeds and also we are looking forward to the other sports and having a successful Olympiad.
VIVE BROOKSTATION !!

[Tikariot]

The letters (and number) of TBC 1 moves across the screen before zooming out, revealing the full logo of TBC 1's coverage of the Games of the XVth Olympiad can be seen. It then zooms in and through the logo to show the studio, which has the logo of the Games superimposed in the background, around the large screen wall and the desk in the shape of the Olympic star in the centre, where two of the four spots are occupied by a woman and a man in the official team wear of the Tikariotian Olympic Delegation.

Theresa Rawlings: Good evening and welcome to the coverage of the Games of the 15th Olympiad from the Terranean Coast/Bunjil in Electrum here on TBC 1. I'm Theresa Rawlings and joining me in the studio for the duration of the Games is Marcus Ashworth.

Marcus Ashworth: Good evening from me as well, of course. Theresa and I will be your hosts throughout the Games and while it is just the two of us tonight, we will also have experts in the studio for analyses and more, but with no medal decisions yet to go through we decided that we would take a look forward instead, which in tonight's case will focus on the men's cycling road race that is on the calendar tomorrow and it promises to be a big one right from the get-go.

Theresa Rawlings: Indeed it is. Among all the medal events of Day 1, this one has a story to it already, which goes back to the last Olympics in Orean and Istria, when Spencer Buitimea won the bronze medal in a really tight race. So let's have a look at the man behind the medal, who for a second time is part of a group of favourites for at least a top 10 result.



Clay Knightsbridge: Any Olympic Games write their own stories of both triumph and tragedy, victory and defeat. And many say that the cycling road races are among the fiercest and most combative due to their sheer nature. Compared to other events that have athletes compete on their own or in groups, with heats or rounds, this is an all-in affair where it literally is all or nothing. Everybody has one shot and one shot only, for better or for worse. Looking back at the 14th edition, it had 189 athletes from all across the multiverse compete for just three medals. Mass start and in the end, after over six hours, a sprint to the finish line. To come out third out of 189 was a true achievement, even with 63 of them failing to make to the very end.

Now fast forward to the 15th Games and a look at the registration list shows that we have 242 riders in the competition this time around, that is over 28% more than the last time around, showing the popularity of the event, but also the odds that are even harder than they were before. After his bronze medal we had done a very brief segment of Spencer Buitimea, but we decided that in anticipation of the race to take a closer look at not just the athlete, but also beyond.

"From childhood on I liked being on a bike. Fresh air, tranquillity, being close to nature, it just all fit. So then when I was in high school they were putting together a cycling team and of course I was all in. So from there I went to provincial races and finally national events and now the Olympics. It feels like a continuous build-up, so to have any kind of success here would be like a dream come true!" - Spencer Buitimea

Clay Knightsbridge: He also admitted to what his least favourite part of cycling was.

"The sprints are the worst thing for me. I know that they are part of it, but they are immensely dangerous. You have to be extremely conscious of everything going on around you, otherwise it is very easy to get tangled up and once one man goes down, it just gives a chain reaction and I have seen people get seriously hurt." - Spencer Buitimea

Clay Knightsbridge: When I asked him what has changed for him since his medal, he was very open about it.

"A lot of things, more in the time just after the Games than now, but I guess that comes with the territory. The media attention was immense. Interview after interview, TV station, radio, newspaper, blogs, everything, talk shows, public appearances, there were times where I wished I was somewhere out on the road on my bike with nobody around. Thankfully that eventually died down, though, and I was able to go back to training and racing and things became normal again. The biggest difference in the months after was advertisements with my partners that became more frequent and yes, the financial bonus was nice as well, because it allowed and still allows me to fully focus on the sport, which is definitely a plus." - Spencer Buitimea

Clay Knightsbridge: When we met up at his home in Wyvernwood, he also gave some insight in what he does when he is not in the seat of his bicycle or in the gym.

"There is not a lot of real downtime, but when I'm not training I am actually a complete nerd. I'm a big gamer, but I hate sports games, go figure. I like a variety of games, though, depending on my mood. I'm in a Forsaken Legends league with some other riders when I want action and company, but I also feel at home with a strategy game like Anaia Universalis or some RPG'ing, like Churches'n'Clerics. And it's really easy to forget the time, so I have egg timers everywhere to make sure that I don't miss going to bed at a reasonable time, because a lot of my training starts early, especially during summer, and to have a somewhat strict sleep schedule is really important. Why egg timers? Because they never run out of battery, haha. I also have one normal alarm set as the final warning, with a really loud and annoying sound that I put far away enough not to be able to reach it from where I sit and play, so I'm forced to actually get up." - Spencer Buitimea

Clay Knightsbridge: But there also is a different side to him, one that tries to give back.

"Even before my medal win I joined up with the Per Aspera, Ad Astra foundation, which focuses on people that are trying to put their lives back together and as the name of the foundation states, "Through Hardships to the Stars", attempts to help them through their hardships to reach for the stars, in many different ways. I'm part of the group that helps underprivileged youths to get an opportunity to pursue their dreams in sports, be it through giving them access to training facilities or equipment and encouraging them to follow through. It has been an incredible fulfilling journey and I am more than happy to use my status as Olympic medal winner to be able to get more financial support for the foundation and our cause." - Spencer Buitimea

Clay Knightsbridge: Finally I asked him about his outlook for the Terranean Coast/Bunjil Games and his hopes and expectations for tomorrow's race.

"That is a very difficult question to answer, because there are so many that can happen in a race like this, everything can fall into place or be gone in a heartbeat. I feel that I have prepared in the best way possible and I am confident in myself and my abilities, but it is hard to really have concrete expectations, if you factor in all of the eventualities. But in the end I expect to be very competitive and be at the fore front again, even if it means that I'd have to go through another one of those final sprints I hate so much, haha. I don't want to get overconfident, but I got bronze last time, there is no reason why I should not aim for gold this time around, but only time will tell." - Spencer Buitimea

Theresa Rawlings: Thank you, Clay. It is always interesting to see more than what usually meets the eye.

Marcus Ashworth: Oh, very much so. I am looking forward to the race tomorrow, to me they are always among the absolute highlights of any Games and I can't wait. I hope that you will be able to join us for our live coverage to see how Spencer, Darwin Garcia, Chandler Drullard, Cameron Sanburd and Sanford Thivault will be doing, in some pre-Games events in Græntfjall, Schutzenphalia, Hannasea and some others, some results were quite encouraging. Sanford Thivault taking sixth in the Háttmark–Laafjörður race, Spencer coming in sixth as well in the Kriterium von Schutzenphalia and Spencer taking fourth and Sanford eighth at the Schutzenphalian Diamond Race. Sanford was only five seconds away from winning the Tour of Zelena Planina, coming in second just behind Robin Soinien, while Cameron Sanburd took a more than respectable fourth place in the Trobirn-Kapfenweil classic race and came in sixth at the Pearl City Power, so the guys have shown that they are competitive, which gives me hope for at least some good results tomorrow as well.

Theresa Rawlings: Thanks, Marcus, for these infos as well and I also hope to see you tomorrow when we look back at the race and the stories of triumph and tragedy, hopefully with an emphasis on the former. Good night and stay safe!

NB: OOC Disclaimer: Two short parts of the RP had already been featured in an RP of the last Games (They have been included as context and for completeness and should be excluded from grading. The rest is original content.)

[Beaverriver]

The Corvan Gazette
Group of Forestlene Conservatives Back Join Campaign

With the referendum approaching, both the Join and Remain campaigns are hitting the streets to persuade voters to their side. The Join campaign has the endorsement of the Liberal Party as well as the Labor Party. Meanwhile, the Conservatives and Lumberjack Parties both support the Remain campaign. However, the Remain campaign was dealt a huge blow as a group of 20 Conservative MPs announced their support for the Join campaign. Stephanie Koenig, the leader of the pro-Join conservatives, state that Forestly and Beaver River share many values such as conservation of natural resources. Many of these pro-join conservatives live in the Eastern part of Forestly where the economy is more dependent on agriculture than the rest of the country.

It is expected that the pro-Join conservatives will be booted out of the conservative coalition in parliament in the coming days for breaking the party-line. However, these conservatives are betting that the referendum will result in Forestly joining Beaver River and thus avoiding some of the consequences of their bet. Some speculate that this move is aimed at currying favor with some of Beaver River's center-right parties such as the Christian Democrats and Beaver Party. As of current polling, it's likely part of their bet will pay off as Join is ahead of Remain 61% to 39% in the most recent poll by The Quetzin Times.

Olympics Officially Begins as Beaverites Already Competing

The grandest sporting spectacle has begun on the Terranean Coast of Electrum with the opening ceremonies. The themes of the Opening Ceremony focused on the natural environment and sustainability. Many Beaverite figures including the Deputy Prime Minister praised the ceremony on focusing on sustainability and recognizing the indigenous history of Electrum on Twit.tur. During the Parade of Nations, Beaver River made an early appearance as the nations parade out in alphabetical order. Bearing the Beaverite flag was Anna Evered of Midinforset competing in Women's Archery as well as Kjell Blue of Norch competing in Men's Mountain Biking.

Meanwhile, some events started earlier in the day such as Men's and Women's Singles in badminton. Cade McNeil was able to eek out a 2 set victory over Oxen Divinity of Qasden while Korbin Allan cruised to victory against Marion Peters of Palmani that included a spectacular behind the back shot to keep the rally going up 12-10 in the second set. Meanwhile, the women weren't quite as successful as Gaia Dickman lost a heartbreaking 3 setter to Anayan Johal of Pratapgadh that ended 21-23 while Miriam Redondo sailed to victory in straight sets against Ercilia Capella of Nuevas Hesperides. Tomorrow, 6 events distributing medals will feature Beaverites.

Cycling - Men's Road Race
The BROC entered five road cyclists who are expected to do well with a possibility of one of them medaling. Top Beaverite cyclist Ernst Overton is Beaver River's best shot in medaling in the Road Race although don't count out his rivals Senne Feguson and Johnathan Burke with the former winning the Beaver Tour earlier this year. Overton's teammate Pontus Peura and Burke's teammate Sten Gulbrandsen will also compete to assist their teammates to victory.

Fencing - Men's Individual Sabre
Helfried Durand, Jools Bean, and Perry Mac Aodha are representing Beaver River in this event. Beaver River Fencing is considered average in the fencing world and none of the competitors are expected to win a medal although crazier things have happened.

Fencing - Women's Individual Épée
Nothing much is expected for Callie Phelps, Christa Ostergaard, and Lavender Antonsen. However, a mysterious being rumored to be called Maggie could influence the results according to some superstitious athletes

Shooting - Men's and Women's 10m Air Pistol
While crazier things have happened, Marco Dunbar and Lena Sjöberg aren't expected to medal. However, don't let that get in the way of experiencing the Olympics. Maybe even meet a sapient cat or pony.

Skateboarding - Men's Street
New to the Olympics is skateboarding as they add both Men's and Women's Street and Park competitions. Expect some amazing tricks and hope that Aydan Street and Per Axelsen make it the finals.

[Lisander]

General expectations for Olympic Road Race and its possible effects in the future of Lisander Cycling
Sorry, this is not a big article. I'm sleeping early today to tune in RTL at 4 am. Damn time difference.

When Lisander pulled out of the Imperan League circuit to search competition in other places, it seemed a bad decision, but turned out that we weren't that bad, and the preseason in Graintjfall showed some good results.

Lisander road racing team will hit the road today with some hopes. Okay, we can't expect a medal or anything like that, but a Top 20 in Terranean Coast, would be a great thing already, considering the number of athletes is thrice the number of those in the preseason. Leaving Nassau Bay, Gelderland and crossing the border into Electrum, the Lisanderian team can take advantage of the seaside sector and the Silab Valley to try an early escape and get some advantage from the peloton before the border and the circuit around Fairleigh, which can be troublesome, especially for John Queiroz and Lalo Lisien, that aren't skilled climbers.

Sponsored Content: Get 40% off and a special
Criterium jersey in RIDERN store.

Our boys have proven their worth in the Road Cycling World Series, with ten finishes in the top 10, including a surprising victory by André Venter in Trobirn–Kapfenweil. Venter, a 22-year old rouleur from Scylla that is still a reserve in Aristian Telecom Team, but shown some resistance to the high temperature of the Graintjfallian summer and bravery to resist the attacks coming from Hopalian Aaron Huvertes to win its first race with the national team, also the first national win in an international road race event outside Imperan League. It's worth remembering the fact that Venter was also close in Kriterium von Schutzenphalia and Folte–Kyrkdorf.

I'd not be surprised if he would return to a Lisanderian team after the Olympics. Maybe to the Carbonnere team, to make a team with Lalo Lisien? Or maybe to its old team, Anthea-UASR? Would his fellow citizen Yannis Monteiro accept to share the spotlight, now that he's already a man on his 35's? Of course, he's still in his greatest form, with a six-pack completely jacked (we can't see a signal of flabbiness) and he's still winning races in local events. Also, Venter is admittedly a fan of him, and they already cycled together for a season before the scouting of the younger for the Aristian Telecom team Academy. But, we can't anticipate how would he deal with the incredible attention the youngest one received after the sequence of good results, while he had to act like a domestique for the national team most of the summer preseason? I mean, nothing against domestics, but to me, there's something wrong with this.

[Scornerse]

Scornerse at the XV Olympiad

---

Scornerse's Martial Women: Episode 1

It's no secret that as competent and skillful Scornerse's men's athletes are across a variety of sports, that the real dominant force on the international level is Scornerse's Women's Athletes, particularly in contact sports, but especially in martial arts. This will be the first episode extended coverage, including pre-bout interviews, the events themselves, post-bout interviews and even coverage of their time in Electrum between events. In today's episode we'll be sitting down with 3 individuals who'll be doing boxing, two sisters doing fencing and a one doing judo in the next phase of events. Tracy Lopez, Irma Palmer, Celia Ramirez, the Aguilar Sisters and Lluvia Sanchez. Let's start with the younger of the two Aguilar sisters, the multi talented, high stamina, Estella Aguilar, our flag bearer and a woman who is going to be a very busy in the next phase of events indeed.

Estella Aguilar

"Yes, not only will I have ranking events in Archery to be considered about. I have medal Épée fencing as well, I think of the five of us, only Lluvia and Carissa have medal round next phase and if Carissa faces me early it won't be much of a medal round for her." Estella said, giving her sister a friendly nudge.

Carissa Aguilar

"I hope you remember that you said that so you don't complain about being tired from archery when I beat you!" Carissa joked, though her competitive nature still shined through her comment.

"So between you sister, who's the better fencer?"

"I am!" both women said with both a smile and surity, as their fellow Olympians laughed at their simulantouesly answer.

"Well, of course she thinks that and I'll give her that she can be more crafty than me." Estella explained

" So more effective and therefore, better." Carissa said, with a smile

"Well..." Estella replied

"I mean to do what I do takes skill right. " Carissa smiled, waiting for Estella to say what she was thinking

"Yeah, I guess." Estella responded.

"So what's the disagreement." Asked the interviewer

"Well with Épée particularly she's very skilled at taking her opponent of her game by making sure to target sensitive spots, thumb, wrist, elbow, solar plexus, always making sure to avoid the brutality penalty by using her opponents own motion to do the damage, she does similar with the Sabre she just can't go after the hand, of course." Estella explained

"Hey, it's a good strategy, turns out people fence worse when winded or with a sore hand." Carissa grinned.

"Both of you, while not competing in judo or boxing tomorrow, participate in those events, would you say that they contribute to your style?" The Interviewer continued

"Certainly, boxing really teaches the usefulness of hurting your opponent, to say the least!" Carissa laughed.

"Speaking of which, it won't be boxing in the next phase. That's for Tracy, Irma and Celia, though it's just the preliminary round, what's your strategy."

Tracy Lopez

"Well, As the saying goes for Scornerse Martial Arts, fight for the referee before the judges. My goal, is to incapacitate my opponent within the rules by getting a knockout, a stoppage or getting them disqualified. That won't always be the result, but if you focus on hurting your opponent, even if you don't get one of those three, it'll make it easier to score and that's good, enough for me." Explained Tracy Lopez, Scornerse's lightweight Olympic boxer.

"Do the rest of you agree?"

Irma Palmer

"Certainly, it's why putting power behind your punches is so important, if I can't get a good swing in, I'd rather protect myself and wait for a better opportunity than risk being countered for something small. That's how you build your score." Said the flyweight Irma Palmer.

Celia Ramirez

"Hmm, no, I disagree" spoke up Celia Ramirez, set to begin her journey in Olympic Heavyweight Boxing next phase.

"No? why no?" Inquired the interviewer.

"Because come on, it's not good win by scoring I still have to depend on the judges, It's only satisfactory. It's good If I've floored my opponent!" Celia laughed.

"Ok, so speaking of flooring your, Celia, both you and Lluvia are in Judo." pivoted the interviewer.

"Us too." Nodded the Aguilar Sisters.

"Right but only Lluvia is competing tomorrow and it's a medal event, too, so what's going through your mind right now?" The Interviewer addressed the question directly at the judo practitioner.

Lluvia Sanchez

"Honestly I'm a bit nervous, I mean, the rest of you girls are going to have other events after tomorrow but this is my thing, I either get a medal now or have to deal with it for the rest of the olympics that I won't have one, sure you boxers have to perform to get to the next round but after you do that's it until later, for me everything happens tomorrow. I'm confidant, I like my chances but it's going to be tough, but I suppose that's part of the thrill, isn't it." Lluvia Sanchez said, the 48 kg Judo practitioners' voice soft, but assured.

"Alright, lovely chat with you women, I hope I'll be speaking with you next segment, perhaps after one, or even three of you, have won medals."

---

Opening Day, Phase 1 Scornerse Olympic Overview:

By far the most convincing win of the day was the Men's Ruby Sevens team, winning a crushing victory over Ostankin, 33 to 7, giving them a smashing point differential +26 in their group, nearly three times higher than the net score of the two other winners in their group combined. We had a short conversation with team captain Adam Carreiro about the match:

Adam Carreiro

"We we knew coming into the match we were the favourites so we knew we had more than a good chance, but once we were on the field and scored a few times we realize that we clicking and just had all the advantage over the other boys, so coach made sure we did our best to not only score but run up the margin as much as possible. We're not playing to need that tiebreaker but you can always have off matches so you got to get the footie as far down as you can. I mean you got some tough teams like the Saltstead boys and of course Lisander who haven't even played yet, then there's the fact the footie isn't round, it can catch you by surprise, even good teams can struggle one game and boom, that's it. All in all we're encouraged by our win and ready for more matches."

---

In other news, Scornerse Badminton had a tough day to day as only 1 out of 4 matches won, Amaris Gill won a close game while Daniel Benson was on the losing side of a similarly close game. In both matches, the eventual losing player had a convincing rally in the 2nd set only to lose by 2 points in the 3rd set. In sailing, Denise Khan had surprise strong top 15 showing thanks to an incredible showing in a complete reversal of a disappointing first round start, however with plenty of rounds to go, while success isn't assured, whether or she or her fellow Scornerse sailors will improve their positions is un in the air. As for Handball The Men's team faced an unfortunate defeat in the group stage, losing 23 to 29 to the The Hannasean Federation, a team they were expected to have an advantage over. If they're to have a chance to advance, they'll almost certainly absolutely need to some how pull out a win against the formidable team from Diarcesia, though with 32 team large first round, quite literally more teams will make the knockout stage than fail to do so.

[Bollonich]

3x3 and Rugby success, Thomas Rogers and Sara Cooper record first wins

And it was here, the 15th Summer Olympiad in Electrum had begun with our sailors taking to the seas and our squads participating in a number f team sports on the same day as a grandiose celebration for the beginning of the games with music, dance and lots of laughter. The opening ceremony was the first event of such magnitude that was ever broadcasted live in Bollonich with sportspeople from all over the multiverse making their way to Electrum to fight for glory. Starting Day 0 for the Olympics we appeared in a number of team sports including Water Polo, 3x3 Basketball and Rugby followed by a day in the seas as our sailors took part in multiple races.

Water Polo
Womens MD1: Bollonich 5-7 Darkmania, Group B
We started our Olympics campaign in the water as our Womens water polo squad took on the team coming from Darkmania. Water Polo was always a big sport in Bollonich with immense amount of participation in the nation. However due to the social structure of Bollonich with regard to sports the Womens department is often overlooked and due to this reason the team travelling to play was weaker than their mens counterparts.
Things however were not going to be easy for Darkmania as our women were greatly excited to be appearing at the international platform and put their name up there. Having started the first eight minute quarter well we scored two goals in quick succession as Trixie Winship and Nonie Sharrow scored the goals. Leading in the first quarter we were looking confident as we had a solid two goal lead. Things only got better as we scored 3 further goals giving us a huge 5-0 lead going into half time with two quarters remaining. We knew the game wasn’t over, we had to remain focused and hold onto this lead. But we managed to choke this, we got complacement which allowed Darkmania to get 4 goals past us before we could even take in what was happening. And as we were so close to losing we panicked, and panic made us give away even more goals as Darkmania won the game 5-7.
This game was a sign of the inexperience of the Bollonischian delegation showing us how and where we need to improve if we are to become challengers for a medal.

3X3 Basketball
Womens MD1: Bollonich 14-11 Dotivija
Alongside our water polo games our girls also took to the court as match day one of the 3 by 3 basketball Womens tournament had begun. We were taking on Dotivija who were part of the DotRas Unified Team. The sport which usually is played over a small quarter of time has never received much attention in the Bollonischian Basketball Community which is basically non-existent until the current Olympics. In our first game against Dotivija we secured a close 14-11 win as Savannah Downer managed to secure the game for us in the last second with a fabulous three pointer as the two teams were tied at 11-11. This last moment win was a great victory for Bollonischian basketball at the Olympics given the disastrous performance at the International Basketball Championship.

Rugby Sevens
Mens MD1: Brookstation 5-29 Bollonich
The Bollonischian Rugby 7s squad had made the semifinals of the plate in the most recent Rugby 7s World Cup held in Forsho, Grearia. Coming off this solid performance we were aiming to make an impact in the Olympics. In the mens section of the competition we would firstly take on regional neighbours and football partners Brookstation who were a formidable rugby side despite not having taken part in any international events.
In the first 7 minute period we took a formidable lead of 15-0. And being the attacking side we are we managed to score two tries along with a drop goal and post try conversion. This lead was a huge margin for the Scott players to overcome in the second half as they succumbed to the pressure not managing to cope. In the second half we extended this lead to 29 with 3 more drop goals and another try putting this game truly to bed. Brookstation managed a consolatory 5 points with a conversion and drop goal however these five points brought them nowhere close to us as we were now on the top of the table with 3 points and a point difference of 24.
Going deeper into the tournament this win will provide great confidence to the players as their first experience at the Olympics.

Badminton
Mens MD1

Marius Fatino (KLS)           21  21
Lawrence Lewis (BOL)          15  13

In Group 22 badminton player, Lawrence Lewis came face to face against Marius Fatino from Kalosia. This game was expected to be a tough one and the initial stages of the first set did point in that direct. Fatino started off the game beautifully by getting into his groove straightaway and finding the difficult smashes and drop shots which Lawrence struggled to pick up. As the set progressed Lawrence was starting to catch on but by the time Fatino had reached 11 points Lewis stood at only 5. The difference was huge and as Lewis attempted to catch on, Fatino held onto the lead winning the first set by a comfortable 6 point margin.
Starting off the second set which could seal the match for Fatino, both players started it off in equal footing with Fatino just winning the race to 11 points by a margin of 2 points. However following g the halfway mark, Lewis’s form dropped sharply as he struggled to continue to put up good performances with Fatino taking control of the set and eventually winning the set and match 21-13.

Thomas Rogers (BOL)           17  21  21
Nenad Krizmanic (MYT)         21  12   8

In group 23, Thomas Rogers took on Nenad Krizmanic from Mytanija, in what was going to be crucial group stage game. Starting the first set the Mytannar shuttler started to get some early points with Rogers soon striking back. Hitting the halfway point of the first set it was completely toe to toe with nothing to separate them. And it went on like that until Krizmanic started to get a slight advantage of Rogers. Krizmanic managed to hold onto the serve and sealed the first set in incredible fashion as he made Rogers run around the court like a desperate man.
Having been slightly embarrassed in the first set, Rogers immediately struck back in the in the second set this time, taking a very early lead and managing to hold onto it. Having reached 11 points while Krizmanic stood at 5 gave him immense confidence as he managed to seal the set and take it to a deciding set in his nail biting matchup.
The third set was going to be the decider as to who would take the crucial win. But as soon as the set started there was no doubt who would win as Rogers completely dominated the Mytannar shuttler and didn’t even allow him to reach 10 points finishing off the set with 21 points to 8 and sealing a win which is counterpart Lewis couldn’t do.

Womens MD1

Julianne Lachapelle (CHA)                   21  21
Laura Long (BOL)                            19   8

Moving onto the Womens side of things, Long faced a competitive opponent in Lachapelle. The first set unlike expectations of both players was incredibly close as Long held the lead going into the halfway mark of the set at 11-8. However Lachapelle wasn’t a top class player without knowing how to deal with difficult circumstances as she bounced back winning the set by an incredibly close margin of 21-19. This put even more weight on the second set as Long had shown that she could compete against Julianne.
The second set however went very much unlike Long’s plan as it was evident that she had spent all of her effort on getting close in the first set that she was swept away by Julianne 21-8 in the next.

Sara Cooper (BOL)                           21  21
Louise Attewell (MRT)                       16  15

In the first game of Group 29, Sara Cooper took on Louise Attewell from Mertagne. This would be a tight game by expectation and it did live up to the expectations. The first set saw Louise take sort of an early lead which Sara soon countered. The points seemed to go incredibly up and down and so was the play. Both players seemed to not be in control as neither could hold onto a lead or advantage in play for very long. Sara however managed to pick up the pieces from Louise’s mistakes and managed to win the game 21-16 which despite seeming like a fair margin was an extremely close game.
Attewell now had to make a comeback in the second set otherwise it would be Sara with the spoils of their game that’s how it went. Cooper this time managed to take the early lead and held onto it for a long time having the match point with only 12 points for Attewell. She however tried her best to get back into the game and scored three points but her efforts were worthless in the end as Cooper sealed the game with a banging smash.

[Electrum]

Day 1 Cutoff

The next cutoff will be in two days.

Cutoff music: Erik Satie: Gymnopédies & Gnossiennes (Full Album)

[Teremaran Olympics Delegation]

Qrono Island
The Middle Waters

In some forgotten corner of the abbey, which was originally a storage closet that someone had neglected to replace the lock on and had now been requisitioned for another purpose entirely, one of the monks sat hunched over a writing desk, carefully etching out line after line of esoteric symbols. A pair of glasses perched on the end of his nose as he looked down at the paper, his eyes peering through the lenses as his hand slid, slowly but deliberately, from one end of the sheet to the other, each line of symbols taking shape with each pen stroke. This process continued for much longer than it needed to; certainly, it would have been much easier to have one of the younger monks transcribe what the elder monk was writing from dictation, but he made progress fast enough on his own, insofar as “fast” might constitute finishing before the sun went down when he started just after dawn broke.

With the final mark made, he blew a short, labored breath over the page to dry the ink—as if the ink had not yet had enough time to dry on its own—and folded the sheet into thirds, before stuffing it all into an envelope. Someone had at least had the good sense to deliver the envelope pre-addressed with a stamp already affixed, so all this elder monk needed to do was insert his letter and seal it, both tasks which were done infinitely faster than the actual writing of the letter. He rose from the desk and stepped out from his storage closet, casting a quick nod of greeting to one of the monks passing by in the hallway, as he embarked on the quest to find the mailbox.

Mailboxes were hard to come by in his day, and he was grateful to have one so close to him. His youth on the island of Skartok saw him and his countrymen face the many perils of poor postal services. Not since the Mailbox Plague of 1886, where the country’s many mailboxes were ravaged by a mysterious pox of unknown origin, had he had such easy access to a mailbox before coming to the abbey. It was a great honor for him, indeed, to be granted the privilege of representing the pious people of Skartok at such a punctual priory. He had served faithfully in his position since his arrival all those years ago, sending out daily correspondence to his close colleague in the capital city of precisely what time it was at any given moment. These were the important questions that the people of Skartok had entrusted him with, and, perhaps even more pressing, this was also his divine duty to whichever deity happened to be overseeing his work on each particular day.

He was halted in the corridor by a well-meaning one of the brothers, a fellow who he identified as Dave, even though that was not his name.

“Good evening, Brother Faris,” Dave said. “Would you like for me to drop that letter off in the mailbox?”

“Norbuto tugalash permutop,” Old Man Faris said. His diction was impeccable.

Dave nodded and smiled as he answered, “I understand. Would you prefer an escort, then? It is rather dangerous on the way to the mailbox.”

Faris knew this quite well, nodded, and gestured for Dave to walk with him. The path to the mailbox was indeed fraught with danger: not only was there a particular precarious rock in the middle of the path that no one bothered to move (and Faris hardly had the physical stamina to do so himself), there were also numerous birds that liked to fly overhead and did so, like clockwork, at the precise moment when Faris would walk under them. On a few occasions in his many years of service, the birds excreted their payloads onto him, much to his dismay as he realized that this was a sign from the divines that he had erred in some way. The third danger that he faced daily as he made the trek to the mailbox was much more mundane than the other two, but infinitely more dangerous.

Dave and Faris arrived at the front entrance of the abbey, a massive pair of double doors made of cast copper, much too heavy for Faris to hope to open on his own. Ever the gallant servant, Dave ably stepped forward and pushed the door open for Faris, holding it firm with all his might. Faris bowed his thanks as he stepped forward, before Dave left the door fall shut behind him. With this first obstacle passed, the two began their trek in earnest up the hill, which was more of a gentle incline, to the mailbox just up the path.

“Have you heard any news from Bahqat’s Crossing?” Dave asked as they walked.

Faris shook his head and said, “Yukuspak nop dungsheh fep nos yut gagabah humep iridononotup bor nok tu.” It was such an eloquent sentence that it brought a tear to Faris’s eye, which he wiped away quickly.

“I see,” Dave said. “He was quite a capable athlete; it is unfortunate to hear of his passing.” He cast his head about, glancing around and said, “Be mindful, Brother Faris. There is a large rock in the middle of the path.”

“Marshuno!” Faris exclaimed in triumph as he masterfully navigated around the rock with Dave’s help. “Malanay! Baloomi nor gurgutel, yut tuyo nortop frehzor.”

“I couldn’t have said it any better myself, Brother Faris,” Dave said, smiling in admiration of the old man’s skill not only on his feet but also with the sheer wit and charm that a man of his age was yet able to carry with him. “We’re coming into danger, now, so be on your guard, Brother Faris,” Dave continued. “There are birds here, you must take heed.”

There were indeed birds here; Faris knew that well and took the appropriate precautions by shielding the crown of his shiny, bald head with his hand. Dave did so, too, though his head was nowhere near as shiny as Faris’s, even if his hair was cut in a respectable tonsure. Today, though, whichever deity was watching over them—Faris was convinced it was either Cthulu or Polatilus today—seemed pleased, as no birds felt it necessary to poop on them. Dave, for his part, was convinced that birds did not poop, and that these were, in fact, not birds, but rather drones sent to spy on the monastery by the agents of the Camelinati, a secret society that sought to take over the world and disguised themselves as camels to escape detection.

The sun had already set by the time they reached the mailbox, but it was a beautiful sight. With Dave’s help, Faris reached up the slot and slid the letter into the opening. As gravity pulled it down the chute, a satisfying thunk reverberated through the metal walls of the mailbox as it hit the ground. Faris beamed at this, for another day’s work done. Dave did, too, for he was excited that he had assisted one of the most respected in his daily tasks. Patience was truly a virtue for the timekeeping monks of Qrono Island.

---

The Tenningur
Arkjelstad, Yellow Star Republic

The seat of government of the very autocratic YSR, was also the historic headquarters of the dreaded state security organization of that very same hardline socialist nation. It was no accident that the RLO headquarters had become the center of government.

In 2014, The Republic Leyndarmal Öryggi (RLO) Director Gerta Hildgursdottir had pulled off the boldest coup probably in Teremaran history in eliminating the Politburo and taking over the YSR government, in the midst of a catastrophic war no less against half the region, with one weak ally on their side, Osatana. It was during that same coup that the Öldungarhring, the original seat of power in Arkjelstad, had been pummeled to dust by artillery, necessitating the move to the Tenningur.

Director General Hildgursdottir had made the history books with that one. She had ably led the nation, along with picking competent generals to lead the battered YSR military forces in retreat from Jumnia and Glisandia, still holding them together and forestalling a vengeful invasion of the Motherland with the threat of nuclear retaliation. These days, she was struggling just to stay afloat and in existence with all the threats, both internal and external that faced her and her tightly controlled regime that was almost entirely made up of former RLO department heads.

Currently, she was listening to the Directors and Commissars of her cabinet prattle on about all their failures over the last few weeks. A foreign band of mercenaries were running rampant around their countryside and had torched half of Steinbrudden. It wasn’t the first time Western mercenaries had wreaked havoc on the YSR countryside within the decade, and it was likely due to the same organization - The USG Security Corporation. It was maddening that this could happen yet again.
Gerta rubbed at her temples, then lightened up as they described the Glisandian cruise ship approaching their shores.
“What is your problem with that, you ninnies?! We invited them to dock at Wjol, did we not?”

Svarik Tummeisson, head of the Republic Leyndarmal Öryggi, and only second in power to Hildgursdottir, as well as a suspected former lover of Gerta, nodded. He was used to placating Gerta.
“Yes, Director General, but we have had, um...trouble...ascertaining whether the cruise ship is also equipped as an electronic spying ship under guise.”

“It...Does...Not...Matter, Svarik. The whole world is watching us. We cannot make a move on them, and we need to do everything to protect them from harm. I thought we agreed on that?”

“Yes, Comrade Director General. I just wanted to make clear that they were finally here, in our waters and that we should...ehm, keep our senses on guard, shall we say? Keep on alert, even if we don’t move on them.”

“I have made myself clear, I don’t want to hear about it further now unless the situation changes and the ship starts launching flying monkeys at us or something.”

“Yes, ma...Comrade Director General. There is one other…”


Gerta looked up, somewhat energized from her funk.
“Commissar Rolondsson, do you not need to make your flight soon?”

The Commissar of Sports, Culture & Entertainment stood up.
“Yes, Comrade Director General, you are correct. I need to leave now to get checked in for my flight to Ekaterine.”

“Ta!”

“Thank you for your support, Comrade Director General.” They were headed to the Olympics as part of the unified Teremaran delegation. It was a proud time, as always, and many of the veteran Yellowsian athletes were sure to bring back more gold medals.

She looked off, already bored with Rolondsson.
“Yes, yes...Make us proud. Next?”

“Qrono Island, Director General.”

“Huh?”

“The time monks…”

“Oh, yeah, what about them?”

“There are plots we have been clued into to take over time.”

“Take...over...time?”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

“So...you’re just going to stop there?! That’s the most fucking ridiculous thing I have ever heard.”

“You understand the unique nature of Qrono, Director General.”

“Are you going to lecture me on it, because so help me...I swear by Uncle Karl…!!”

“No ma,am, Director General! I would never presume to do that. We might be at a point where we can do something about such a plot. Actually improve our standing in Teremara.”

“That would be something. Svarik, by ‘do something’, you mean that the RLO can do something, because there’s really not been any change in our ability to project ourselves militarily since the War.”

Marshal Djomir Kuomjassen, Commander in Chief of the armed forces, finally got riled enough to speak.
“Ahem, well, Director General, that’s not entirely true...We have been able to multiply our military power through our membership in the ISVC, participating in joint operations around the globe and…”

“Shut the fuck up, Marshal.”
She was tired of hearing about how integral they were to the ISVC. It didn’t help them here in Teremara, where the ISVC were hesitant to operate, nor did it help with them acting independently to prove they still maintained strength, even within their own borders. Marauding Western mercenaries had proven the contrary to that, as mentioned earlier in the meeting.

“Yes, Director General.”

“What do you propose, Svarik?”

Tummeisson shrugged.
“Well, aside from cyber operations, the best chance we have is to actually send a team to try to stop the...er, time bandits.”

“Time bandits? That seems familiar.” Orvar Gudthorsson, the Foreign Affairs Commissar mused.

“We don’t yet know who they are, if I’m understanding correctly, so how would we even know when and where to stop them?”

“Well, the where part is easy. Qrono Island.”

Marshal Kuomjassen coughed.
“Do you realize what would happen if we were to send a paramilitary group to operate anywhere near that so-called sacred Island?! We would be universally condemned. It would be the Northern Tavlyrian War all over again, but everyone who didn’t join the Coalition against us last time would be in on this one.”

Gerta sighed.
“Much as I detest the Marshal, personally, and think he is a putrid, weak excuse of a man; also rumored to be very unfortunately endowed; and besides that, a further waste of my precious time in the professional sense on most days...I have to agree with him on this one.”

Kuomjassen twiddled his thumbs, glancing down at the table, as he processed the not so backhanded un-compliment from the Director General, aware that he had still earned some sort of point with her backing his agreement, but uneasy how to feel about it.

Svarik frowned, glowering at the Marshal, then back stonily to the Director General.
“Let me think further on how to approach this one and get back to you, Comrade Director General.”

She waved her hand.
“Good. I think I’m done hearing you clowns for today, anyway. Are we done?”

Both the Financial Commissar and Interior Commissar looked eager to reply, but she didn’t give them a chance to do so.
“Yeah, we’re done. I need lunch and a shag. Dismissed.”

---

Qrono Island
The Middle Waters

“It’s a silly place, don’t you think?” Karl asked, while observing the island through a set of military-grade binoculars.

From behind him, hands firmly gripping two spokes of the wheel, stood his partner Dominick. He leaned effortlessly against the helm controls, neck craned backwards out the wheelhouse door towards the island.

“When EKTV hired us to produce a special on this island… well… I didn’t realize they were serious.”

Dominick shrugged, slowly easing open the throttle to keep an even distance between them and the island. While the monks were never violent, and oftentimes friendly, even the most altruistic of individuals doubtfully appreciated snoopers.

“Kind of reminds of that one movie, don’t you think?” Karl began again, squirting to find activity of any kind. “What was it? Colby Cobra and the Ten Commandments? No… that isn’t right…”

“Probably Muenster Snake and the Ark of the Covenant…” Dominick replied with a smirk in the corners of his mouth and dismissive shake of the head.

“No… that ain’t it either. It’s the one with the flesh-eating gopher! And the relic explosive thingy-majig…”

Dominick smirked harder, not wanting to spoil his partner’s suffering.

“Ah!! It ain’t important anyways. I see movement up on shore. Looks like a couple of them monk guys are doing some kind of ritual… Can you bring us in closer?”

Without a word, the small boat’s engine spun back up. The vessel quickly swung around and made headway towards the island.

“Get us close…” Karl asked, “but not too close. We’re just a couple of tourists, yeah? Remember… no funny business. These guys could toss us straight out of time-space if they so wanted to.”

“You do realize that a black hole can’t even rip apart space-time, right? I’m pretty sure these feeble old monks aren’t also the strongest force to ever exist in the universe,” Dominick replied over the din of the engines. “We have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah yeah sure… just get us close and get the camera ready…”

---

The boat slowed to an idle roughly 300 yards from the shore. Close enough to make out the figures, but far enough out to where it was unlikely their true intentions would be discovered.

Dominick had anchored the ship, and in record time, had deployed both a tripod and camera onto the deck facing rear towards the island. Karl stood, ever as ready, perched along the rail. He absentmindedly fumbled with a lapel microphone up front and the receiver unit clipped to his back.

“Take… take one. Test. Test? Test! Take one…. Take two… check one two check?”

Dominick motioned with his hand horizontally across his neck.

“Nothing? Nothing??!! Did we come all this way just for our equipment to fail?”

His partner crossed his arms and shook his head, frowning

“Camera’s dead too. It’s weird… batteries are all showing empty. I swear they were charged this morning.”

“Something weird is going on all right…” Karl muttered, looking at his phone. Dead battery. No reception, and a strange screen pulsing. His phone clock flickered abruptly. “Whoa… hang on… I thought I just saw the clock go backwards?”

Credit goes to Skartok (please credit Gragastavia), Yellow Star Republic, and Falkasia

[West Phoenicia]

Before the Games:

Melbourne-Haven Exhibition Centre:

The Melbourne-Haven Exhibition Centre illuminated purple, scarlet and gold thanks to the LED lights which worked overtime to create a spark of magic for the building.

Dozens of athletes, coaches, members of the West Phoenician Olympic Committee, politicians and media personalities glided through the glass doors to attend the official launch of the West Phoenician Olympic Delegation which would head off to Terranean; Electrum to compete in the XV Summer Olympic Games.
The event was being televised across the nation.

Convention Hall 1

Citius, Altius, Fortius” (“Faster, Higher, Stronger”) flickered across screens attached to screens behind the stage and makeshift catwalk with the uniform reveal, mixed with a fade in and fade out of past West Phoenician Olympic medalists.
Convention Hall 1 was decked out in flowers, streamers and balloons of the nation's colours. Photographic Images of athletes heading to the Games, bounced off the white walls, depicting all the sports that the nation would contest.
Guests absorbed the tasteful decor as they wandered over to their seats, waving at friends or stopping for a quick chat in the process. Smiles were on everyone's faces; it was an enchanting night to be West Phoenician.

At 8 pm, the lights dimmed, latecomers scurried to their seats and the noisy chatter slowly faded, as the words Citius, Altius, Fortius began echoing from the speakers.

"Welcome to the official launch of the West Phoenician Olympic Delegation, a delegation that will go forth and not only fulfil their dreams to participate at an elite level of sports but who will represent all of West Phoenicia and our dreams on the world stage." A feminine voice announced.

The dimmed room became bright like an angel halo as Baroness Flora Freeman, the West Phoenician Olympic Committee President materialised on stage.

Baroness Freeman was stunning, almost regal in a purple and gold full-length vintage vacation flapper dress, with matching white gold and sapphire drop earrings and necklace.

"A round of applause for our athletes, who will venture out and conquer like the warriors they are while embracing the motto mantra, Citius, Altius, Fortius."


Baroness Freeman raised her hands to signal for the room to calm down after the room set in motion thunderous applause.

"We have so much to show in our launch tonight. So to kick it off, to begin with, I would like to introduce Deputy Pontifex Jim Wacco, The Minister of Religion and Deputy High Priest August Moon, Minister of Pagan Faiths up on stage to bless this launch.

Both men appeared on stage dressed in their religious garb as they led the audience into a prayer for safety, peace and prosperity throughout the Games.

"I now want to introduce Heidi Maarschalkerweerd to the stage, "Baroness Freeman announced.

A fifteen-year-old girl took to the stage holding a microphone. She waved shyly to the sea of eyes that looked back at her.

"Heidi Maarschalkerweerd may not be a name on many people's lips, but I can assure you after tonight and during the Olympics, this young woman's name will be plastered across Vibr Gold, our biggest social media site. She will make the city-state of Agape proud tonight."

"Three months ago the West Phoenician Olympic Committee launched a nationwide singing competition across schools. We were looking to pluck a student out of obscurity and into the national spotlight with the honour of singing the West Phoenician National Anthem at our Launch night, in addition to our Welcome Home Gala to celebrate the athlete's success at these Games."

Baroness Freeman paused to take a sip of water.

"We received 5000 entries. After several heats and finals, the Committee winded it down to Heidi Maarschalkerweerd, at fifteen years old, she has a voice of an angel and the allure of a siren. so please settle back and enjoy as she sings 'West Phoenicia in our hearts forever.

The National anthem had been sung in every genre known, journalists in the audience nodded at the raw and passionate vocals of the unknown school girl. It was pure patriotism with the sassiness and innocence of a teenage girl, who teared up each time the word 'heart' was uttered.
The Committee had made the right decision in plucking an unknown to take charge of the anthem. An established singer, which West Phoenicia had many would have made the song their own, people would have imagined the famous singer belting out the lyrics, which many saw overdone at sports games and national celebrations. By choosing an unknown, the full impact was focused on the song, not the singer.

Heidi Maarschalkerweerd lingered over the last note, it echoed through
Convention Hall 1. The audience sat in silence, before breaking into a huge round of applause. Heidi took a bow and bounced off the stage to her seats, smiling and nodding thank you towards the guests who gushed over her performance.

"That was so beautiful, so patriotic, yet so haunting and raw innocence," Baroness Freeman proclaimed as she clapped, returning to the podium.

The next 15 minutes was the dry introduction section. The West Phoenician Olympic Committee each relayed their function and what they did to help build up the Olympic team before passing the microphone back to Baroness Freeman.

"While he needs no introduction as we all know him for his amazing skill which has earned West Phoenicia three gold and two bronze in the sport of tennis. Could Kamal Dallas please come onto the stage, as we announce something very special that has been bestowed upon us by the Electrum Olympic Committee."

Kamal Dallas stepped through the sea of seats and legs to edge his way to stage, in his dapper tight-fitting suit, his black hair short and gelled into small spikes.

"West Phoenicia should be very proud, the nation of Electrum has invited Kamal Dallas to take part in the Opening Ceremony. A true honour. He will be one of six people walking the Olympic Council Flag into the stadium in a show of solidarity.
Kamal will represent The Independents. It is a great privilege and I ask everyone to pray that he performs this duty with respect and care and is an inspiration for all West Phoenicians tuning in to watch the Opening Ceremony."

As the audience bowed their heads in prayer both the Minister of Faith and the Minister of Pagan Faiths returned to the stage to pray over him.

The launch moved to a video that had been produced that would air from tomorrow across the nation.
Athletes were filmed performing the sport they were renowned for and passing along a short message of inspiration to those who watched.
Examples that flashed across the video included Kamal Dallas hitting a ball across the court, Navkiranjot Aneja, a goalkeeper for the women's football team catching a ball before it went through the goals,
Equestrian athlete Jocelyn Rhodes and her horse Scarlett Envy preparing for a jump and diver Audie Moon diving off a
3 m springboard.

The video would work two-fold. It would encourage citizens to get behind their Olympic team and hopefully inspire a new generation of teenagers to consider a career in Sports.

Voluptas Mecklenburg, Head Designer and owner of the House of Voluptas fashion house were introduced to the stage, to a warm round of applause.
Everyone was waiting for a chance to view the new uniform.
Over the years, there had been some good hits, where the delegation looked like a million dollars, classy and sophisticated.

But there were terrible misses when it came to the uniform the delegation would wear as they marched into the stadium during the Opening Ceremony.
One appearance the colours were so bright, people complained their corneas were burning. Another appearance of the attire was so gaudy, even streetwalkers wrinkled their noses and found the look too trashy.

Fingers were crossed, as guests waited with bated breath.
A recording of the national anthem began to play as models took to the makeshift catwalk, showing off the uniform.







"I'm a football player, not a cosplay runway model." Navkiranjot Aneja, a goalkeeper for the West Phoenician Violets, the nation's Olympic women's football team, whispered a little too loudly.

"I love it, so classy and colourful," Rhythmic male and female gymnasts nodded to each other.

Baroness Freeman was not sure what to make of the uniform, it was very colourful. The men's attire looked like something a dancer would wear on the set of West Phoenician Dancing with the Stars
The woman's dress was classy, yet the little hat had a bad Victorian dress-up party realness to it. It wasn't the worst attire she had witnessed at a launch, but it wasn't the best.

"What do you think?" Voluptas Mecklenburg.

"Very…"Baroness Freeman paused, she needed to be polite. Even if she hated it she had to pretend to love it, she had to publicly support the attire, proud that West Phoenician athletes would soon March out in these designs.

"Unique and certainly not average. One could say you did think outside the box." Baroness Freeman replied as the models continued to struth the designs on the catwalk.

[Britonisea]

This show ICly happened after the Opening Ceremony. I just posted it today. Enjoy!

---

OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT (FULL EPISODE)

---

Mission: Aurum
Games of the XV Olympiad
Season 1, Day 0

Presenting daily, Aurum Hammad will be taking us through some of the medal hopefuls of the Games as we learn about up to two athletes per episode. We will see either the athletes appear on the screens around the studio or - if we are lucky - we will have them in the studios to have a chat with them about their upbringing, why they got into sports, and what they hope to achieve in Electrum. In what is expected to be an emotional and thought-provoking addition to the schedule, BVC producers are hoping that it allows the audience to feel more for each of the athletes and root for them, even more, when their events are on. Aurum has had experience getting into it with people as she presents Life Stories on BVC One which is a show speaking to celebrities about the issues they have had to face throughout their careers.

The studios of Mission: Aurum will be in Fairleigh-Warburton where 68 medal events will happen.

After the wonderful Opening Ceremony in Electrum, it is now 19:00 in Britonisea. For one time only, Mission Aurum will be on the main channel, BVC One, as she debuts her show. In tonight's episode, Aurum will be catching up with three martial artists whose all eyes will be on the Abenites to begin their campaign to pull off a show-stopping performance at these Games.

Aurum Hammad: Good evening everybody, or should I say good night! After what was a fantastic Opening Ceremony in Somer, it's now time for the first episode of Mission: Aurum! Now, let me explain it all now so that I won't have to in the future. What does Aurum mean, you ask? Well, not only is it my name but aurum stands for gold in Latin! So hopefully it's clicked, Mission: Gold! Over the next eighteen days of the Games, I will be interviewing athletes from ABEN nations who are on their top form and hoping to make it onto the podium and even better, bag a gold medal for their country.

Aurum Hammad: On today's show, we will be meeting some of the martial artists that could do very well in Electrum. I'll be sitting with them, seeing who they are as a person and their hopes and dreams in Electrum and later on in life. We will be discussing what they will be doing over the next few days - just everything! I am very excited to get down and dirty with all these athletes so, let's get started - shall we? Which Martial Art are we going to start with? We are going to start with Judo. Cruz San Roman is one of the judokas with the highest rank and is expected to make waves for Britonisea in Judo. Britonisea is yet to win a gold medal in Judo, but we have won four medals in the sport so far - could Cruz with the golden fifth? Let's find out on Mission: Aurum!

As Aurum walks from one side of the small studio to the other, the television audience was treated to a short clip with San Roman with him in action. With San Roman not having many international fights, we could see footage from Britonish and ABEN Championships for his weight category - both Champs he managed to win. At the end of the clip with San Roman, we could see Aurum sitting with the judoka, ready to have a chat.

Day 4: Judo - Men's 81kg

Aurum Hammad: (to the camera) Yeah, that was quite an inspirational video wasn't it. Well, I am joined by the man himself! (to Cruz San Roman) Welcome to the studio today, Cruz San Roman! Thank you for coming in today - I hope the wormholes didn't do too much to affect your balance - you seemed a bit sick earlier!

Cruz San Roman: Haha, yeah! I am feeling much better now. Those wormholes were quite trippy, I must say but it was definitely an experience. Thank you for inviting me to the studio today, it's great to be here - I'm honoured to finally be at the Olympics so, of course, I wanted to be involved in this interview!

Aurum Hammad: That's brilliant, yes. Right, where do we start, Cruz? I guess we can start right from the beginning. Now, you've only recently started professional judo - I remember reading your file and it said that you did it as a child but...you stopped? Apparently, you fell out of love with it? Could you speak to me about what you did when you were younger and how comes you returned to the sport?

Cruz San Roman: I can do. Yes, when I was younger I was quite interested in martial arts, you know. It wasn't something that was shown on television very much and as a teenager, I would ask my parents to buy a sports subscription so I could watch it. I wanted to get a belt in the sport so you know I started on white and just worked my way up. I think it was around the fourth kyu before things happened with my family life - it all just became a bit too much and I think I lost my way after some time.

Aurum Hammad: You know...that happens - it's just life, isn't it? Do you think that whatever has happened in your teenage life has affected the way you fight now. What made you get back into Judo?

Cruz San Roman: I got back into it through university, you know. After the first year of uni, I think because of what happened to me and my family - I worked so hard to study and found myself without many friends, you know? So in the second year, I really wanted to get involved with sports and make those friends and I noticed that my university did a judo club so I just signed up for it. They could tell that I was interested in judo and I had previous experience. I met a whole community there - it was great and I continued to climb the ranks and get better and well, here I am.

Aurum Hammad: Just going back for a second. You said that you studied at university...where and what did you study?

Cruz San Roman: The University of the West in Doportedas. I studied chemical physics in university - I had it all mapped out for my life to be completely different o how it is currently. I wanted to go on to become a radiation specialist but you know, I am here at the Olympics instead.

Aurum Hammad: And that must have been hard for you, right? I mean you're 27 years of age - you would've recently finished your studies, right? Life would've been different from how it is indeed.

Cruz San Roman: I am pretty sure I would've been finished by now, yeah haha. I had to choose whether I wanted to actually go into that field or continue doing judo. I managed to - only just - get through the three years of undergraduate studies and I don't think that I would've been able to cope with another however many years at uni. It was hard having to give up something that I thought I wanted to do...I don't think I regret it.

Aurum Hammad: Fair enough. Let's speak about the Britonish Championships. We're gonna skip forward a couple of years to the third time that you entered - it was the 81kg category - which you've always contested in - you seem to have maintained your form for quite a few years! 2020's fight against Xuso Jones - who ended up going to the Olympics. Round of sixteen. Could you speak about that?

Cruz San Roman: Yeah reaching the quarter-finals of the Britonish Championships 2020 would've at least given me a chance to even contest for a repechage medal so I wanted to get there at least, you know. But I was playing Bailie Bronk who was favourite to win the entire thing. I tried hard to win that match, I was trying to score an ippon because I think that was the only way I was going to...move onto the next round. I think I got so caught up in trying to do that, it allowed him to really get the better of me.

Aurum Hammad: (to the camera) Let's have a look at that moment, three years ago...

As Aurum said this, we then cut to a videotape from just over a year ago between Xuso Jones who represented Britonisea in Judo at the Games in the XIV Games. We could see San Roman trying to overtake the very powerful, more experienced Xuso Jones who celebrated his win against Cruz rather emphatically. There were pictures of Cruz looking disappointed, holding his hands over his face with the coaches coming to get him from off the mat. The commentator on that match, Rose Viewpoint (who is attending these Games), expressed her deep sadness for Cruz San Roman.

Aurum Hammad: Is that hard for you to watch, Cruz?

Cruz San Roman: Yeah, of course. Not many of us had the opportunity to get out of the country because of the ongoing situation...so not only was that something that I wanted to do, but I felt ready to head to the Olympic Games. Yes, I knew that I wasn't the highest-ranked to go and wasn't expected to either but I still had that belief so yes, it did hurt to not get far. It really affected me.

Aurum Hammad: But you seemed to have more success at the ABEN Judo Championship since you were selected, weren't you?

Cruz San Roman: Indeed. You know the ABEN Judo Championship was something that was always so far-reaching for me. But thanks to the new deal with the other ABEN countries to send a joint delegation, more people were able to head to this ABEN Judo Champs and I was selected. I had been doing well since Xuso went to the Games to try and replace him and get on the squad and that's what I did. As much as I was happy for Xuso, I was annoyed watching the Judo in Orean last year especially when Xuso didn't do as well as he hoped.

Aurum Hammad: You won the ABEN Judo Championships through quite a thrilling final - I must say. You played against Bailie Bronk who went to the Games in Free Republics a couple of years back. What came over you in the process of winning that?

Cruz San Roman: Hmm, you know, it was the willingness to come to Electrum. You hear a lot about how Electrum and New Gelderland was the place where it all started for Britons at the Olympic Games when we did pretty well and sent our first big delegation. There's just been this buzz around being involved in these Games and I remember being in the locker rooms and everybody speaking about the Olympics and...it really hit how important it was that in this highly competitive field, I would make it here. I'm very proud of myself for beating some of the major judokas in my category to come to Electrum and I really hope that I make everyone proud.

Aurum Hammad: I am absolutely sure you will, Mr San Roman. Day Four will be the big day for you, right?

Cruz San Roman: You're right, yes!

Aurum Hammad: (to the camera) We will be showing that here on BVC One, live from the Grenville Guildhall. Make sure you all watch it and support the wonderful San Roman! (to Cruz San Roman) You have been a great guest on the show. I am going to end this by showing the end of the fight you had that earnt you this spot at the Olympics! Let's have a watch!

As the clip was playing, Aurum quickly gave Cruz a hug before positioning herself standing up. Gavina Stacey then took a seat ready to be interviewed. After listening to the interview with Cruz, she knew that she would have to speak about things that might make her feel uncomfortable. She hadn't had the best journey here to the Games.

Day 10: Taekwondo - Women's 57kg

Aurum Hammad: Are you ready to get kicking, Britonisea? Up next, we have someone quite special - Miss Gavina Stacey. Now this woman is from Estogium and will be flying the ABEN flag at the taekwondo this year in the hope that she will make an impact here. She didn't have the chance to come to the Olympic Games last year but she is finally here and she will be hoping to get gold. Let's get acquainted with the wonderful Gavina before having a chat with her.

As Aurum says this, we cut to a video of Gavina Stacey practising her taekwondo skills in an Estogian park. The videotape would keep on cutting to her practising on different days with different weather conditions. Eventually, we cut back to the studio with Aurum Hammad sitting there with a piece of cake. She tidies her lips before speaking again...

Aurum Hammad: Wow, that cake was rather delicious! I won't offer you any, Gavina, as I am sure you're trying to keep your weight nice and perfect for your round. I would like to say, hello! Welcome to the studio. Please tell me how are you doing - you're at the Olympic Games! That must be something to celebrate?!

Gavina Stacey: Yes, it is! Honestly, it feels absolutely unreal to be here at the Olympic Games, um, and I am really looking forward to getting started! My first fight isn't for quite some time but coming here this early means that I can unwind a bit to calm the nerves and give myself a chance to work towards the title, but also look around Electrum and maybe become inspired.

Aurum Hammad: Inspired you say? What types of things are you looking out for? What inspires Miss Gavina Stacey?

Gavina Stacey: A lot of things inspire me. I might go to a museum and look at the artwork. It's so interesting to see fights and battles that are shown in things like art and in everyday life. It really influences me and the way I look at my fights. So, yeah, that's something that I might do.

Aurum Hammad: Brilliant! Well, let's get on with the main bulk of this interview. Taekwondo this year is full of Estogians - this will probably be the first time in a long time that there won't be any Britons at the Olympic Games. Now, from my understanding, I believe that taekwondo was offered to Estogians where they could submit a full delegation. You had the chance to represent your country by decision rather than a competition - do you think that you are prepared for the Olympic Games and also what is your opinion on your selection for the Games?

Gavina Stacey: First of all, it was a great opportunity for Estogian Taekwondo. Taekwondo wasn't an event that Estogians particularly- well, actually there was this one-time Estogium that sent some people to participate in taekwondo, but it was mostly men so perhaps I should change my sentence. Women's taekwondo wasn't really considered by the Estogian Olympic Committee so to have this opportunity honestly has been wicked. I have had time to think to myself - maybe I am just from the wrong country, maybe I don't deserve to get involved in taekwondo. I've gone through all the emotions. It was just really nice to be selected to represent your country, who wouldn't want that. The selection process? I can't complain about it as I was selected. It was a shame that we didn't have more chances to fight people from different countries. I listen to Cruz San Roman about judo and how there's a championship for his country and then for the whole of ABEN. Taekwondo doesn't have that. It's a real big shame. I think I am more than ready to fight on Day 10. I've come here to win and I'm not only looking forward to stepping foot on to the mat but also meeting different people from different backgrounds, nationalities et cetera, I want to be involved with everyone and share the same dream everyone has.

Aurum Hammad: Interesting, there's so much to dig into from that little monologue of yours, I must say. Let's speak about women's taekwondo first of all. Estogium has only sent one female to taekwondo at the Olympic Games and that was five years ago. So along with the delegation that have come with you to these Games, you are one of the only Estogian taekwondo Olympians - doesn't this mean something to you?

Gavina Stacey: Well, yeah of course it is but...I don't know why it has taken so long. There have been male taekwondo athletes selected for the Games from Estogium and even since the XI Games, I tried several times to bring it up and try to get to the Olympics earlier but...you know. It just hurts.

Aurum Hammad: So...were you silent or were you silenced?

Gavina Stacey: I was silenced, yeah. I was made to feel at the time that women's taekwondo wasn't important. I had to fund myself to prove that I am even worth it. Whilst the people who told me that isn't in power anymore, it really resonated with me. I am thankful for my current team, they've always believed in me and I'm so grateful to them that I am here today.

Aurum Hammad: That's quite the exposé! That's what we're here to do Ladies and Gentlemen! (takes another bite of her cake) I am sure that it resonated with you. God, they do amazing cakes here in Electrum - this is a Lamington cake. I had never heard of it since I went to this boulangerie and well the rest is history, I had to make sure my agent picked it up for me. Right, let's continue. What did I want to ask? I wanted to pick up on....your comparisons with Judo to Taekwondo. Speaking in terms of Britonish medals at the Olympic Games - considering Estogium has only won 4 medals in the Games I'm sure you don't mind me not quite being their with my statistics - Britonisea has won four medals in judo as I said earlier and none in taekwondo. Do you think that, perhaps, the standard of taekwondo players in the whole of ABEN just isn't good enough compared to the rest of the multiverse?

Gavina Stacey: Well, Aurum, there is a difference between ABEN and Britonisea and let's not forget, Britonisea completely ignored taekwondo this year. Estogium, I believe could win a medal in taekwondo this Olympic Gam-

Aurum Hammad: And that medal could come from you, I know you girl. I see you!

Gavina Stacey: Stop it! But I hope so. I think our ABEN athletes do need more support, I am sure there are other countries that try much harder and fund the sport a bit better but you know...its how the cookie crumbles. No disrespect to other sports but the Olympics is all about togetherness, but I think that the whole point of the Olympic Games is to...give sports the same platform as one another, you know? All gold medals are the same value. I don't see how its fair to overfund one sport and underfund the next. But anyway, that's for a completely different conversation altogether.

Aurum Hammad: I suppose it is girl, cuz I can see you getting real heated! I promise you, you definitely deserve your place on the Olympic mat and I am sure you will do well. I know it can be hard when other sports came more limelight than others and I think, especially for the martial arts, it can be hard to rival sports such as Athletics and Swimming. Before you go, Miss Stacey, I wanted to play you this video because I think you need to see it.

We then cut to a clip of Gavina Stacey's family back at home speaking down the lens of the camera and wishing her well with her trip to Electrum. We then saw a video of her coach telling her how the whole country is behind her for her events. It made both Gavina and Aurum quite emotional with Gavina wiping away tears as we cut back to the studio.

Gavina Stacey: Aw I didn't know about that video, that was cute. Thank you so much, haha! I need to go back to my coach and give him a good old kick for making me cry on national television!

Aurum Hammad: Haha, I wouldn't want a kick from you! Thank you so much Aurum, you've been absolutely brilliant. (turns to camera) You will be able to watch our girl in action on Day 10 of the Olympic Games, we will provide coverage of all of her fights and keep you up to date - don't you worry about that! (turns to Gavina) But thanks once again, Gavina! Much love!

Aurum went over to give Gavina a hug to the sound of claps in the studio. She then went over to the standing place to introduce the final person on Mission: Aurum!

Day 16: Wrestling - Men's 65kg

Aurum Hammad: I am going through all the emotions today, aren't I? Up next is our final guest of the day. He knows how to wrestle you down to the floor and make sure you stay flat on your back! The lovely Al Opsiov is next - but first for those of you who don't watch wrestling in your day-to-day life - by the way, let's start doing that, let's get to know a bit about Al Opsiov. We will then talk about it!

We then saw a video of Al with his adoptive family at home before seeing him wrestling with some other people who we can assume are at some sport of Wrestling championships of some sort. Similarly to the Judo, there was an ABEN Champs to choose who went to the Olympic Games.

Anaum Hammad: Hello there Al - welcome to Electrum!

Al Opsiov: Bonjour! Hello - thank you for welcoming me to the studio. When I heard that you guys wanted to speak to me - I really wanted to take up the opportunity! Hit me with your worst, Anaum!

Aurum Hammad: Stop, you're making me sound like some sort of cop!

Al Opsiov: Well you've been interrogating us, so I would definitely say that you are...

Aurum Hammad: Well, sorry, boy! I must say - I must thank you for coming into the studio with your wrestling kit on - now obviously I'm way too old for you so I ain't gonna lay it on thick here - as the kids say - but you know, keeping in shape must be very important in order to do wrestling. You've certainly got well-developed biceps if you don't mind me saying that, but could you tell me about your daily routine!

Al Opsiov: Haha, I see you trying to respectfully go around that. No, wrestling is great. It keeps me fit and healthy, it's something that I enjoy and I love having these...well-developed biceps! But on a more serious note, it's definitely something that has distracted me from the pressures of the world. It's great. I do have a degree that I am currently doing, so my daily routine is...I got to university and most of my evenings are doing wrestling. My university is really open to me coming to events such as the Olympics but of course, this is happening during the Summer so I am free to do whatever. I love the gym too, I just lead a very active life. My social life could be better but I'm definitely putting aside a couple of weeks off if I get on that podium!

Aurum Hammad: Boy, you need a break regardless - that vein on your arm is about to burst! Look, you mention you're going to uni - you're only 21 years old and you're at the Olympic Games, representing Britonisea in the Men's 65kg. There are a lot of people who are more experienced than you, probably others that have come to the Olympics already in the past...how do you feel about that?

Al Opsiov: Well when you put it like that - a bit nervous! No, I wouldn't want to come to these Games if I didn't feel ready to do well, ya know? So, I'm ready to take whatever comes my way.

Aurum Hammad: Now I am a nosey little person and I wanted to know about your family story which you've spoken about many times on social media but I wanted to bring this out to open with the viewing public. You were adopted when you were younger by a couple, who brought you to this country to grow up and live. How has this affected your life - away from wrestling?

Al Opsiov: In a lot of ways. You know my name is Aleksei which isn't a name that Britonish people have or anyone in the ABEN Union so people obviously have an idea of what an Aleksei looks like. People were often shocked that I was named Aleksei, you don't look like one! Like you're completely right. So, I just shorten my name to Al because since I've done that no one has ever said the things they've said before. Being out with my parents and looking at other kids with their families, you know, I don't look like my parents so that obviously takes an emotional hit to you. Of course, I love my parents so much but its how I felt at the time. Wrestling, and I tried a bit of greco-roman and freestyle, was something that I did to help me keep myself distracted as I said earlier. It, so far, has worked.

Aurum Hammad: Yeah, that's quite sad. Do you think that it affects the way that you wrestle?

Al Opsiov: Do I take my frustrations out on my opponent? Not quite...I think that I use the hurt that I've felt in the past to...maybe try and get myself to the end?

Aurum Hammad: No, I get that. I get that. We're going to have to wrap this interview up as I've got the floor manager making a load of signs at me. One thing I wanted to ask you was your opinion on the selection process - it's quite a hot topic today.

Al Opsiov: Well, similarly to Judo, I was picked through an ABEN Championships which was such a great thing. I know that more events will be available to the likes of myself before the next Olympics, so I don't have a problem with it. We've won four gold medals in wrestling, one of which was gold so we're doing a tad better than the judoka delegation but I definitely think opportunities open up once you get somewhere like at the Olympic Games.

Aurum Hammad: Let me check my notes...Day 16! You're here quite early, you still have two weeks until you're going to fight!

Al Opsiov: Well, I had to be on this show, didn't I?! The whole wrestling delegation isn't yet here but I have the opportunity to be here early so that means a lot. I'll be training hard and going to the gym!

Aurum Hammad: Who knows, you could catch me there! Thank you for a wonderful chat, Al. Let's have a look at you at the ABEN Champs...

We then saw a small clip of Al wrestling another ABEN member onto the floor before we could see him celebrating his victory by hugging his coaches and partner...

Aurum Hammad: That's it guys! Thank you for watching the very first Mission: Aurum! Tomorrow we have a bit of a mix-up with the people that will be here. We will have our leading aquatics man, Pasquale Treadaway live in the studio ahead of his...9 events! Roberto McNealy, who will participate in the Men's C1. Estogium's Joi Bossert who is looking to reclaim her Women's Time Trial Road title and finally Sydeney Chavex from Gymnastics. I will see you tomorrow. Bye-bye for now!

The theme tune for the show then played as we could see Aurum going up to speak to Al Opsiov...

[San Ortelio]

Swimming

Anyone who has zoomed in on the Rushmori map to detect the outlines of the miniscule nation of San Ortelio will not be surprised when it is stated that nearly every inhabitant of the state can swim - and usually from a young age onwards. It is the consequence of a geography where everyone lives at most seventy kilometres away from the bay which gets embraced by the Ortelian soil and the vast majority houses even much closer. The Baia, usually assigned with nothing but that moniker due to its prominence in the lives of so many Ortelians, formed the first kiddy pool for many people and from that, one could easily derive that aquatic sports and San Ortelio go hand in hand.

The truth is slightly more nuanced. Whilst the capacity to swim is widespread, the facilities for competition are not. Up until this day, there is not a single Olympic sized pool in the country. There are pools which are regulation size for short course competition but even those are few and far between. As such, the sport usually finds itself hidden in the shadows even if there are quite a few swimming clubs - but these focus more on the leisurely element of the sport rather than the competitive. Only a handful of athletes are committed enough to bring in the harsh training regime required to reach an Olympic level, considering they must do it next to a day job or a study. Races are scarce and only the national championships truly make a ripple at the front pages - of the sports quire, that is.

That is with the notable and crucial exception of one day, the second Saturday of September when the popular 'Costa a Costa' challenge is contested. In even years, the participants dive into the water at the tip of the Redoccio peninsula, near the Azzini Cliffs, and swim northwards to the small coastal hamlet of Parteccio, a distance of about six kilometers. In uneven years, they execute the course in reverse, usually an even harder challenge due to the currents. Originated as a wager between members of the army and the federal police to detect who is tougher, it has now grown into an informal holiday: families picnic near the start and departure whilst many amateurs challenge themselves to cross the bay as a New Year's resolution. Winning it is quite a prestigious feat and going into its fortieth edition next autumn, it is one of the pivotal events of the national sports calendar.

No wonder that the athlete who flies the flag for San Ortelio in this discipline is a former victor: Fabiana Algisi takes on the ten kilometre with five Costa a Costa trophies on her shelf. Her dominance in the event is undisputed and Algisi, outspoken and confident, has taken on other open water challenges. Most notorious among them was a one-hundred kilometer trek along the coastline which was used to raise attention to the deplorable state of the marine reservation for the seal community. She has unashamedly mentioned that she aspires to break into the top ten - quite a firm statement considering the lack of familiarity with the currents at Bittern Beach. Often in her shadow, her three year younger sister Lorena Algisi joins the delegation aiming for a strong result in the 1500m. Although usually the bridesmaid rather than the bride - also in real life, considering her sister's well-publicised marriage with green politician Ettore Conti - she won a single Costa a Costa in absence of Fabiana. And there is a third former winner of San Ortelio's most prestigious aquatic event: Nicola Ciavatta takes on the marathon distance as well and caught the attention by travelling to Somer two months early to "adjust to the circumstances".

Although the locally better known swimmers focus on the long distance, this does not mean that there is no room for a small crew of pool swimmers. Among them Giacomo Di Iesi immediately catches the eye, if not for his large tribal tattoos, then for his ludicrous ambition to compete in six events. But Di Iesi is an allrounder and knows what he is doing. Combining more events than anyone else has allowed him to become, if not the best swimmer in Ortelian history (two or three better names can be found for that), the most decorated one in the national championships. Twelve years of competing totalled him over seventy championships medals, a record that is bound to stay for the long term. Youngster Stefano Alafacci is more focussed on the sprint events - his name might make more waves in the paper as he is a minor celebrity after a passage in a reality show, something which earned him a contract as an underwear model and a relation with a social media starlet.

Due to the focus on the practical capacity over the technical skill of swimming, the main strokes are freestyle and back - and in the latter, Udo Akoji currently dominates the opposition. As the 100m champion for five years running, he can definitely make an attempt for a good placing. Akoji is a representative from the Kitaran minority, who mainly live in the north of San Ortelio. The relationship between the two people has its dark, and even bloodied, pages. The sporting terrain has fuelled the hatred at times, from ignorant chants to football violence, but an athlete as Akoji forms a role model to improve the internal relationship. The selection is completed with youngster Zita Callovi: being one of only three underage athletes in the whole delegation, these Olympics should form a learning process for the quiet and composed inhabitant from Pesari.

Boxing

During the swinging forties, this might have been the penultimate sport of the nation. The big champions earned enormous sums - to the standard of the time - and the major bouts sold out stadiums. The open-air arena of Calcaterri, a naturally circular rock formation, had legendary fights with thousands of exciting fans and the sepia-tinged photos with stars like Riccardo Barzo, Pietro Valentini and Clau-Clau Dinozzi remain a valuable cultural heritage… Which went bust through one controversial political decision. The sport was practically banned in '52, being given so many regulations that it collapsed at once. It was a moral victory for the catholic fraction which considered the violent side of boxing a bad example to the next generation.

Whilst the law banned boxing from the public eye, it could not avoid that the desire for the sport was taken away. An underground scene, with fights in barns in the countryside and fueled by betters and brokers, developed. A rough, rowdy period, in which corruption was rife and accidents staple - stepping into the ring was too often a case of life and death. As time went by, the authorities tended to turn a blind eye on it, especially as the mores have changed and people felt less worried about the involved sins. But the various accidents still urged the authorities to make a change. For twelve years, boxing is out of illegality and a structured organisation (BBSO) hands out belts in the various weight classes. The title bouts are televised and more and more people are gripped by them - it is fair to say that boxing is a growing spectator sport and hasn't yet reached its limit.

Olympic success could give this an extra boost but it will be a tough ask for our two representatives to make waves in Tea Tree Garden - only two as a few candidates refused a ticket with a, fairly lucrative, title fight on the agenda. Cesco Belotti can be considered as an elder statesman who debuted in the non-regulation era. That he in those days punched an opponent to live long hospitalisation did nothing positive for his popularity and we don't expect his grinding style to earn him many friends in Electrum. The 25-year old Luigi Algheterra overshadows Belotti when it comes to technique. The reigning welterweight belt gets praise for his footwork, combinations and powerful jab. He carries some hope for a good placing for the delegation, but it is an open question whether Algheterra will stomach the paced follow-up of bouts well.

---

TeleUno Sport

Hours provided in Catrallo time, not in local Endemien time

08h30 - Buongiorno Bunjil            TALKSHOW   With Angelo Rapaldo
09h00 - Swimming                SOR  LIVE       Men’s 200m freestyle & 100m backstroke heats (with Stefano Alafacci & Udo Akoji)
09h50 - Boxing                  SOR  LIVE       Men’s Welterweight prelim (with Luigi Algheterra)
10h15 - Cycling                 SOR  LIVE       Start of the women’s road race (with Chiara Ugolini & Anna Castrucco)
11h00 - Rowing                  SOR  LIVE       Time trial women’s single sculls (with Simona Suelotta)
11h20 - Football                     SUMMARY    Preliminary round from D1
11h30 - Boxing                  SOR  LIVE       Men’s Heavyweight prelim (with Cesco Belotti) 
11h50 - Swimming                SOR  SUMMARY    Women’s 400m freestyle (with Lorena Algisi) (summarized)
12h00 - TuttiSport                   TALKSHOW   With Enzo Morrici
12h30 - Rowing                  SOR  LIVE       Time trial women’s double sculls (with Dabesi/Carrara)
13h00 - Cycling                 SOR  LIVE       Finish of the women’s road race (with Chiara Ugolini & Anna Castrucco)
14h00 - Gymnastics              SOR  LIVE       Women’s individual all-around qualifiers (with Laura Tonnali & Evangelica Borrelo)
15h45 - Rugby                   SOR  LIVE       Men’s MD3 versus Darkmania
16h05 - Basketball                   SUMMARY    Men’s MD1 Pemecutan vs Electrum
16h35 - Sailing                 SOR  SUMMARY    Women’s one-person dinghy race 3 (with Alessandra Pisanecchi)
16h50 - Gymnastics              SOR  LIVE       Women’s individual all-around qualifiers (with Laura Tonnali & Evangelica Borrelo)
17h35 - Rugby                        LIVE       Men’s MD3 Tikariot vs Neu Engollon
17h55 - Sailing                 SOR  SUMMARY    Women’s one-person dinghy race 4 (with Alessandra Pisanecchi)
18h15 - Rowing                  SOR  SUMMARY    Men’s single sculls time-trial (with Alex Missaglia)
18h30 - Boxing                       HIGHLIGHTS Preliminary rounds
18h45 - La Giornata Olimpico         NEWS SHOW  With Cathalina Lombardi
19h00 - Tennis                       HIGHLIGHTS Preliminary round women
19h30 - Beach volleyball        SOR  LIVE       Women’s MD1 vs Feio/Pousa (SCT) (with Mascelli/Bates-Nugent)
20h15 - Rugby                        HIGHLIGHTS Summary of men’s MD2/MD3
20h30 - Swimming                     SUMMARY    Evening session
21h40 - Judo                         SUMMARY    Medal fights men’s 66kg & women’s 52kg
22h00 - Notte di Cinque Anelli       TALKSHOW   With Elisa Pardini, Rodolfo Quaranta & guests

[Waisnor]

Barely missing success

First day of XV Olympiad in Electrum was marked by two occasions where Waisnorian athletes missed opportunities for success only by a few moments. But still, considering start of previous Olympics, this is a pretty nice day for Waisnor:

Big hopes for medals were placed on Sergey Kozyulin, who represented Waisnor in men's road race in cycling. At the last Olympiad, he pleasantly surprised Waisnorians by finishing 9th despite rather strong competition. He went to this Olympics in order to at least improve his result, at the most to get a medal. And although Kozyulin did not submit to the maximum program, he managed to fulfill the minimum, and, probably, even overfulfilled it.
However, the beginning of this long race did not foreshadow this - Sergey himself said that he frankly failed the beginning, quickly flying to the second echelon of the pursuit of gold. In such a situation, in order to at least fight for a medal, it was necessary to make an incredible leap forward, and this is exactly what Sergey did. He gradually outpaced his rivals, by the middle of the group race he was again in the top 10, and by about 4 hours in he was in the top 5.
However, there was still a lot of time left, it was possible to make a couple more leaps. Kozyulin was able to make one of them, overtaking Jónbjörn Bjarnfreðursson from Græntfjall. But the leaders of the race - Bill Bonnington (Tumbra), Hamish Galduroz (Mertagne) and André Venter (Lisander) clearly they were not going to give up their positions to Sergei, and although the gap between Kozyulin and his opponents was very small, overtaking did not succeed in any way, and the finish line was getting closer, which means that there was less and less time for maneuvers.
In the last kilometers, Sergey greatly accelerated his progress, but even this did not help him in this fight - all three future medalists did the same in attempts to either get ahead of their rivals, or to keep their positions. As a result, all the medalists were separated by only one second, just as Kozyulina was separated from the podium by one second. Sergei himself said that he was pleased with his result, although he could have achieved more.

Unlike Kozyulin's 4th place, the result of Inna Belyavskaya in 100 metre butterfly was a disappointment for many. Many expected the swimmer to at least get to the final, preferably medals, as well as Belyavskaya herself, but the reality turned out to be not so rosy.
The first calls that it will not be as easy for Inna as expected have already sounded in heats - despite the fact that Inna clearly had a good move and technique, she made it to the semifinals with a scratch - in 14th place, despite the fact that 16 swimmers go to the final. After that, on the Internet, people already began to say that Belyavskaya's medals with such a performance in the qualifying heats did not shine, someone said that the class of rivals was too high. But some, like Inna herself, believed that Belyavskaya would perform much better in the semifinals.
And judging by the time, it happened. Inna immediately began to swim as much as she could in such a situation and at some point she was the first, however, towards the end, Belyavskaya began to lose to her rivals, who better disposed of their forces at a distance and saved their strength for the ending. At the end, Inna finished with a time of 57.55 - in the qualifying heats, this would have been enough in reserve to win them, but in the semifinal it is only 3rd place. But this would probably have been enough to reach the final, but it so happened that in the first semi-final 6 out of 8 swimmers reached the final, which means that Belyavskaya took the total 9th place, losing to Ann O ' Shea from Kelssek by only 0.03 seconds. Inna said after the performance that she herself was unhappy with her result and hopes that in the future she will be able to perform much better.

OTHER WAISNORIAN RESULTS:
Janusz Lisowski and Alena Putilo advanced to knock-out stage in archery singles competitions, finishind 44th and 62nd in rankind round respectively; Konstantin Kholodkov finished his participation, placing 147th; mixed team was knocked out too, finishing 34th
Yuri Plechistik won a battle with Randy Lawrence from Amuaplye in boxing men's light heavyweight preliminary round
Artyom Konovalov made it to round of 64 in fencing individual sabre, losing there to Hecataeus Dinur from Ioudaia 12-15; Lilia Kornilova finished in the same round in individual épée tournament, losing to Polina Pekoeva from Ostankin 4-15, Lyubov Vodovozova lost in round of 128
Other Waisnorian cyclist in men's road race, Maxim Bondarenko, did not finish
Maxim Komarov finished 55th in qualification of gymnastics men's individual all-around
Maria Grantovskaya and Valeriya Guseva qualified to quarter-final of rowing women's coxless pairs
Peter Shchukin and Nadezhda Shunina won their first matches in table tennis with Mikil Marshiru from Vekaiyu and Asuncion Salomon from Scornerse respectively, Maria Kurak lost to Andrea Warrington from Estogium (part of ABEN Union)

And my little addition to this RP:
Waisnorian TV stories: Battle of Third Seasons or how Doctor Who was put against Generator Rex
If I would ask you "What's the most popular show from Man of Action studio?", you would most definitely answer "Ben 10", and this would be truth. But not in Waisnor, where "Generator Rex" enjoyed very big success. Actually, "Fun 10's", on of three eras of history of independent Waisnor and which lasts to this day, is counted from the day when first episode of GR was shown on Second Cinema Channel, April 23rd, 2011. This show made, would I say, revolution in Waisnorian culture) ba dum tsssss
But still, worldwide this was not very popular series and definitely not a match for second TV series in this story - "Doctor Who" with history spanning decades in real life, outstandable levels of lore, millions of fans worldwide and all the other merits this British show has. But in Waisnor this series were clashing really hard.
Waisnor started broadcasting Doctor Who on First National in August of 2011 and Waisnorians quickly grew fondness to this series. Some people were comparing "The Empty Child/Doctor Dances" two-parter to Generator Rex because of somewhat similar premise and many people liked both series.
And then in February of 2012 Cartoon Network pulled Generator Rex from schedule 7 episodes before finale. And Waisnorians weren't happy with this. People are comparing reactions to this (and announce of Ben 10:Omniverse) somewhat like this (if you know Russian, you can watch this), only replacing "women" with "ratings". But thankfully, this 7 episodes were still on iTunes and WBC quickly got the rights to show remaining episodes. After some time, in April 2012, Second Channel announced that if would air all 7 episodes in span of a week, 1 episode per day. First National (btw, both First National and Second Cinema are part of WBC) reacted to this by putting remaining 7 episodes of series 3 of Doctor Who on the same days, but not the same time (Generator Rex aired at 8:30pm, Doctor Who at 9:45pm). Stage was set for Battle of Third Seasons.
Both series had aces in their sleeves - GR had hype about last episodes, DW had quality of such episodes as "Human Nature/Family of Blood" and "Blink". And for the first time Doctor Who was beating Generator Rex in ratings, although the gap between them wasn't too big. But as GR finale was coming, it picked up steam and "Endgame, Part 1" was already outstripping "Sound of Drums" in raiting. And as 23rd of April, 2012 arrived, "Endgame, Part 2" was battling with "Last of the Time Lords". Even though Doctor Who Season 3 finale garnered some pretty good ratings, last episode of Generator Rex was simply dominating everything that had the misfortune of being put in 8:30 pm timeslot, getting one of the biggest ratings numbers in Waisnorian TV history.
Future of both series was pretty good on Waisnorian television - Generator Rex could still be watched during reruns for some years, Doctor Who catched up with release dates and continued to be very popular in Waisnor)

[A Kea]

KTV

The biggest competition of the multiverse has officially kicked off in Electrum. Day 1 of the Olympics were full of action and many ups and downs for the debuting nation of A Kea. It all started with men's 100m breaststroke, where the naturalized citizen of A Kea Ayman El Wadidi had his debuting race in the games. Unfortunately he could only reach the 63rd position, which didn't allow him to go any further in the event. "It was a dissappointing first run for me, I was way too nervous to be the very first Kean swimmer in the event that I didn't manage to show the best of me unfortunately. 63rd is a position that doesn't satisfy me at all, so my aim now is to improve significantly in my 4 remaining races, three team ones and one single event. I'll focus on tomorrow's 4x100 event, where I'm competing with three amazing swimmers, Andrew, Nikiforos and Marinos, where we'll hopefully have a better run."

After the initial dissappointment came a success in aquatics as the men's water polo team followed the women's example and defeated Banija by 11-8. As team captain Leonidas Papastavrou said: "It was a valuable victory, we had to start off our campaign victorious. We started playing aggressively from the beggining of the game, leading by 8-2. Then we got exhausted and couldn't keep the pace, it was a wrong strategy indeed as Banija bounced back up and started threatening our lead. We only won thanks to the amazing performance of Martin, our goalkeeper. Now we need to revise our strategy for the next game against Lanesolde cause we can't always count on the good form of our keeper."

Archery left mixed feelings to our viewers. Mikhail Evristheni could only get to the 87th place, and failed to proceed to a further round of the tournament, he said he was really dissapointed by his performance and wished luck to Mariposa Evaggelou, the other Kean archer, who competed after him. Mariposa, reaching a score of 651, managed to qualify to the round of 64, keeping our nation's hopes alive in archery. Speaking to our reporters, she said

This is a huge day for Kean archery. We lack facilities back home, and our sport isn't popular at all among Keans. I've been fighting on my own for so long, I even hanged a target at my living room for extra practice. I feel vindicated by this success. Can't wait to start with my first match.

Unfortunately the mixed Kean team failed to proceed to the next round.

In equestrian Athena Olga Karpeti and her horse Margot only got up to the 34th place, not making it further to the Gran Prix Freestyle. Athena Olga stated that she felt dissapointed but believed in her and her horse's ability and they would both give their 100% in the remaining equestrian events, aiming for a qualification and perhaps even a medal.

A Kea suffered another dissapointing result in women's individual épée, where Silvia Karakosta lost by only 2 points to Ioudaia's Bahar Eshel bat Dorsa Kesem in her first game at the round of 128. As Silvia said, the athletes played equally and the match was decided upon small details, where her stress didn't let her perform as well as her opponent.

As for sailing, our two athletes in the dinghy category had their 3rd and 4th race today. Simeon improved and rose to the 13th place of the overall ranking, as he stated "I'm way more satisfied of my performance today, I'm still not at my 100% but I feel like I'm getting there. I've learned the course and feel much better about my chances. My main goal now is to reach the top 10 and make it to the medal final, rising is already a positive sign." On the other hand, his sister Sylvia Kalousi, failed to perform as well as in the first day and fell to the 15th place. As she said she's not dissapointed cause her good result overall so far is already much higher than what she expected to do.

Then came a historical moment of the first day of the Olympics. Men's 10m air rifle shooting featured two Kean athletes: Alex Skonda and Konstantinos Avgerinou. Alex said, after a dissappointing performance which kept him at the 53rd place, "I had much more to give, I'm not dissapointed by the result but by my performance. I'll start preparing for the mixed pistol event, where I'm hoping for a better result. Now I have to support my teammate Konstantinos in the final, we are all really hopefull.". Konstantinos got to the 4th place of the qualification round and became the first Kean athlete at the Olympics to reach the final of any event. At a really thrilling final, the Kean athlete lost by 0,1 point by the Tumbran shooter Russel Marriot, and got a historic silver medal for our nation. A Kea is now at the medal table with our very first Olympic silver medal as well as our very first medal overall. Konstantinos said right after the conclusion of the final.

I have no words. This game has been a rollercoaster for me. I came here with no expectations, I just tried to be as good as I could be, with my minimal experience. I have no idea how it paid off, 4th among 93 athletes was already much more than what I anticipated. At the final I had a rocky start, too many nerves, competing amongst athletes who were superior, to my eyes at least. Then I got myself together at the 4th shot. I just didn't want to be the first to be eliminated, then at every elimination I just tried to not be the one leaving. That somehow got me to the top 3. I realized I had secured a medal, I almost teared up but decided to hold it for later. I had to fight for the highest possible result since I made it all this way. I'm much more than just satisfied with a silver medal. My bad start cost me the gold, I know I could've beaten Russel but does it even matter at this point? I'm an olympic medalist at just 19, the very first of my country. That's what matters. I can't wait to see my country's flag waving at the medal ceremony. I hope my country is as thrilled about this as I am.

The shooting success was followed by a table tennis success. Djiva Trudeau recieved a bye, as well as the Kean team in mixed doubles, Andreas Paraschos though competed in the preliminary round against Lanesolde's Josh Hess. At a really thrilling game that ended with a score of 4-2, our champion took a victory and keeps himself in the competition. As Andreas said: "This is a surprise even for me, I'm glad to be staying in the event. Winning the first set is probably what kept me going, had I lost it, I would've given up the game since Josh is a better player than I am. Josh easily won the second set, and then I said I had to fight till the end. That led to an exciting set that ended at 13-11, I really wasted a lot of energy there and that showed, Josh won the third set. Every little mistake I made cost me. I pulled myself back together for the next set, I had to win it. It was tough, I realized that his defence wasn't as strong at the left side of the board, I exploited that and made it. Final set was easy, I guess he gave up, can't explain such an easy game from such a competitive athlete. I hope to keep going even further but I know the odds are against me. We'll see how that goes, this victory is already a huge accomplishment for me."

The women's indoor volleyball team suffered a loss at the first set, but impressively bounced back in the next three and beat Diarcesia. A Kea is so far unbeaten in team events and the volleyball girls kept the impressive streak going.

The final Kean athlete today appeared in women's 49kg weightlifting. Melpomeni Kiritsi, a newcomer, managed to defy odds and end at the 16th place, she later said: "I came here with next to no experience, at a demanding sport. A 16th place might be dissapointing for some, but it's a victory for me. I got much more than what I expected. This olympic experience is a huge step for my career at weightlifting. I have to thank my trainer and the Kean Comittee for trusting me. I hope I made you all proud."

[Kalosia]

Altan, July 14, 2021.

Up in the Kalosian highlands, a town overlooks the beautiful Lake Altan. It is in fact named after the lake, and, being home to several thousand people, is one of the bigger non-coastal cities located on the island nation.

In her home, Magdalenë, a 16 year old girl, is in her room, laying in bed as she scrolls through her social media feed. The photo sharing app she uses, which perhaps may no longer even be a photo sharing app due to the proliferation of video content, shows plenty of posts from accounts she follows.

Most of them are her friends. Her bestie Daniélë went on a picnic by the lakeside today with Valentinu, her boyfriend. Antoniu, Magda's classmate who has given her enough butterflies to consider him her crush, was at football practice as usual. He plays for the neighbourhood club, where her brother Robertu used to play before taking a break following an ankle injury. Helenë posted a picture of the meal she cooked for her family! How sweet, considering earlier this morning Magda had to explain to her via text the difference between hard and soft cheeses.

Magda also follows a few brands, celebrities, and other public accounts. Tonight, a post caught her eye. It was by Let's Talk Kalosia, an account that specializes in infographics on topics of interest. They were created in June 2020 and initially specialized in social issues, but have since expanded their range and now discuss topics that 'encourage the young Kalosian to be a global citizen'.

Today's post discusses the Olympics. Which is perfect, because she overheard some people talk about it a few days ago and was curious, but forgot to look it up.

As she was just finished reading, the warm voice of a lovely middle aged woman was heard coming from downstairs.

"Magda, manǧamu! Au fatu tia pasta preferitë staserë!"*

Magda smiled.

"Si Mama, venu!"**

She quickly got up from bed and headed over downstairs to join her family for dinner.



* "Magda, let's eat! I made your favourite pasta tonight!"
** "Yes Mum, I'm coming!"

[Islamic Balkans]

Can I join?

[The Licentian Isles]

Hello everyone, and welcome to back to the Olympic Star Profiles podcast on LBC. I’m your host, Iain Mackay. In this podcast, we’re going through Day 1 of the 15th Summer Olympics in Bunjil, Electrum, to focus on the story of one of our Licentian athletes at the Games. Today, we’ll be talking about events right here in Somer, and more specifically at the Olympic Natatorium. That building will play host to the swimming that dominates much of the early part of the Olympic Games, though to Licentians, it likely won’t have been much of a focus in their minds. All of that changed however after the women’s 400m individual medley, where Pip Bosman took the first Licentian medal of the Games, and then dropped a bomb at the feet of those running Licentian swimming in post-race interviews.

Pip Bosman is one of a great number of athletes in the Licentian delegation from the outer islands, collectively known as St Bart’s Parish. Bosman was born in Hope Bay on the north of St Bart’s Island, and grew up in that fairly laid back community, often considered a popular holiday destination both in the Isles and further afield. As is true with many youngsters living around the coasts of the Isles, swimming very quickly became a part of daily life for her: it wouldn’t be uncommon for many schoolkids in Hope Bay to go swimming after school, and Pip was no different. Nonetheless, casual swimming does not translate to Olympic success. That path started for Bosman when she got involved with a swimming club at Hope Bay High School at the age of 11, and caught the eye of coaches at the Licentian Swimming Federation, quickly making a name for herself in both the breaststroke, her favoured technique, as well as in the individual medley events, where she was a powerhouse in Licentian junior swimming.

Bosman’s talent across multiple events at a swimming meet is, of course, not uncommon for international level swimmers, and knowing that, it’s perhaps a surprise that the 400m individual medley is her only event in Bunjil. That’s where the controversy comes in. The Licentian Swimming Federation, led by Kian Doherty and Sorcha MacInally, decided that going into these Olympics, swimmers from the Isles would be told to focus on a single discipline. That meant that the 28 year old Bosman would be unable to compete in the 200m medley or in the breaststroke events, where she holds the Licentian record over 200m. This is an issue that struck Licentian Athletics as well, where it has perhaps gained more infamy at home, but with medals already appearing in the pool, perhaps the LSF’s policy should be coming under just as much scrutiny.

In the 400m medley, Bosman would be competing in the heats alongside Rosa Sharp of Port Arran, and both performed beyond expectations there. While they’re both talented swimmers in the Isles, it would have been a real task for them to both reach the final 8 against some of the best swimmers in the world. It was Sharp that swam first of the two Licentians, posting a very strong 4:35.03, and coming first in her heat, but of course in the pool, that guarantees nothing. Nonetheless, as time ticked on, Sharp seemed to have earned a spot in the final. It then came to Pip, who also posted a competitive time, exactly the same as Elsie Manning of Kelssek. That would then cause an issue, as that 4:35.45 placed Bosman and Manning together at eighth, meaning that they would have to compete in a swim off to determine who would reach the final. Swim offs are an incredibly high pressure environment, but Bosman pulled out a strong lead over Manning on the breaststroke leg, maintaining that to earn her place in the final.

There would be more struggles going into the final though. Rosa Sharp would go in lane 6, but Bosman was in lane 8, conventionally considered the slowest due to its position on the outside, as a result of her 8th placed qualification. It would put her in a precarious position in the wake of the other athletes, but that would stop the experienced Licentian, as she kept pace with the leaders throughout. Her cyan-and-gold cap emerged at the end of the freestyle leg in second position, just behind the winner, Carla Allovie from the Alezian Union, and over three seconds clear of her countrywoman Sharp. It would be the first time that the flag of the Isles would fly over a podium in Bunjil, and in a place where nobody would have seen it coming.

That would not be the end of the drama though, as Pip would take the opportunity of her post-medal ceremony interview with LBC’s swimming reporter Ruairidh Bell to fire a shot at the LSF. Let’s listen to that now.

Pip Bosman, congratulations! You are the first Licentian medallist at the Games of the XV Summer Olympiad. How does it feel?

It feels amazing! It’s been a complete rollercoaster to get to this point, both in the pool and out of it, but it feels so worth it when I can stand on the podium as an Olympic medallist.

It was unbelievable for us too, the Isles will be so proud of you. The heats did put you in a precarious position, coming home in exactly the same time as one of the swimmers from Kelssek. Just how was that wait to find out if you’d made it, and how did you feel at the thought of a swim off?

Nerve-wracking, because obviously the biggest worry was that our time wasn’t fast enough for either of us to reach the final. Swim offs are always tense, especially knowing that there’s just one other woman alongside you, but you just have to do what you do in any other race, just focus on your own start, your own rhythm, your own breathing.

So you weren’t even looking alongside to see how Manning was doing?

No, because as soon as you do that you’re losing focus and time. I just had to believe that I was fast enough to beat her, same as I do any time that I get into the pool.

Then it was the final, with some really fast athletes in that race. What did it take to claim that medal?

Just that same focus to be honest! I know where I’m strongest, on the breaststroke, so I made sure I had enough energy to really push there, and I made sure I was in my rhythm all the way to the end.

What did it feel like when you looked up at the end of the race and saw that you had won a silver medal?

It was just a wave of emotions. Pride, happiness, and a fair bit of exhaustion too! I was so grateful to have Rosa in the race too, she was so happy for me even after she struggled a wee bit, and I think we both shed a tear or two as we hugged in the pool!

I’d be surprised if you were the only ones Pip. Now, without wanting to put a damper on things, you mentioned the out of the pool struggles as well. It’s clear that you and a number of other members of the team would be much happier if you were competing across multiple events. What message would you hope to send to the LSF with this success?

It’s a difficult position to be in to be honest Ruairidh. Obviously, I’m incredibly grateful for the support to be here in Bunjil, and to the coaches, especially Lottie [Lamont, head coach], who has been a fantastic motivator for all of us. On the other hand, I stand here with you now, knowing that even when I’ve given my all today, I could go again in the 200m medley, and in the breaststroke events as well. Maybe I’d have even won a medal in one of those too! I just hope that the heads of the LSF will listen to the swimmers, and perhaps reconsider their decision when the next Games come around, even if it’s too late for me.

Pip, thank you for your time, and congratulations.

That was clearly an emotional interview from Pip Bosman, the first medallist for the Licentian Isles in Bunjil, hoping that she can use her platform to send a message to those that run her sport. She did pop up later on Twii.tur, where she was trending in the Isles, to reiterate that she “is incredibly grateful to the coaches, and to everyone that has supported [her] up to this point”. In a follow-up post though, she did state that “change has to be made for the benefit of Licentian swimmers”. We hope, just as she does, that the best decision is made for them going forward.

Let’s just head elsewhere to take a quick look at what else happened on Day 1 of the Games here in Electrum. Sèitheach Matheson snuck into the final of the men’s 400m medley, summing up a day of surprises for Licentians in the pool. Both Licentians in the slalom canoeing events progressed to the semi-finals, but Tobias Robertson and Charlotte Nicol will both be hoping for improvements tomorrow and the day after respectively. The men’s road race was disappointing for Licentian star Amhlaidh MacCrossan, who crashed out in the early stages with Max Blair the only Licentian to cross the finish line. Otis Willemsen sprung a surprise at the Waterways Arena in Port Grenville, putting in a stunning performance on floor and making the final alongside seven other athletes. Elsewhere in Port Grenville, it was a mixed day at the Black Stone Marina, but many Licentians will likely be focussing on the windsurfer classes, with Tommy Bruce leading the men’s fleet after two race wins on the second day, and Sìne Milne climbing to second in the women’s fleet.

Tomorrow, on Day 2, let’s look at the three events that you definitely shouldn’t miss from Bunjil. The men’s rugby sevens team, led by Noah Deelstra, will be hoping to start their tournament off with a bang in matches against Mertagne and Amuaplye at the Walkers Stadium in Agri. Oighrig Clarke will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Otis Willemsen as she leads out the female gymnasts for the Isles. Then, on Lake Mittiyack, it’s the qualification time trial for one of the best hopes in the rowing regatta, Faolan MacGregor, in the men’s single sculls.

For Day 1 of these Olympics, that’s everything from me, and from the Olympic Star Profiles podcast on LBC. LBC’s Olympic coverage will continue throughout tomorrow, and we’ll be back at the same time tomorrow evening with another profile for you. For now though, thank you for listening, and to our Licentian athletes, good luck, veel succes, sealbh math dhuibh!

[Tumbra]

SPORT: XV SUMMER OLYMPICS — DAY ONE RECAP
Tumbra Strikes Gold, Twice! Reaction as Bonnington Wins Road Cycling by Thinnest of Margins, Marriott In 10m Air Pistol

Janice Headey and Brian Watkins

SOMER — Joy enveloped the streets of FanZones in Tumbra as Tumbra got their Olympic campaign off to a winning start — two gold medals to top the medal table after Day One of the fifteenth Summer Olympics. Bill Bonnington, 24, won the gruelling road cycling race by just one second after six hours of cycling, triumphing over favourites in the Mytanar delegation — while Neville Marriott held his nerve to win the gold medal in the 10m air pistol by just 0.1 points, announcing the Tumbran delegation's arrival on the international stage in style.

It wasn't all success on the world stage, though, as stars of the pool Timothy Veltman and Jennifer Freeman missed out on various finals throughout the day — Veltman missing out on the 400m freestyle finals by just two miliseconds, while Freeman fell short in both the 400m individual medley and the 4 x 100m freestyle relay. Below is a compilation of the highlights of the day;



Heartbreak for the King and Queen of Swim As They Fall Short of Finals; Jenkins Finishes Eighth In 400m Medley
Rebecca Skerrett

SOMER — Tumbra's King and Queen of Swim — Timothy Veltman and Jennifer Freeman — were looked towards as potential medal hopefuls before the start of the Olympics. But in a disappointing day for Tumbran aquatics, they failed to qualify for any finals today — and for Freeman, was way off the pace in one of her pet events, the 400m individual medley. She finished 46th, and wasn't close to qualifying for the final — won by Alezian swimmer Carla Allovie. Her counterpart,

"I'm very disappointed," the swimmer said after her elimination from the event. "I know I can do better, and this is simply not it. I'm sorry for letting my supporters down — but I'm not out yet." The Queen of Swim, 26, began her career at the tender age of 13 — and has spent a career in aquatics dominating the Tumbran and regional swimming scene.

Timothy Veltman was not happy with his performances either — the experienced swimmer, 28, failed to make it through to the finals of the 400m freestyle by just 0.02 milliseconds, finishing ninth. "It's frustrating to lose out by such fine margins," said Veltman, "but in the end, I simply wasn't good enough today." His counterpart, Rupert Cassell, finished 74th in a field of 114 swimmers.

When asked whether his performances were impacted by being on the same swim team as Freeman, Veltman rubbished the claim. "Jennifer and I are professionals, even if our personal histories haven't been the smoothest," he said. "To suggest that either of our performances were a result of being near each other is a stain on our conduct as swimmers and as professionals." Freeman and Veltman were in a relationship from 2014 till 2017; but it reportedly ended on acrimonious terms.

Read more...




Gruelling Six Hour Road Race Sees Bonnington Take Gold By A Second
John Wainwright

FARLEIGH-WARBURTON — Bill Bonnington came through the field to defy all odds to grab Tumbra's first ever Olympic gold medal — in possibly the toughest, most gruelling event of the first day of the Olympics. Starting way down the pack in 45th, Bonnington powered his way through the field after dropping back in the slopes, to coming back on the 30km circuit near Farleigh — and taking advantage of his opponents' wariness on the pave near the end of the course to power through to the front of the pack. In the end, he snatched gold from Mertagnian cyclist Hamish Galduroz and Lisanderian cyclist André Venter by the thinnest of margins — a second — finishing head of a crowded peloton. Fellow Tumbran Alan Wilson finished fifteenth, about twenty seconds behind; while Brian Baxter finished a respectable 88th. Francis Cochrane and Lewis Wolf both did not take the finish, due to problems with their cycles.

The look on Bonnington's face was one of pure ecstasy as he stood atop the podium; he was visibly in tears as the Song of the Tumbrans played at the medal ceremony. While the Herald was unable to secure an interview with him after the race, Alan Wilson did indeed speak to us.

"Bill's very emotional, so you'll have to forgive him. I think he's talking to his family right about now — after all, he did just secure a place in the history books of Tumbran cycling by not just winning a gold medal; but Tumbra's first gold medal of these Olympics. He loves his family, he does."

Bill, 30, hails from rural Caduke — where he gained his passion for long-distance cycling in the mountains and wide-open roads of the rural, agricultural-focused state. His stamina, he says, is a result of "years of years of working in the fields," reflecting upon his origins as a farmer.

Read more...




Marriott Holds Nerve in Close-Run Contest To Close Out 10m Air Pistol Gold; Callan, Simms Miss Out In Air Rifle
Kelly Collins

AGRI — Tumbra's second gold medal of the day came in Agri, where unfancied Russell Marriott held his nerve and came through to secure a wholly unexpected gold medal in the 10 metre air pistol. The Tumbran shooter got through to the final, finishing seventh in a highly-contested group — where the several 98s he shot was key to his progression. A score of 586 would see him fairly through to the final.

There, it was a shoot-off against seven other competitors; and came incredibly close to being eliminated on the seventh round with a 19.5. It was consistency, though, that won him the day; and the cool-headed shooter reflected as much in his post-match interview, hardly cracking a smile after he realised he'd won.

"I think it's just...the fact that I had to remain calm. Couldn't think about much else apart from the fact that I had to keep doing what I need to do to win. And I'm glad
I've done so. A gold medal's the least that I can do to give back to Tumbra — and I'm really happy I could deliver it."

In the women's 10m air rifle, both Sherlyn Simms and Clara Callan came close to qualifying for the finals, but missed out...

Read more...



Tumbra's magnificent opening day performance sees them on top of the medal table after day one, with two golds — while traditional powerhouses Kelssek, with one gold and one silver, in second, tied with Kriegiersien. Quebec & Shingoryeo are in joint third after several great performances in fencing.



View the full medal table here.

[San Ortelio]

With 242 starters and over fifty different teams competing against one another, Damiano knew, you would get a mad race. As if he was racing back in the youth category, where the only rule seemed to be that you needed to kick those pedals. And fast. But while many young Ortelians dreamed of becoming the next Campionissimo, the latest name on the Giro palmares, only those that learned the quickest would rise through the ranks.

LESSON 1 - Don't Burn Your Matches Early On

It started fast. Ridiculously fast. In itself that was no surprise. With an entry list that allowed one to scroll endlessly, many were already glad to already make a full frontal appearance in the broadcast. But there was one major difference with Ortelian racing. Back home, after a few attempts, a suitable group would form: not too many guys, with the colours of the right teams and with modest possibilities. At that point, his team would block the front for a bit until the attackers were up the road and the next two hours could be run calmly. No one - or at least, no one with ambitions - wants to tear himself apart that soon. Apparently, the Olympic peloton didn’t get the memo. Nassau Bay was barely left behind but Damiano already felt his legs complain - attack after attack rolled in the endless waves of the Terranean Sea.

Save your energy, they said - but how can one do that when the whole peloton is one large tumble dryer? You sprint to reach the top of the peloton, it stretches out, it collapses and suddenly there’s only twenty guys behind you anymore and you need to get back to the front. Woops! There goes another group, from which Damiano recognized Petrusic in his notable Mytanar colours. Round by round by round, Damiano’s head started to tumble - he needed to cool down, he...

LESSON 2 - Always Stay Hydrated, Especially If You’re Not Thirsty

Manuele appeared out of nowhere, quickly putting a bottle in Damiano’s hand whilst trying to scan for the third sky blue jersey from Marzio. Only now, Damiano realised that they were past Geldectrum and he hadn’t taken a drink yet - shit. His first reaction was to chug down the energy drink voraciously but fortunately, his mind still seemed more intact than his legs: this was the fast route down to stomach cramps. Still, he could’ve used a reserve one, but Manuele seemed to have vanished in thin air again. Frankly, he liked the guy and especially his attitude - no nonsense, no complaints. Damiano feared the day that Manuele realised how strong he really was but up until that day, he was a very useful helper - the type that formed a luxury.

In a way, there are three types of helpers, of gregario’s: those that were born with nothing more and who had accepted the profession; those that tried to become part of the inner circle of winners but failed and those who were on their way up there in due time. There was no doubt that Manuele Di Paolo belonged to the third category and domestically, after putting his first Classic to his name, he was already beyond that. But throughout the Road Series, towards which our trio was sent to prepare, it was plain to see that his stamina was already beyond the nominal leaders: quite often, he hung on after his duties and grabbed a decent finishing spot. By the next big event, Di Paolo would have a team of his own, Damiano knew, but for today, he needed to bring drinks. And fast!

LESSON 3 - Don’t Let The Cadence Make You Fall Asleep

It happened somewhere in Silab Valley and Damiano had completely missed it.

In a difficult, blind corner on a long, winding descent, three or four riders stood by the outside of the turn - their clothes torn, the knees bloodied and their hopes evaporated. For a second or two, one of them must have been less focussed and mayhem ensued. Damiano fortunately had escaped the carnage but had been hiding in the back of the bunch for - what seemed to him - just a few minutes and for - what appeared in hindsight - nearly twenty kilometres. The early, continuous bouts of electricity that were sent through the bunch had worn him out a little and more than he wanted to admit. It took a second before everyone realised what was wrong but when he heard a powerful Waisnorean, Kozyulin, mutter something about a second bunch in between swears, the realisation hit Damiano hard: his race could be over before it really got started.

LESSON 4 - First Finish The Plate of the Other Teams Before Starting Yours

F’. F’’’’’. Panic now took hold of Damiano and he eagerly tried to scan who was still with him - still a harsh task with half a peloton left if so many took the start. Normally, he would not even need to think in a case like this. His red-and-white armada, with the big ‘Ravita’ logo (from a beverage producer with marketing budget to spare) on their chest, would take command and in no time, the problem would be solved. But nothing of the likes happened now, everyone simply tried to work out whether it was the right time to throw their first cards on the table (or whether they still actually ever were dealt a hand). After a minute or two, he found Di Paolo near the back.

“Com’on Manuele, ride, ride, they’ll be gone!” Damiano panicked.
“Shouldn’t… Shouldn’t we wait for the bigger teams?” he noted, much calmer than his leader, “We’re just three and they’re five.”
“Everyone’s got someone up the road,” Damiano exhaled.
“You sure?” it came, but Damiano could just lift his shoulders. Where was his usual bravado, where was the man who with one glance could raise or drop the pace in an Ortelian peloton? Where was the proud winner of four Giro’s?
“Isn’t Marzio up the road?” Manuele asked in a last attempt to escape his commands.
“Who knows, maybe he’s behind?”

Damiano knew it was a halfhearted lie. Pavarin was in stellar form lately, even if it hadn’t materialized in the results of the World Series. In the Trobirn-Kapfenweil, he had been near the front on every climb and today would be no exception. There were various things that Damiano disliked about Marzio Pavarin: his sneaky silence, his focus on weight loss, his unattractive interviews, his unsympathetic riding in a front group, ... But he mainly hated the way he tried to overturn the carefully built balance of domestic hegemony from Damiano Lagani. Neither said it out loud, but he knew damn well that Pavarin hated him in equal parts as vice versa. Oh, screw him and screw the others, we need to chase! Now!

LESSON 5 - It Doesn’t Get Easier, You Just Go Faster

They got the first group back in sight on one of the passages near the finish line but this only instigated another round of chaos. With the prey now so close, the little organisation which had occurred in the chase disappeared and on the long uphill stretch, riders tried to bridge across one by one in a flurry of attacks, overtaking some of the stragglers from the bunch up the road. Damiano saw it happening, wanted to do the same - but his legs refused. It was a sentiment which he barely knew, but today it came to him. They were still far from the finish line but the distance had already overtaken an archetypical Ortelian race, somewhere between three and four hours.

As the Town Hall loomed large over his head, Damiano pushed himself in the red. He found it ironic they called it like that - for him, there were black spots dancing in front of his eyes, at the same rhythm of the jerseys from across the multiverse that tangoed on the pedals all the way to the finishing banner. It just wasn’t the finish yet.

LESSON 6 - When The Going Gets Tough, the Tough Get Going

Technically, the two main groups had reunited but they were nowhere near the 242 souls that left Nassau Bay. Some had stepped away, others were stretchered off. All across the final lap, riders made their way to the finish - many behind the bunch, a few still ahead.

A small glance at the monitor of his bike computer told Damiano what he needed to know - moneytime was approaching. Bit by bit, the miles to string out this peloton were running out, so on another large incline, the pace got upped. Some sixty metres in front of him, he saw Mytanar jerseys, some Quebecois and a few Sariani upping the pace. Just ten kilometres back, he had made a mental note that those were the ones to mark. No one had the strength to mark all attacks, you had to pick your battles…

… But now they were up front and he was back here, with a sky blue jersey to his left and right. Fucking amateur hour.

LESSON 7 - Organize, Don’t Chase

There had to be more like us, Damiano thought, who had missed out. It can’t be that… Nothing. No one moved, riders simply swerved aside to put someone else in the chasing seat. Without words, Damiano gave another nudge to Manuele who dutifully got himself in front. This had to work, this had to work, …

“You need to talk.”

Marzio came up next to him, lurking his bottle. You’re one to say that, Damiano wanted to exclaim, you haven’t spoken to me ever since we picked you up again.

“You need to talk to some other teams or we’re gonna burn Manuele faster than a broken matchstick.”

With that, Marzio almost steered aside, but not without muttering under his breath.

“I thought you were the captain of the peloton back home…”

LESSON 8 - Stay Focused and Stay Upright

This was godawful. It was unfair. It was harsh. And worst of all, Marzio was right.

His words kept on moving back and forth in his mind - what did he mean with that? That tonight, half a region away from home, his dominance in San Ortelio would end? No way. No f’ing way, maybe Damiano needed to talk again with Mar-

It wasn’t the first passage near Fairleigh they had had. The surface had been rattling his chainset quite a lot already before. But as Damiano was lying there, tossed in the outside of a corner like a pile of carbon garbage, he realized he had not noticed before how beautiful the local bluestone pave was.

LESSON 9 - To Pull The Train, Throw Wood On The Fire

It seemed that within seconds, the large and loud convoy of riders, motorcycles and support cars had disappeared in the distance, racing towards the finish line. As Damiano checked whether his gears still did the job, stragglers zoomed past him, alone or in small groups. They had the same inexplicable force behind them - I need to get to Fairleigh. Mechanically, Damiano Lagani remounted his stead, tried to find a rhythm again but what he did, whether he put it in the big ring or attempted to turn it mad, he kept on slowing down, with riders passing him by left and right. Another check of the tubes, nothing wrong there. Another one zoomed by. The oozy smell of the gel that had just been hastily pushed between the teeth of the overtaker overwhelmed him.

He’ld kill for a gel, or a bar. How long ago was it that he had his last? And where on earth were his bars?

LESSON 10 - Enjoy The Ride

The boxes in the distance have proclaimed a winner already and the vast crowds at the side of the road are slowly making their way home. Riders left and right from me became fewer and fewer and now it feels like I’m all alone in the world, despite the thousands of Electrumites near the sides.

Another climb. I’ve lost count. They all look alike.

No, that’s not. They just look longer, harder and steeper, each a bit more than the other. The energy drink tastes gory and turns my empty stomach. Every push, even downhill, hurts like hell.

A banner. Another banner, with some kilometres on it but never with the word ‘finish’.

A left turn. Or was it a right - I.

The sound of someone crashing. Or was it me?

As I close my eyes, the speckles of the bluestone continue to dance.

[Sargossa]

The coastal city of Somer was known for its sunny days and sunnier disposition. But, without the breeze from the Endemien Sea to cool it down, the atmosphere inside the Somer Olympic Natatorium had a decidedly tropical feel. The fact that the Games’ first evening session had drawn a sell-out crowd hadn’t exactly helped the sweat inducing temperature. Not that it was dampening the excitement. The Swimming events always attracted plenty of interest back home, as did tickets for them. Splashes of dark blue and glimpses of ‘Ole Pointy marked out the pockets of Sargossan support in the crowd among the three dozen or so other nations that were represented within the crowd, alongside the vocal locals.

Scattered around the arena were spectators with a much more professional interest in the events transpiring down in the pool. Members of various coaching staffs had found their personal vantage points to oversee their respective charges. A slender woman had taken up one such point, overlooking one side of the pool. Eyes narrowed behind expensive looking glasses, dark hair giving way to some grey, a look of seemingly perpetual disapproval sitting entirely naturally on a face that held the cold, comfortable air of authority that might befit a headmistress. The black trident on the left breast of her white polo shirt marked her out as a member of the Sargossan delegation, although she hailed from much further afield.

Jovana Krsmanovic had been a technical coach in the Mytanar system that had produced, among others, the ‘Fab Four’ of Katrien Schou, Katerina Schweitzer, Jana Spevakova and the great Zuzana Spevakova. In addition to their other honours, including Olympic medalage, they famously dominated the competition in the pool at the Rushmori Games in Aels. But sport, as with most things, suffers at the whim of politics. For her nation descended into chaos and war. Krsmanovic said goodbye to her home in Stratenberg and made her way north. Immigration from Mytanija to Sargossa sits at a relatively low level but in those months following the collapse of the Kalinina regime there was a noticeable spike in those numbers. Not everyone sits on the right side of history.

Krsmanovic’s reputation proceeded her and the Sargossan government quietly found her a new home in Jucaro, the city which happens to also be the centre of Sargossa’s own swimming programme. That programme was operating in the shadow of double figure medal winning performances at both the Eighth and Ninth Summer Games. The current crop of swimmers were struggling to even come close to that level. Krsmanovic had been coaching for Sargossa on an ad-hoc basis but when the Fourteenth Games yielded just five medals Head Coach Alonso Charro was shown the door and quickly replaced by the Mytanar. Now years of work had reached their culmination in the Somer Olympic Natatorium. The whiteness around her knuckles as she gripped the railing hinted at the pressure she was feeling.

A nation looked on, action from the Natatorium would be being beamed back to Sargossa all day. And Sargossa was excited ahead of an early glimpse of one of its big guns. It was the Women’s 100m Butterfly which meant Olympic Champion Naomí Alarcón would be entering the pool. The heats were a formality for an athlete more than capable of a sub-57 second showing. She came fifth, in a time that was good enough for 57th overall. Just like that the title defence was over. Another hope, Eduarda Encarnación, floundered badly in the Medley and Javier Vázquez failed to emerge from the Men’s 100m Breastroke, despite going into them as second fastest qualifier. Amado Rayon provided some relief, fastest into the 400m Free final. As did the Women’s 4 x 100m Freestyle Relay team who made their final comfortably.

Sargossan participation in Swimming finals is a regular sight. It’s converting those appearances in finals to appearances on the podium that has proven the problem. Day 1 in Somer provided no respite. Rayon was left behind in a very quick final, one in which Fergus Farrell set a new Olympic record. But it was the relay team who really kept the poor run going.

It was the final changeover. Ariadna Martí dived in as Cristina García touched the wall. Krsmanovic saw it, her jaw tightening. Expert eyes around the arena saw it too. Was that final exchange a little tight? Martí’s reaction time was listed as ‘TBD’ on the live results. Rarely a good sign. Worse still, Martí, the 200m champion from Orean, had dragged the team right into the medal battle. Martí touched the wall and stared immediately back to the back scoreboard. Sargossa had been in a real tussle with Kelssek and Lanesolde for silver, but it wouldn’t matter. The review showed that Martí had jumped the proverbial gun to the tune of 0.08 of a second. Teams were given leeway of 0.03, anything over that meant only one thing. Sargossa had been disqualified.

‘Do we appeal?’ Assistant coach Javier Leoz asked his boss.

‘On what grounds?’ Krsmanovic responded quietly. ‘You saw it. We all saw it. She went too soon.’

She went too soon. Krsmanovic resisted the urge to let out a big sigh. Day 1 had been a defeat, of that there was no question. Day 2 could only be better. Surely. Surely?

[Augusticinia]

Augusticinia Olympic Report: Day 1 - Martin Becker, Fencing, and Plenty More to Come

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Hello and welcome to the recap of the Augusticinian delegation from Day 1 of the XV Olympiad in Electrum. With the first medals out of way the Olympiad is officialy in full swing and the efforts of many Augusticinian athletes are to be seen throughout the Terranean Coast and Bunjil.

The main story from Day 1 deals with Martin Becker, the 24-year old swimmer from Valesse (a modest coastal town on the Kvella Isles for the unfamilar). Becker has made a national name for himself as a powerful and aggressive swimmer, consistently pushing national records in the Freestyle, Backstroke, and Medley events. However, due to limited public interest in swimming, Becker has been unable to compete in regular international competitions, excepting regional meets held in nearby nations. Now on Day 1 of the Olympiad was Becker's first chance at the true international stage.

Becker was among one of the first heats to go at the Olympic Natatorium in Somer. Flanked by the young star Oliver Turudić of Srednjaci and David Masó of Sargossa, Becker took off on his first olympic race. Becker had a good start of the block pushing ahead to the top group in the first 100 meters. Then in the back half, with his signature surge of stamina he pushed past his regular stroke rate, forming an uncontested lead in the heat. After 3 minutes and 43.24 seconds Becker had one of the best times of all combined heats. Throughout the day Becker would continue to watch nervously, and excitedly as his time left him as the 4th fastest swimmer in the heats, and a potential contender for Augusticinia's first medal of the games.

In the final Becker was placed next to the Bollonischian Chase Baines and Krytenian Paul Devereux, and tension ran high as the first swimming final of the Olympiad was about to sound underway. Off of the starting blocks Becker kept strong holding himself in the line of medal contention while the leaders began to slowly pull away. On the 250 meter mark, already trailing in 5th, Becker got a weak touch on the wall placing him at the back of the pack. Even the typical final charges of stamina in the last 100 meters only kept him within a second of 7th place. Augusticinia, seeing itself in its first olympic final in an event the nation is not well known for, felt a strange mix of pride and disappointment. Out of the pool Becker later commented, "Plain and simple -- I had a bad race. It happens. When the best swimmers in the world are next to you, the pressure is on, and every little mistake counts. I'm not happy, but 8th in the world is nothing to scoff at either. I'm proud of how well I did in the heats and this isn't my last time in the pool, so I have a good feeling about things. I feel a medal in me, and I'm going to fight for it." Becker will be competing for a finals spot in the 200m freestyle tomorrow.

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Moving to one of Augusticinia's most popular Olympic sports fencing has started with the Men's Sabre competition and the Women's Epee competition. The 19-year old Tomasz Saffona is a rising figure in the Fencing world for his fluid and connected movements, but also an irascible nature both on and off the piste. By the Round of 32 Saffona had already bested Cyrille Saint-Yves of Teremara and Ethan Anderson of Hannasea in close matches, and in the Round Saffona made quick work of Jean-Baptiste Provenzano with aggressive challenges and quick ripostes. In the Round of 16, Saffona began to face a much more intense challenge -- the world class Diarcesean, Bretnil Urvoathil. Initially Saffona managed to hold his own, keeping the match even up until 9-9. However, as Saffona got more confrontational in the opening steps, pouncing with intimidating lunges, Urvoathil's patience allowed for precise counterattack, and managed to bring the score up to 10-13. Saffona attempted to save the match, but his inexperience and temper kept the score at 12-15, allowing Urvoathil to move to the quarter final. Overall, a magnificent display from Saffona throughout the tournament, and hopefully a valuable lesson for the young fencer.

Meanwhile in the Women's Epee both experienced fencer Eza Nielsen and young counterpart Lilliana Desetas faced trouble in the Round of 32. Desetas was bested by the brilliant Lisander swords(wo)man Elizabeth Lappenberg in a rapid-fire match that ended 12-14 while Nielsen faced a strong challenge from the Chromatikan Estelle Roberts. Both Nielsen and Roberts played long points, making use of stop hits and careful guarding to prevent any quick fleches. However, despite clinical work from Nielsen, Roberts bested her 15-11, and would more importantly go on to win the Gold in the event. Nielsen commented, "As soon as we both met on the strip I knew she wasn't only going for the medal, she was going to win it. Every action was calculated and every tempo was used to catch me off guard. It's a learning experience, for sure. You don't get to play the best everyday. Although, I wish I could've been playing her for the gold instead of
the earlier rounds." While Augusticinia has yet to see a Fencing medal, the first day if anything has made a promising sight for masterful fencing from the Augusticinian athletes.

Next time on, The Augusticinia Olympic Report.

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Moment of the Day:

Mario Talavera in the Men's Gymnastics Qualification, managed a stuck landing on an difficult Dragalescu vault. Due to minor deductions from the form present in mid-air, the score was not enough to put Talavera into the Vault final. Nevertheless, Talavera was quite enthused after the vault, running and giving his coach Aleksi Gornavay an extended hug.

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Augusticinia loses to Diarcesia 7-10 in Men's Water Polo
Van Callo advances to Knockout Tournament in Men's Individual Archery
Taks Nisbet finishes 34th in Men's Road Race, only a minute behind the top 10
Ola Yervo put out of the Men's Road Race by a broken chain in the first 20 minutes.
Augusticinia ties the ABEN Union 30-30 in a tightly contested Women's Handball match
Augusticinia advances to the Quarterfinals in the Men's Coxless 4's
Augusticinia defeat Grearish Union 19-24 in Women's Rugby
Zoln Brothers best Mertagne in Men's Beach Volleyball
Augusticinia faces close loss against Hannasean Federation in Women's Volleyball