Games of the XV Olympiad — roleplaying thread

by **Beaverriver** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:07 pm

Ren walks over to the small table. "Good evening, James," Ren said to the Prime Minister, James Gorring. James was sitting in an ornate dining chair fit for a head of government while Ren took a seat on a matching chair opposite of James. In the middle of the table was a set of brass candles lit with green, white, and blue candles. They each had a plate in front of them with a mix of vegetables and beans coated with curry sauce served over rice. Along with their meal, they had red wine that came from a vineyard in the state of Bunnifon.

"Good evening, Ren. Hope your family's well," James replied.

"Well the matter the fact they are doing well. Thank you for your concern. Hopefully your family is doing just as well." Ren picks up his spoon and digs in to his meal.

"They're doing fine." James took a deep breath. "So, it seems like the Science committee is taking serious considerations of starting up a national space program."

"Sounds like a good idea. Allows us to put up satellites up into orbit and generate some national pride."

"Actually, I don't want us to go after a space program. Creates a lot debris that gets dropped over the planet. Besides, isn't the money better spent on social programs that help the poor and protect our environment."

"Yes but launching satellites will make it easier to spot deforestation, monitor our planet's atmosphere, and monitor for wildfires."

"Still, that money is still better invested into people and conservation efforts so that we can have a sustainable future."

"If you decide to try to can the bill for a national space program, you risk losing the confidence of parliament."

"Well, I bet I can convince the social democrats and socialists that the money is better spent on existing problems people face right now. Besides, we don't have any polling data that suggests that this is a bad move."

"Well, maybe instead we have a snap election after the referendum is complete assuming that Forestly joins us and we can sway public opinion against the idea and kill the idea for a long time."

"The problem with that is that public opinion is not easily controllable and they would likely swing towards the space program because it's a shiny new toy. If we can stifle it now, we can quietly put the issue away as everyone is focus on the Olympics and referendum to notice this."

"I advise against this as it would give your opponents ammunition against you during the next election. Perhaps let it go through committee and just not put it on the agenda during this session. As long as everyone within the coalition agrees and not join a petition of discharge, you can prevent the national space program from being established during your administration."

"That does seem like the best solution. The public wouldn't get angry at me for actively squashing it and let fade into obscurity. Thank you for your advice despite your disagreement with my position."

"Well, I serve at your pleasure."

by **Hannasea** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:25 pm

Selection of articles from Hannasean news media.

Mechanistic Results Regurgitation: Gymnasts delight on return to form

Generic Athlete Profile Bandwagon: Cayden Jenkins

by **Alezian Union** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:28 pm

CONGRATULATIONS TO ILIYAS ZHANDOS FOR WINNING GOLD IN THE WEIGHTLIFTING MEN 67kg!
GO ALEZIA!

CONGRATULATIONS TO NOUD SCHOLTEN FOR WINNING BRONZE IN THE SKATEBOARDING WOMEN'S STREET!
GO ALEZIA!

CONGRATULATIONS TO Emile Saffeais/Robert Harold-Sa'afran/Eric Nakas/Muhammad Amir-Hasan FOR WINNING BRONZE IN THE SWIMMING 4x100 m FREESTYLE RELAY!
GO ALEZIA!

SYNOPSIS
South Alezia has a lot to celebrate today. One, his favorite sport gave the nation a medal, and we got an explanation about how the nation has a profound strength on lifting stuff. Which once again, has something to do with the past. Two, Noud Scholten, the bronze medalist for Women's Skateboard Street is South Alezian.

FUN FACTS
1. South Alezia mentioned about the history of how Alezians got their strength. This was confirmed in yet ANOTHER Alezian artifact that was predicted to come from the same era, but this one both came from a different artifact that has nothing to do with previous one, and no matter how hard the Archaeology Museum of Alezia has tried, this artifact was definitely almost gone entirely with no alphabet, and almost no pictures except for the picture of 8 people lifting a fishing boat. Why do people relate this to weightlifting? Because it was indicated in old Alezian culture that lifting a boat represent strength.

2. South Alezia was singing Ricky Martin - La Copa de la Vida in the first panel which in the lyrics contain: "HERE WE GO, ALE ALE ALE". Coincidentally, ALE is the trigram for the Alezian Union. That song was now used as the "unofficial" song for any Alezian sports team, and that includes the olympics. It was said that you're not an Alezian or you're not atleast an Alezian sportsfan if you don't know the song by heart.

3. The best place to do rockclimbing in the Alezian Union is in North Alezia. (Remember the artifact story from the last comic?) North Alezians even have some sort of a list called: "The Five Peaks of North Alezia", which are: Makolveyensky-PY, Yovodrenny-PY, Kharajnur-ZF, San Taal-AR, and Pertiwi Jaya-BN. South Alezia also have good mountains, but there hasn't been some sort of a list yet. But they're planning on it.

4. Pantabang Islands' last name of Dasic was a combination of DAdon,SAlem,and anciC, the three biggest tribes of the Alezian Union which was also used to describe the Native Alezian Tribe Group. Some people wanted him to add it to Daserincic, adding the Makarina into the group. For now, the tribe is put under Southern Native Alezian Tribe Group. However, the United Tribal Council of United Native Alezians wanted to combine all of it, and to find more tribes (especially in North) to combine into the Council.

5. Mosin-Nagan's skateboard is made of recycled wood. This is pretty much in line with her environmental attempts to promote recycling further in the Alezian Union, which she said is good enough, but it can be improved. There was a store in Trishi, MN that is called "From Old To Board" that specialize in selling skateboards made of recycled wood.

by **Kalosia** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:36 pm

Congratulations!

Anita Gardañu and Tia Martes, you are the pride of Kalosia.

Well done to you both for your bronze medal in Aquatics — Diving (Women's Synchronized 3m Springboard). We hope that this is the first of many medals to come.

Interview with the medalists

Anita and Tia, congratulations on your medal! How does it feel to be a podium finisher?

Anita: Thank you! Well it is certainly an honour to be able to come third. I'm very happy that all those years of training finally paid off!

Tia: And to think this is only our first time at the Olympics! I am thrilled that we are able to go this far, I think it's safe to say this is the peak of our diving careers so far, right Anita? [Anita nods]. But of course, we hope that it will only get better from here. Imagine what we can do in the years to come.

Right, and have you had the chance to speak to your friends and family members yet?

A: I called my mum after getting changed, right before the medal ceremony. She told me that she got the entire family to come over to watch, and because of that I got to say hi to everyone just briefly before the ceremony.

T: My phone is no good! I might get a new one once we fly back home... all I've done so far is text my parents and my fiancé, but I forgot to turn off my notifications so even that was a bit hard to do without the phone overheating.

Well you might wanna remember that for your next event, since you still have the individual rounds, right?

T: Yeah, we'll be going against each other on Tuesday* so we're going to train for that in the meantime.

What are you going to do in the meantime?

A: I think we'll take it easy for the rest of the day today but these next few days we'll continue to train, preparing for our solo competitions. If we have time we'll try to explore Somer as well, perhaps with the other diving team members.

Very well, we wish you the best of luck for your upcoming competition and once again, congratulations on your bronze.

A&T: Thank you!

*In Kalosian canon, certain events scorinated on Monday/Wednesday/Friday ICly take place on Tuesdays and Thursdays, where there is no scorination happening. Therefore the OOC rest days do not ICly exist for us.

by **Acastanha** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:38 pm

In Medal and Olympic Record
Octavio Paluva during the Clean & Jerk Section
Shocked, surprise and amazement. That's what all sports fan of Acastanhada reacted after what just happened in Electrum. Two Acastanhada lifters are competing yesterday in the continuation of XV Summer Olympics. After Ursula Bergas finished 15th in the first day of weightlifting competition, not many fans are interested in following the numbers. But the surprise happened in Men's 61 kg and 67 kg. Octavio Paluva success to give to give the country its first medal in Summer Olympic and it's surprisingly a gold medal. To make it more shocking, Paluva also set a record for his lift in clean & jerk of Men's 61 kg which was previously jointly hold by Honour Harris and Mitrofan Erasmo. He is successfully lifted 174 kg for clean & jerk to break the previous record. He is also break the total lift record which was set by Harris in XIV Olympic with 314 kg total. This result makes Octavio Paluva is inducted to the NS Olympic Record list.

It is a surprising moment. I can't believe that I won a medal and even set a new record. I'm feeling lucky and also blessed with what have happen. I'm also congratulate Deschanel and Yong for their great performance.

- Octavio Paluva
Olympic Gold medalist and record holder

In another event number, Bruno Gajhastar is only finished 8th in Men's 67 kg which makes him out of medal contention. But the attention still come to him. He makes a 154 kg snatch lift which breaking the previous record holds by Faraba Baldeh. This results makes him become the second Acastanhada athletes to be included in the NS Olympics Record list.

Weightlifting is not a popular sports in the country. Even its inclusion in Acastanha Olympic delegation is a mere trial. But this underdog sport have show their greatest performance. A total of 5 athletes are send in this discipline, 3 in men's event and 2 in women. So far only Paluva that made a notorious result with a medal. Previously, Ursula Bergas only finished 15th in her event. While Gajhastar satisfied with 5th placement despite his snatch record. The other 2 lifter that have yet to compete are Pedro Tirvit in 73 kg and Estefania Ordonko in Over 87 kg event. Hopefully, weightlifting can give another surprise for the sport fans all over Acastanha. Nevertheless, this gold medal have give a surge of motivation for the other athletes to give their best. And luckily, Acastanha could add another medal in the next days.

by **The Jovannic** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 10:45 pm

The Jovannic at the Olympics! Day 2: Interview with Jindi Miski

Olympic Results
• Hiroshi Yamanake makes Beam final, Rochelle Tang misses out
• Mixed Multihull pair of Karina Pulsi and Suniver Kalos achieve historic 1st in third race
• Lin Lin Zhi and Bai Tu advance in Table Tennis Singles
• Jovannican Rowers all qualify for Quarterfinals and past time trials

Today in the Olympics in Electrum, our 100m Backstroke swimmer Jindi Miski managed to reach the finals seventh overall with a time of 59.78. We have caught up with her to have a short interview.

Hello, and this is Pormeden McDavies reporting from Electrum! Today we have a very special guest, Jindi Miski and her coach and personal mentor, Koris Sin. She is the first Jovannican Swimmer in this Olympics to reach the finals of a event.

P: Nice to Meet you Jindi!

J: Nice to Meet you.

P: Now Jindi, tell us more about your performance today.

J: Oh of course in the heats I did well, my personal best time of 59.37. I really didn't expect to make it past the semifinals really, I think I was just faster off the mark than most times today.

P: So, what do think of your chances to win a third medal ever for the Jovannic?

J: It's going to be hard, there are a lot of fine swimmers in the field. I will of course do my best, and I hope that I can outdo my personal best and maybe win one.

P: Yes Jindi. Now, what made you take up Swimming in the first place? According to my lists here, your first CCA (Co-Curricular Activity) was Hockey. Why did you switch over to Swimming?

J: Well when I was 13, I think it was when The Jovannic was still an isolationist state and didn't participate in international events. I saw Koris swimming in Chan Swimming Grandios I think. I thought she looked beautiful swimming. I started following Swimming news and eventually took up Backstroke. I'm lucky Koris is my teacher. She has taught me many things and has made me improve as a person.

P: Thank You Jindi for that interview. Back to you Lerrisa!

L: Thank you Pormeden! We will be hoping for the best in her final. We will take a short commercial break before covering the rest of the events. All Hail The Jovannic!

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by **Bollonich** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 11:22 pm

The grind continues as no medals gained on Day 2

Fencing has always been an incredibly obscure sport in Bollonich as very few people take up the sport. With cricket, football and other similar sports hitting peak popularity in Bollonich, Olympic sports such as fencing gets very little interest from the masses unless it’s during the Olympiad. Due to the lack of interest quality of fencing has always remained low in Bollonich with failures to reach the deep end of the competition which was all changed by Janice Long who to everyone’s surprise managed to shock everyone and make the quarterfinals of the Womens Individual Foil event. 

Womens Individual Foil
Round of 128

Autum Prete (BRI) 12–15 Janice Long (BOL)

In the first round Janice was up against Britonesia’s Autumn Prete. Her fellow foilists had already been eliminated before her with her trying desperately to avoid the same fate. She started the match with slight aggression as this helped her earn some crucial points in the first three minute period. The foil being a light weighted forward thrusting sword meant that points could only be scored with the tip of the blade and with contact in the torso area which sets foil apart from the other two types of fencing, épée and sabre. Long took a good lead following the first period as she was leading 7-3. Prete however had all the chance to get back into the game before Long made it to 15. In the second period we saw Prete fight back much more with swift technique which deceived Long a fair bit with the score going into the third period being 11-10 to Long. With the scores almost being tied going into the third period we were set up for a photo finish as it was Janice who scored the points first and moved into the Round of 64 by a 15-12 win.

Round of 64

Ji-Min Jung (CMT) 13–15 Janice Long (BOL)

Next up, Janice Long faced Ji-Min Jung of Chromatika who were known to be a successful fencing nation with Chromatik Dame Estelle winning the Womens Individual Épée. Janice knew that she wouldn’t be able to just steamroll over her Chromatik opponent. True to her technique, Janice stuck to what she knew best and that was trying to score points instead evade. Doing what she knew best provided her with much needed confidence. Despite Jung taking the lead initially, Long struck back figuratively and literally with her blade as she managed to equalise the score at 10-10 going into the final three minute period. Starting the last period it was Jung who picked up the first few points off Long as Jung seemed to be headed for a win. Long however managed to keep her cool and with calm collective she marched to victory causing a huge upset against one of Chromatika’s finest foilists.

Round of 32

Janice Long (BOL) 15–10 Yaryna Gusina (PLK)

As she moved onto the Round of 32, she came face to face against Polkopian, Yaryna Gusina. Expectations were high on Janice Long following her upset of Chromatik Jung as she charged on to the Round of 32. She was expected to make similar work of Gusina who wasn’t among the best in the fencing world preceding the tournament very much similar to Long. Starting off this encounter Long kept her faith is her usual technique and didn’t try anything experimental or new just as she had done against Jung. And keeping to her technique she was being pretty successful as she was picking up points with ease in the first and second periods. Despite giving away some points the number of points she gained were easily more than the ones given away. Going into the third period she had a comfortable lead of 13-10. She only needed two more blows to finish this match and move into the Round of 16 putting her among the sixteen best Womens foilists in the world. She didn’t need to wait too long for these two points as they came in quick succession giving her another victory with which he triumphant smile got even brighter.

Round of 16

Madalyn Kindvandafyd (TSA) 9–12 Janice Long (BOL)

This was it, she had almost reached the end. The end of a tunnel with a gold shining light on the other side. However three more foilists stood in her way and competing for the gold medal which wouldn’t be easy encounters in any sense of the word. This time she was up against The Sarian’s Kindvandafyd a match against whom was always going to be a close one. With the first period it was evident that Madelyn payed much more importance to evading Long’s points scoring attacks than score points herself. Long was struggling to score points, however so was Madelyn as neither of them scored a good chunk of points in the first period. Long however took a small yet significant lead in the second period with the scores being 8-7 after the second period. The match seemed to be in the air as either of the two foilists could record the win however eventually it was Long who secured the win and a quarterfinal showing with some very aggressive play which gained her 4 points while Kindvandafyd recorded only two points against it.

Quarterfinals

Asia Andrade (SRG) 12–11 Janice Long (BOL)

Janice Long had done it, she had made the quarterfinals of the Womens Individual Foil event in the 15th Summer Olympiad as the entire nation was now behind her as she took on Asia Andrade, Sargossa’s finest foilist. A win or loss would give Long a chance to either compete for the bronze or gold given her result in the semifinals however her long run here in itself was very much worthy of praise. Both Andrade and Long herself went into the match confident as that confidence was visible in their eyes with both of them going toe to toe or blade to blade as they racked up points with neither moving more than one points ahead of the other. Things were incredibly tightly contested heading into the final period. It all came down to the last three minutes of play as Long took a small lead going 11-10 up with only 30 seconds to spare. A semifinal showing seemed to be secured until Andrade scored a point and got back into it with 5 seconds to go for either of them to score a final point and win it. However neither could giving us an extra period of 1 minute in which for either to score a point. In the extra period both Long and Andrade went guns blazing at each other trying to earn this elusive point which would send either of them into the semifinals. Despite Long's aggression, it was Andrade who won the game as she managed to keep her cool during the final moments of the match. Her road to the quarterfinal is a great achievement for Bollonischian fencing as many more girls and children will take interest in the sport.

Mens MD2: Bollonich (BOL) 30–23 Kelssek (KSK)
Bollonich hoisted the latest edition of the Handball World Cup along with Equestria where we reached the quarterfinals with our mixed squad before eventually falling out against eventual winners Sarzonia. Now our mens and womens squads take to the arenas in the Warburton University. Being the first seed we were given a bye in our first match as we faced a Kelseek handball side on the second match day. Heath Adair our pivot who’d been on of the superstars in our Handball World Cup campaign again put up a fabulous performance scoring 15 of our 30 goals. Following what was a fabulous first 15 minutes we were in the lead by a margin of 5 goals. The score stood at 18-13 with goals from Akerman, Thorly and Adair being commonplace. The Kelseek defense was failing to cope with the fast pace of the Bollonischian Handball side as we were headed towards our first win in the tournament.
The resumption of the game with the start of the second half had a good stint of play from Kelseek as they pulled closer denying our forwards however we soon overtook them again displaying our experience and dominance in the sport winning the game 30-23 as we were placed first in our group with 1 match played and another encounter against Kriergiersien yet to go.

Mens Singles ~ Round of 64

Nick Fenn (BOL)               12  11  12  11
Brant Boer (TSA)              10   3  10   9

Nick Fenn was Bollonich’s flag bearer for the Olympics as our hopes rested on him and various other paddlers to get us the medals in the elusive sport of table tennis. Facing Brant Boer of The Sarian in the Round of 16, Nick Fenn’s goal would be to make quick work of him which he did as he beat him 4 sets to nil despite having some close sets.

Ted Mathers (BOL)              7  11  11  15  11
Harry Mar (HOP)               11   8   4  13   9

Ted Mathers our other paddler faced Hopal’s Harry Mar in an attempt to reach the Round of 32. Ted however came face to face with a shock as he ended up losing the first set to Mar with an 11-7 margin with things looking slightly worrying for Mathers. However he didn’t need to worry too much as he went on to win the next 4 sets and finished off the game with the set margin being 4-1.

Womens Singles ~ Round of 64

Bev Keys (BOL)                   12  11  11   4  11
Tatyana Jarava (OST)             10   4   3  11   7

In the Womens section of table tennis, Bev Keys took on Tatyana Jarava of Ostankin in the Round of 64 which was game which she seemed to be going smoothly and appeared as if she would secure a victory soon but a loss in the fourth set set her back as she went on to win the match with a set win in the fifth set.

Felicia Fairbairn (BOL)          11  11  11  11
Sophie Forsyth (SYL)              5   3   9   8

Felicia coming up against Sylestonean paddler Sophie Forsyth put up a fabulous performance against her winning the first four sets and taking the match with a margin of 4-0. This win lofted her into the Round of 32 with all of our singles players making the Round of 32 and none getting eliminated.

by **Srednjaci** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 11:23 pm

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WHO WE ARE ON THIS OLYMPICS?

By
IVAN JURLINA

The Olympics are in gaining momentum. We are also won the first medal in swimming. We may have expected this from someone else but our young swimmer Filipa surprised us all positively.
Filipa was second at our national championship but also second at the national water sports games in Plava Laguna this year.
Filipa brilliantly timed her form for the Olympics. She did it in a golden way.
But who are the rest of our stars?
The stars of world renown are definitely tennis players, football players, basketball players, but of course they come from handball as well.
In the individual competition, athletics has the most top representatives.
But we will start from swimming.

Nadan Glembay - born in Melarit, is 22 years old. Extremely talented and talented swimmer. He swims the 800 M freestyle. Nadan is the champion of our country and he set a new national record at the national games in Plava Laguna this year.
Best personal time and national record is 7:41:80.

Rita Xu Wei - DIVING- Rita is young star. She is still in high school. Rita is Seventeen-year-old girl who won national championship and national games on water sports. Rita became youngest national champion in diving ever. Her's technique is amazing. Remember this name, Rita Xu Wei.

Adalija Julić - SWIMMING - Adalija is biggest name of our national swimming team. She is national record holder on 50 m Freestyle and 200 M Freestyle. Adalija is a champion in three discipline in Srednjaci. She won the titles on 50 m, 100m and 200m Freestyle. Adalija is born in Katanija and she is 24 years old. This is hers best year in career.

Vanta Ana Margetić-SWIMMING - Vanta is biggest rival to Adalija Julić. Vanta is only swimmer who can beat Amalija. On water games in Plava Laguna, Vanta beat Amalija in 100 m Freestyle. That was incredible run. Those two swimmers are world for them selfs in national competition.
But on national championship, Vanta was second placed in all three discipline, behind Amalija. She is 22 years old, she will have time to beat Amalija's recordes. Vanta is born in coast city of Taru.

Guo Wang - ARCHERY- Guo is amazing girl. Three time national champion in women's and mix team competition. She is really focused athlete. But, as she said, she have problems in the morning. If she doesn’t have good shitt in morning, all day will be crapy for her.

MEN'S FOOTBALL - when we talk about men's football then we can talk mostly about IBA Champions league. Becouse there is no international competition only for men's. But, our mix team was really good on international events. On IBA Champions league, Dinamo Katanija was in top eight clubs and Čelik Raduč was in top 32 clubs.
On last IAC our national team was in top of 16.
Best players are Isidor Matković, Takanobu Tavano, Li Peng, Ante Marinković, Vjekoslav Talić, Ante Tomljanović.

FOOTBALL WOMEN’S - women’s football in Srednjaci is really popular sport. Our two clubs were played qualifikations for IBA Champions league but sadly they didn’t manage to be inside of top 32 teams.
But in other hand, women’s national team was third on Women’s World Cup, Jenna Raven's Cup.
That bronze medal is biggest success of Srednjaci an football on all competitions.
Best players are Davida Zimmer, two years in row she won title for the best women football player, Petra Marinković and Danijela Majić.

This is end od part one.
In next part, we will talk about athletics, another swimming rivality, basketball and Handball.
Thank you and stay with our program.

by **Nuevas Hesperides** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 11:23 pm

Nil Carrasco disappointed with bronze in street skateboarding, but shows strength of revolutionary project nonetheless

All of us at Espártaco jumped to our feet in celebration as Nil Carrasco, a product of the Mercurio slums in our industrial city of La Tira, took the first medal of these Olympic Games for Nuevas Hespérides! Obviously, residents of La Tira (and residents of Mercurio especially) do not have many opportunities to compete on the international stage. But thanks to the addition of skateboarding to the Olympic platform, youngsters and rebels across our nation finally had something to compete for on the international stage.

Nil is the perfect example of an athlete who benefited from the San Nicolás administration's athletic setup. Nil grew up on the island, in the hills of Mercurio. He was the son of an alcoholic mother and an absent father (yes, we recognize the cliché), but he found skateboarding as his outlet on the slopes of La Tira, finding his way down the rails on the boardwalk and disturbing the capitalist system which requires total conformity. Indeed, skateboarding as a sport is an indictment of the capitalist system, even if an institution as bourgeois as the Olympics has coopted it for its own purpose.

But we digress from Nil's remarkable story. When América San Nicolás became senator for Fuerteventura island, she directed national funding to better sports facilities on the island. So Nil now had access to Olympic-class facilities. When San Nicolás became president and announced her plan to prepare for a delegation to the Olympics, Nil's friends encouraged him to pursue his dream of skateboarding. At the skateboarding contest in Los Ángeles held to pick the country's skateboarders who would fly to , hundreds flocked to the scene, and Nil won that competition to represent the nation at the Somer Urban Park.

And, in the end, Nil won the bronze medal. He is the third best skateboarder in the entire world. Our correspondent caught up with Nil after he won the bronze medal for an exclusive conversation. In our interview, Nil expressed his disappointment about winning the bronze instead of the gold. Nonetheless, even despite Comrade Nil's humility about his bronze medal, won by the thinnest of margins, La Tira can still be proud about its native son.

Nil, first of all, congratulations on the bronze medal in the men's street event.
Thank you. You know, everybody from Nuevas Hespérides has complimented me on my bronze medal. And after the nerve-racking wait for my score in the last round, I felt very relieved to be on the podium at all. But I also feel like I could have done much better. If I had gone for a more difficult trick on the last run, I would have won the gold medal, but instead, I played it safe. So I feel like I let the revolutionary project down in that regards by getting the bronze and not getting the gold, especially after getting first in the qualifying round.

How exactly do you feel that you let the revolutionary project down? Your fifth trick was wonderful to watch, and you ensured a place on the podium anyway!
Well, President San Nicolás told us before we boarded the flights that we should all come back feeling as if we had done our best. We didn't need to win medals, and I know that some of the oppositional conservative media have said that our revolutionary project will fail if we do not win enough medals, but we did need to do our best to show the world that a country like Nuevas Hespérides, which really isn't on the international sporting map, could compete with the best of the world. I took that advice to heart, and I failed. On that last trick, the nerves got to me, and I performed less than my prime, I would say.

Nonetheless, wouldn't you say that your triumph has shown that a poor, Black man from the streets can have success on an international scale?
I can only hope that my success inspires more people in Nuevas Hespérides to go into skateboarding. I essentially used skateboarding to let off some steam when my family life wasn't so great, and I'm glad that I was able to make it into the finals of the Olympics at all. I really want to use my platform to let people know that yes, they can succeed in life by skateboarding, and they don't have to be young or to be counterculture or to be a rebel to succeed in doing that.

Going into more depth into your performance, how did you feel after you stormed through qualifying with a 0.7 point lead over the next highest competitor?
I honestly felt on top of the world. I went all-in to my runs at the beginning, and they definitely paid off. I usually really enjoy doing kickflips and double kickflips and the like, and during the qualifying, I tried to string together a couple of kickflips. And it turned out beautifully, so I was really pumped heading into the best trick portion of the qualifying. I don't like the best trick portion as much because it's not like real life, you know? I'm never trying to do one trick at a time, I'm always trying to skate through the city and get good momentum out of it. But I only missed one trick in the qualifying, and I scored a 9.7 out of ten. I was on fire! I did some of the best Hurricane Grinds in my life, and some of the best kickflips on that qualifying course.

And how did you feel going into the fifth best trick contest in the final? What was your thought process like, knowing that a medal was on the line?
Well, as I said before, in retrospect I was way too conservative heading into that last trick. I saw Jimbo Peters hit a backside bluntside for a 9.4 two skaters before me, and I was doing the math in my head. I needed a 9.1 on the last trick to win the gold medal, and I knew that was eminently achievable. I had gotten then 9.7 in qualifying the day before, right? And I was going down the stairs, I was getting prepared to do a Nollie Backwards 360 down the stairs. I thought to myself, "What if I get a zero? If I get a zero, I'll be far off the podium." I didn't want to take the risk, so I only did a Nollie Backwards 180 instead. And I think the points I lost doing that took me from the gold to the bronze. But honestly, it was a bit of a relief to earn the bronze anyway. I did just enough to get on the podium, since I had a better run score than the two competitors below me.

Thank you so much, Nil, for sharing your feelings with us, and ¡viva la revolución!
¡Viva la revolución!

¡Viva la revolución!
Espártaco — La Tira, Nuevas Hespérides

OOC note: I know nothing about skateboarding IRL, so let me know if any of the tricks I have described are implausible in this situation...

by **Amuaplye** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 11:35 pm

SPORTS

OLYMPIC NEWS: AMUAPLYE WINS SILVER IN JUDO

Judoka Michael Nelson at the 13th Olympiad in the Free Republics, 2019

BY: JUSTIN ROBERTS, SPORTS CORRESPONDENT IN PORT GRENVILLE

Amuaplye's star athlete has won again!

After a gold medal against Ehjy Teslarestre of Vekaiyu and bronze against the Kriegiersien judo team at the XIII Olympiad, Michael Nelson was back again, eager to take back his crown. After defeating the West Phoenician, Krytenian, Liventian, and Valnorian athletes ten to nothing, only one thing stood in the way to the gold: Dogman from Kriegiersien.

And was it a good fight! Both men grappled for what seemed like hours, but something had to give, and unfortunately, in this case, it was Nelson. A little bruised and battered, Nelson left the arena with a shiny silver medal, keeping his record as the most decorated Amuaplyean Olympian ever.

by **Tumbra** » Fri Aug 13, 2021 11:42 pm

SPORT: XV SUMMER OLYMPICS — DAY TWO RECAP
Near Misses Aplenty As Team Tumbra Continue Medal Pursuits

SOMER — With seventeen medal events on Day Two of the XV Summer Olympics, Tumbra's exploits continued — and while there were no medals for the Tumbran team on Day Two, there were still several performances that Tumbrans could be proud of — particularly in shooting, fencing, and for the first time, aquatics. Unexpected wins in team sports, too, continue to set up promising hopes for medals — and more Tumbran participation — in future Games.

Potter and Barrett Make Debut, Finish Top 8 in 3m Springboard

Diving has long been looked at as more of a highbrow sport in Tumbra — as compared to other water-based sports like rowing, swimming or water polo. Of course, none of these compare to the ultimate highbrow water sport in Tumbra — sailing, long seen as the province of the upper classes — but the lack of facilities for high-level diving at your average community swimming pool does make it a bit difficult to get into the sport in the first place.

Phoebe Potter and Mary-Ann Barrett, third-year students at the University of Kingsbury, initially fell into that perception, too — until they joined the university's aquatics club. Kingsbury's status as the center of aquatics excellence in Tumbra is often disputed, but rarely proven — for its award-winning aquatics sports programme has created many of the Olympians competing at these fifteenth games.

"Initially, I didn't think that diving — much less synchronised diving — could be something I could take part in. But then in tryouts for the diving team — where there was very little takeup — I decided to go and give it a shot. It was during the tryouts that I met Mary-Ann, too," says Phoebe.

The two struck up a friendship, and decided to enter events as a synchronised team. Outside of the pool, despite taking extremely different university courses — Potter takes accounting, and Barrett is a sociology student — they are room-mates, and essentially live life on campus together.

And that friendship and status showed, after the duo finished eighth in the 3m springboard — garnering an extremely respectable score of 332.50. The two, by virtue of finishing in the top eight, will earn Olympic diplomas — which will serve as a memento of both their exploits at these games and a memory of their time in the pool. When asked about their future plans, however, both were coy — and both were reluctant to confirm whether they would continue their diving pursuits after leaving university. It is perhaps an endemic problem that faces Tumbran athletes in sports that are not so popular to the general population...

Read more...

Jenkins in "red-hot" patch of form as he qualifies for second final; Veltman misses out, 4x100 freestyle relay, and more

SOMER — Tumbra's four-man team of Timothy Veltman, Bill Patterson, Rupert Cassell and Michael Jenkins finished fifth in the four-by-hundred free style relay, marking a perhaps disappointing finish to the team that was looked upon as a medal hope going to the Olympics. The team began promisingly — they ranked overall second in the heats, and were looking strong to finish with at least a medal in the finals.

But a bad start by Veltman — who would later take most of the blame for the team's fifth-placed finish — would mean that the Tumbran team finished the first leg in last, with Bill Patterson making up most of the ground. In the end, the team finished fifth — but Veltman in particular looked particularly downcast after the team's finish.

"It's not been a good Olympics so far for me, and I'm sorry for having let Tumbra down when it was most important," said the morose swimmer on TBC One, after the end of the competition. "I didn't react quickly enough to the starting bell, and, well, it cost us."

There was, however, some consolation for the aquatics team as both Jennifer Freeman and Erica Wilkins proceeded to the women's 100m breaststroke final — and Michael Jenkins, 21, another student of the University of Kingsbury, will compete in the final of the men's 200m freestyle.

Despite the results looking up, it's been a disappointing Olympics so far for the Tumbran Aquatics Federation, who have long been looked upon as medal hopefuls for the Olympics games...

Read more...

Robinson Secures Debut Win As Alan Ross Continues Run Of Form In Group Stages; Dunn, Richmond, However, Eliminated

SOMER — The men's singles in badminton have turned out to be an early hope as Craig Robinson and Alan Ross began and continued their Olympic campaigns — with both winning their matches in the men's singles competition. Ross' second win of the competition essentially guarantees him progression to the second round of the competition — and from then on, he will be looking to move forwards in the hotly-contested second round.

The women's singles, however, stood at a stark contrast to Ross and Robinson's performances, with both Sophie Dunn and Kimberly Richmond losing their second match to essentially confirm their elimination from the tournament.

"It's tough to come back from this, I think, but we really put in our best, and I'm proud to have represented my country on the world stage, even if we might not be progressing any further," said Dunn. "We'll be back, of course, and looking for more in the future."

Badminton, as a relatively cheap sport in Tumbra, has served as an introductory sport for children throughout the sports-crazy nation; though the status of the sport has raised many questions over how competitive it can be. The Ministry of Education's Direct Admissions Scheme (DAS), which sees talented young sportspeople be able to be picked up by secondary schools with corresponding programmes, has come under fire. Initially touted as a scheme that would reduce the level of competition over academics and allowing children to enter schools on other metrics, some have mentioned that it drives up the stress on children, as they are not only urged to excel both in academics, but in sports as well, to enter elite schools...

Read more...

Heroic Run by Cairns to Round of Sixteen of Men's épée Roundly Celebrated — Could This Spark A New Age of Fencing?

In Ridgewell, where fencer Jim Cairns was born and raised, the local pub has his match on. It's not surprising that the pub's showing his games — after all, Bernie Cairns, the owner of the pub, is Jim's father.

"I'm proud of my son for making it to the Olympics, as anyone would be. I switch on the telly at night, and see him in the Olympics line up — then me and my wife call him to catch up with him. And we're so, so happy he managed to make it to the Round of Sixteen," says Bernie. "He's been interested in swordfighting since he was young — and we really encouraged him to take up fencing, because it's somewhat similar. It's expensive, of course, but he loves the sport — and he's become really good at it."

Ridgewell — a large, working-class city on the northern shore of Tumbra, is not home to many famous athletes. Those that do break out of the working-class cycle often become footballers — after all, football only requires a ball at the very least. Fencing, however, requires much more equipment — something that has long since been identified as a high barrier to entry.

"It's not a path many go down," says Jim himself. "Really, I only kept at it because I really loved it, and, well, I got good at it. If I hadn't broken through when I did there's a good chance I'd have thrown down my rapier and gone into something else. After all, I love sports as much as the next person, but I still need to make a living after all."

Cairns, however, surprised many by progressing as far as he did, before losing to eventual bronze medalist Jim Maher of Eura...

Read more...

With several brilliant performances on Day Two of the Olympics, host country Electrum leaps to the top of the medal table, with the Teremaran Unified Team not far behind them. Quebec & Shingoryeo picked up a third bronze medal in weightlifting to continue riding high on the medal table, while Tumbra, after a medal-less second day, falls to seventh in the medal table.

View the full medal table here.

by **Aboveland** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 12:00 am

Second Somer Surprise: Sensational Synchronized Springboard Snatches Silver!

Superb showing stuns spectators as the fresh pairing of Nina Nord and Hilja Revsen score Team Abovian Union's second Summer Olympics medal—and the nation's first silver—with a spectacular last-minute display of diving divinity. The pair kicked off a day to remember for the Nordic delegation, with strong showings in the Natatorium supporting a nail-biting climb through the epee bracket for Anders Storstrand and a continued stream of remarkable rowing results.

SOMER | SOMER OLYMPIC NATATORIUM - Nina Nord and Hilja Revsen made Olympic history for Team Abovian Union early on day two of the 15th Summer Olympics, the southern diving duo from Nukkuvansi setting the Somer Olympic Natatorium alight with a showstopping performance in the closing stages of the synchronized 3m springboard event. The athletes, aged 24 and 26, had been drafted by Team Abovian Union—as seemed to be proving a trend among the successful bunch of Abovian athletes—as clear afterthoughts next to their hotly-hyped 10m platform teammates, twins Sanna and Kaidi Storstrand.

Fortunately, the quiet and unassuming pair stunned their competitors from the get-go. Having relocated to Iskfjellrevenbyen to join the Storstrands and the men's team in training, it quickly became apparent that the intensive Olympic prep had paid off. A clean back dive positioned the pair in the top ten after the first round, but a sloppy reverse 1 1/2 somersault with a half twist for the second round cost the pair valuable points from the synchronization judges. In the midst of the top 10 having slipped from their hands, Nord and Revsen seemed to suddenly evolve several tiers over their established levels. Jumping high into a two and a half somersault + twist jump for their third go, the Abovians managed to nail their synchronization, racking up eights and nines across the table and, save for another sloppy entry on their fourth attempt, maintained that momentum up to their final jump.

Their slow start had seen them approach the last round lying fifth in the overall standings, needing to score an exceptional dive to secure a medal position. Opting for a double inward pike somersault for their closing jump, Nord and Revsen again shone in another brilliant flash of world-class excellence, stiffly holding their pike positions and entering the water flawlessly. As the pair climbed out of the pool and the announcer relayed their scores, ranging from a couple of eights to a stack of nine-and-a-halves, their fate had been sealed. A jump up the standings from fifth to second, trailing the divers—who'd just finished their own final round—from Nuevas Hesperides by a mere two points, had them poised for Olympic glory. Neither Sredjenaci's nor Kalosia's pairing could muster up a dive clean enough to topple the Abovians, and thus, history was made. When the standings were confirmed, the pair burst into a bout of happy tears, embracing each other and then running to the head of the Abovian Olympic Diving team, Yulia Pavarenko, in ecstasy.

"I don't want to rip a page out of Aada's [Talevi, swimming bronze medallist] script but, holy hell, this is a dream come true!" Nord sobbed to Ælunder Nyttispalvelu. She pulled Hilja closer as she continued retelling her story, the latter more obviously shy but equally as elated. "We've been diving together for so long, and we've always had this massive, colossally profound admiration for divers like Sanna and Kaidi [Storstrand, women's 10m platform], and Tyko and Leo [Tokkela and Knutsen, respectively; men's 3m springboard] too, and we—we spoke about this a few times—we really were ready to settle for the supporting act." She took one moment to regain her breath and fight a lump in her throat. "But we did it... and I'm just... we're... we feel like we're dreaming, and we just hope this feeling never goes away. If I could, I would keep it in a jar."

A silver medal would only prove the beginning of a stellar day for Abovian athletes across the games. Strong swimming performances continued on from yesterday's medley bronze: Isabella Såvø impressed with fourth in her preliminary heat of women's 100m backstroke, and went on to trump her opponents in the semifinals to finish second overall before the finals; Piia Airikkala did much of the same in 100m breaststroke, landing third overall, and with both women's performances boding very well for the finals scheduled for tomorrow, day three.

Across the Terranean Coast, up north in the city of Agri, good fortune bestowed the men's epee fencers this time around. Admittedly spurred on by the "unfortunate" exclusion of the women's epee fencers from the individual event, Yvan Fordring, Anders Storstrand and Toomas Airikkala progressed far beyond their own expectations—to the delight of the Abovian fans, and their newfound Agrian hooliganism partners-in-crime—to, effectively, mount the offensive against the Quebecois fencers they'd promised in the later stages of the wait for the Games. Airikkala had managed to claim a Quebecois before succumbing to Kriegiersien—and eventual silver medallist—Mijou RInk in the round of 16, the single defeated athlete from the fencing great enough to allow him and his teammates, "and the media that hyped us up so much," as they put it, to rest easy. Fordring himself was eliminated at the behest of eventual gold winner Quebecois Noel Grumier in the quarterfinals, yet Storstrand managed to pull through as far as semis before he too fell before Rink. The self-declared "demoralizing" defeat to the fencer that had eliminated his teammate played against him in his bronze medal encounter, and with a decisive 15-7 loss Storstrand was confined, no less, to the Olympic diploma award section.

Despite the admission of the effect of Fordring's elimination on him, Storstrand remained in high spirits following his fourth place.

"I'm very lucky to have made it this far," he assured, "and maybe even luckier to have started the event!" He quickly swats away suspicions of bad blood between him and the organizing NOC following the entry list mishap of the women's epee fencers. "That's very much behind us now; if anything, it really spurred us on to try to make a mark ourselves at least. I feel immensely privileged to have gone face to face—and well, to have lost as well—against eventual medallists, and I'm sure my teammates can say the same. The competition isn't over yet, but I think we can say we've accomplished our goal. We wanted Aboveland on the fencing map: I think we're with one step in the door now."

To round off the list of superb individual, duo, trio and quad performances, all Abovian athletes to have competed in the rowing events of the second day have advanced to the next stage of their competitions. Most notably, Aurora Ojala, of Kylmäjärvi: the western Abovian all but blitzed her rivals in the time trial event of the women's single sculls. The broad-shouldered athlete, complete with her trademark 'wreath' style blonde braids, topped the timesheets of the qualifying round, with nearly a second in hand over second place and nearly a minute safe in the qualifying zone. Also among the qualifiers of the rowing squad, Velli-Pekka Salo, who finished 15th in the men's single sculls time trial qualifying event. Additionally, and save for the premature elimination of Nykipish tennis player Impi Nyman, early results in the women's tennis event show encouraging signs of resilience against international competitors. All this put together with encouraging wins in Rugby Sevens, Volleyball, and Baketball mean that such outcomes as the women's bloodbath of a road cycling event and a resounding 4-0 loss to the Vilitan Union in field hockey do little to dent the morale of Team Abovian Union.

The binational delegation of Team Abovian Union thus heads into day three of the 15th Summer Olympics with much to sing praises about, but with a healthy dose of reverent fear over the events to come.

Day three is slated to be the most packed and important day of competition yet, as Pentti Pärvänder and Felix Halvorsen debut in synchronized 10m platform diving, both finalist swimmers of day two prepare for their decisive races, Petra Lindvik of K-1 slalom fame enters her medal final, the women's handball team makes their highly-anticipated debut, and the men's mountain biking cross-country event gets underway.

by **Scornerse** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 12:00 am

Scornerse at the XV Olympiad

Scornerse's Martial Women: Episode 3

On Day 2 of the 15th Olympics, Scornerse's martial women secure their first medal, a bronze, though perhaps more notable for the rest of the Olympics, if their interviews are anything to go by, they've also secured a rival.

Today, we begin with fencing, and the experiences of Sconersean flagbearer, Estella Aguilar, but unlike her previous day, it did not begin with participation in an archery tournament, but instead with fencing, this time, with a foil. Betwee, the Foil, Épée and Sabre, the general consensus of Fencing analysts, is that of the three, Estella had the advantage over Carissa. With that it mind, there was hope that Estella would be able to improve upon Carissa's fourth place Épée finish, even if Carissa did worse than she had done before. This, however, was not to be.

While Estella secured a dominant win over Amachy Buchi of Banija in the Round of 128, perhaps partially avenging the crushing loss of Lluvia Sanchez to Nomabhongo Dikana in Judo the day before. Yet it was perhaps not quite as dominant as it could have otherwise been. Estella let in more hits than she needed to and appeared to be more concerned with winning with minimal effort rather than winning well. As for Carissa, her win was an even more meager 14–10 win over Mary Kraft of Krytenia, who was admittedly a better fencer than Estella's competition. With a smaller area to hit with a foil than allowed for Épée, Carissa had a smaller area to hurt, her signature stabs at her opponents hands and their neck not being an option, leading her to depend for more on technical skill, something she could do, as a consequence of being a good enough fencer to target sensitive areas almost at will, but she always benefited from being able to take the fight out of her opponents physically as well as mentally as bouts persisted.

This time, it was in Round of 64, in which things would fall apart for Estella. Yet again, Estella would be forced to go toe to toe with a Kriegiersien fencer, but Octavia Ricepudding was someone that skill wise Estella should have been able to easily outmatch. Instead, the bout was close all the way through, as though Estella expected to be able to pull away at the last moment to win. But unforrtuantely, middling in skill as Octavia she used an unpredictable stragedy that was heavily reliant on feints and whether or not it was ultimately luck, she managed to beat Estella with 15 to her 14.

Octavia, happy to to have beaten the Scornersean for her country, gave Estella a satisfied smirk after the bout, that visibly angered her. After the bout. We talker to her after the bout:

Estella Aguilar

"Ugh, for me beating someone from Kriegiersien would be a satisfaction only surpassed by a medal. I'm starting to get a little sick of them. Of course I'm thinking archery next, since I have a knockout round for it tomorrow, and then sabre after that, but I can't wait to see if I'll get into a boxing ring or on judo or taekwondo mat with one of them, for if I do, I'll be making it an as unpleasant experience for them as I can."

Carissa's struggles were in some ways more predictable, but still disappointing. The perceived skill gap between her and her opponent, Novena Cruz of Tikariot, was even larger than in Estella's bout. Yet, Carissa struggled as she racked up penalties, eventually leading to her scoring to slow to a crawland for the time to run out with her losing by 1, 10 - 9.

Carissa Aguilar

"Looks like Novena learned from Kriegiersien to cry to the referee. I'll be honest, if I was a little more careful, I wouldn't have been held back by those penalties. Oh well, tomorrow will be Sabre fencing, I was always worst with the foil."

Maddox Perez entered the Day 2, 52 kg Judo competition with a great deal of energy, ready to, avenge her fellow Judoka Lluvia Sanchez
s heartbreaking first round loss. While she didn't get her hands on someone from Banija, she more than got her hands on the opponents she did face. While the Ippon she had wanted eluded her, Maddox's single most impressive Round of 16 bout was against one Jenny Knutsen of Valanora, a fair match in skill, if their pat performances said anything. She won by a solid throw worth a Waza-ari after extensive and rough grappling. However, it after the quarter finals that the possibility that the finals could be between the Scornersean Maddox Perez and the Kriegiersien Weasel Lady became very clear, however that possibility was only just barely prevented by both of their losses in the semi-finals. Some what ironically, the end result would be both judoka winning their respective bronze medal points.

Maddox Perez

"Well I'm happy that I won a medal, it's just unfortunate had things gone a little differently I'd have had the opportunity to choke a gold out of someone from Kriegiersien, But yeah, I'm loving being one of our first medalists. However, I wish better for the athletes that follow me, get that Gold, Banu!"

Banu Abel, of course, being Scornerse's 57 kg Women's Judo participant, tall for her weight, she is expected to benefit from being able to limit her opponent's ability to counter attack, she spoke with us a little about that here:

Banu Abel

"I've always been used to facing, shorter, stockier women in bouts, but I find the footwork learned from Sconersean Mixed Martial Arts makes me rather effective at remaining on my feet and knowing how to use positioning to make be difficult to throw. Also, OF course, I have my own tricks for getting my opponents."

In the first competition of the day, Reina Cervantes managed to secure Scornerse's first medal win, a bronze in Women's 100 m butterfly. While it was somewhat unfortunate that she didn't win gold or sliver, given the 2nd and first place performances she had in qualifying rounds, it was a bronze is still a massive success, even though it was shared in a tie, given the speed of her competitors, She also had a few words to say.

Reina Cervantes

"I'm so happy to win a medal, that I have absolutely no time to feel bad that I might have done better, all I can say at this point, is a bronze is a great place to build from."

The somewhat infamous in international tournaments Scornerse Woman's team had their first match and first win, against the Bollonichian team. Not absolutely in the clear, match against Darkmania will be important to their qualifying position. As usual, the team was unafraid to get rough and tumble underwater, with slow motion video clips revealing that more than a few actions between splashes resembled punches, elbows, with many swim-bys resembling deliberate kicks, the team's imposing 6 foot 2 inches captain, Claudia Aragón, a frequent feature in such clips spoke, with the signature dismissive sarcasm that her fans love and her detractors loathe:

Claudia Aragón

"I don't care at all if people think we play too rough. Clearly the referees disagree. I've even seen it claimed that this team deliberately targets top scorers with punches and kicks to take them off their game. I mean, clearly the referees would stop us if they caught us doing that."

In badminton, Amaris Gill continues her winning streak, this time beating the skilled Petra Bach. If she can keep it up, she'll be an an excellent position to bring Scornerse a lot further in the sport than had been expected, she had this to say:

Amaris Gill

"I've been seen as a consistent underdog, which in a way is nice, less expectations and therefore less pressure, but I suppose the more you win, the less of an underdog you are and the great the pressure gets. I must make sure that when I get to that point, that I'll still be able to manage."

by **Sylestone** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 12:41 am

The Sylestonean > Sport > Olympics > 15th Summer Olympics

DAY TWO — WHAT SYLESTONE DID:
FARRELL KICKS BUTT IN HEAT, LETS IT SLIDE IN SEMIFINAL

Today’s Events @ Somer Olympic Natatorium, Somer:

Men’s 200 m Freestyle (Heats and Semifinals)
Men's 100 m Backstroke (Heats and Semifinals)
Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay (MEDAL)
Women's 400 m Freestyle (MEDAL)
Women's 100 m Backstroke (Heats and Semifinals)
Women's 100 m Breaststroke (Heats and Semifinals)

Men’s 200 m Freestyle

SOMER, ELECTRUM — Fergus Farrell’s abrupt climb in form continued from his olympic record in the 400 metre freestyle just yesterday to the 200 metre today, with a stunning swim in the heats that netted the Sylestonean first place overall with a time of 1:45.87, a full tenth of a second ahead of his nearest competitor, Hector Percy from Quebec and Shingoryeo. Flynn Kellerman was the other Sylestonean participant in the men’s 200 metre freestyle, but he could not qualify for the semifinals, finishing in 27th place out of 123 participants, despite only being a fifth of a second slower than Bala Dabo of Banija and Cruz Kruger of Darmen, of whom participated in a swim-off to decide the final semifinal spot.

Farrell might have won the heats, but in similarity to many other swimming events in these Olympics, the victor could not make it past the semifinal. In the second semifinal, he finished seventh with a time of 1:46.24, a good 40 milliseconds slower than his performance in the heat. If he could copy that performance, Farrell would have qualified as the second-best semifinalist and be a certain favourite for the final. But alas, he could not, finishing in 11th place out of 16 participants, where only the top eight could qualify. And so it was, with Farrell’s chances of a second surprise medal thrown out the window.

Men’s 100 m Backstroke

In the men’s 100 metre backstroke, Sylestone’s hopes have been squashed after a brief moment of joy when underdog Max Horsham qualified for the semifinals, in tenth place overall out of 108 competitors and with a time of 53 seconds and 76 milliseconds. While he was still a good third of a second off first place and only a tenth off those that missed out on the semifinal, it was still a dominant display as the Sylestonean finished second in his heat, only behind Yamano Viri of Vekaiyu, who finished in second place overall in the heat. Now all Horsham needed to do was make it through to the top eight and he would get that highly sought after olympic diploma.

Easier said than done. Horsham’s underdog status eventuated to come back to bite him and despite giving himself a chance by finishing fourth in his heat, it was not enough as the second semifinal, stacked with true medal prospects, took out seven of the eight qualifying spots in an intriguing race, meaning Horsham would be confined to Sylestone’s second 11th place in two semifinals, albeit this one was tied with Electrum’s Jake Zhang.

Men's 4 × 100 m Freestyle Relay

If there is one event in these Olympic Games Sylestone as a nation would like to forget about, this is it. After some strong performances in freestyle races heading into the event, Sylestone’s athletes were predicted to make it a fair way into the event and even had an outside chance of getting a medal out of it.

And they were. After two laps, Sylestone’s team of four seemed prime for a medal position… until it all fell apart. Steve Thomas, the second swimmer, had just finished his 100 metres when Jamie Stockbroker achieved lift off a millisecond early, disqualifying the team and any hopes the island nation had for a medal in the event.

Women's 400 m Freestyle

After the men’s 400 metre freestyle earned Sylestone their first-ever gold medal and an olympic record to go with it, Emily Scurry carried the weight of expectation on her shoulders from upwards of 30 million people. But it went wrong from the beginning, with a poor start giving her opponents a second’s headstart, which ultimately cost the Sylestonean. She finished in a highly-respectable 28th position out of 110 swimmers, a good three seconds out from a spot in the finals. It was an acceptable finish, but really, after what Fergus Farrell had pulled off, expectations were higher.

Women's 100 m Backstroke

Kayla Donald, Sylestone’s only participant in the women’s 100 metre backstroke, could not continue Sylestone’s athlete’s habits of punching above their weight, finishing around the middle of the pack with a time of 1:01.09 and 58th position out of 109. Not as bad as what could have happened, but still. It’s far from desirable.

Women's 100 m Breaststroke

The final swimming event of the day, neither Elanor Raleigh nor Alannah Fairbairn were able to set the Somer Olympic Natatorium alight, with the former finishing 31st and the latter 61st overall, out of 108. Both had the potential to really push the sixteen knockout spots, but unfortunately, neither could really get their rhythm going as they fell to third and fifth place in their respective heats. But both still had various events to come, and could still certainly come home with at least one medal.

Men’s Matchday One:
Sylestone - Hebitaka @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton

Sylestone Starting V: Dyson (PG) - Ferrier (SG) - Munz (C) - Dahlenburg (SF) - Owen (PF)

Hebitaka Starting V: Unknown

FAIRLEIGH-WARBURTON, ELECTRUM — Sylestone’s men’s basketball team have succeeded in warding off a determined Hebitaka, getting off to a bright start in their opening fixture with an 87-73 victory. The first quarter was intense, with Sylestone only just taking it out, with 25 points to 23, but as the game wore on, they slowly took a lead, with Dominic Munz proving to be a right old nuisance, playing the entire game and barely tiring. He was an integral part of the game and was by far the best on the court and without him, Hebitaka almost certainly would have won.

With a quarter to go, Sylestone were 69-55 up, with Hebitaka needing a miracle to come back from this. And despite scoring 11 of the first 16 points of the quarter, they could not do it as Sylestone held that 14-point lead right to the end of the game, ensuring their campaign got off to the best possible start. But their hardest task of the group stage was up in just a couple of days time, with Pot 1 side Hispinas appearing ominous before the rest of the group following their 88-70 victory over Eura.

Schedule:

MD1: Sylestone 88-70 Hebitaka @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton
MD2: Hispinas - Sylestone @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton
MD3: Sylestone - Eura @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton

Women’s Road Race @ Nassau Bay to Fairleigh-Warburton

FAIRLEIGH-WARBURTON, ELECTRUM — just a day following Adam Coningham’s fall next a big statue of a butt near Geldectrum, Amelie Fink, Sylestone’s lone rider in the women’s road race, ensured she did not do the same as she flew across the finish line in equal 42nd place, just 17 seconds behind Lucy Wolff of Krytenia in first. For a significant section of the race, the underdog Sylestonean was right up there with the top few, but as time went on, she slowly began to fall further back as she lost her stamina. Yet, out of the 170 athletes who completed the race, 42nd was still an immense achievement from the Sylestonean, much better than anyone had expected from her.

Men’s Matchday Two:
Sylestone - Saltstead @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton

Sylestone Starting VII: Ackman; Strange - Windsor - Bon; Radcliffe - Barnsley - Fosbrook (c)

Saltstead Starting VII: Hartman; Slender - E Faustas - J Faustas; Marianus - Åubreħtssen - Råggesveud

FAIRLEIGH-WARBURTON, ELECTRUM — After handing the Abovian Union from Aboveland and Nykipiflugpuu a 38-23 shellacking on Day 0, Saltstead, fresh off a 31-29 victory over Krytenia, knew that they would be facing the music at Warburton University in Fairleigh-Warburton. For Sylestone’s men’s handball side was easily a favourite for the title after being a dominant side in the most recent Handball World Cup, although the team is weaker due to the split between men and women for the Olympics. Yet, that did not excuse the Hawthorns for the result that was to come.

After taking out the first quarter 8-6, Sylestone allowed the Saltsteaders successfully fought back as they dropped the second, nine points to six, allowing their opponents to take a shock lead in the seconds leading into half-time. Against all odds, Sylestone were down 15-14 against the Pot 2 team in their group, with forward Jasper Åubreħtssen proving far too strong for the Sylestonean defence, with nine of Saltstead’s 15 goals. And while they had overcome a deficit such as this before, Saltstead were by no means a bad side as they began to fortify their defence.

The third quarter was excruciating, to say the least. Saltstead once again came out in the lead, with only four goals scored to Sylestone’s three. The latter side, the favourite for the game, continued to make mistakes and further put themselves behind in the game.

With two minutes to go in the final quarter, Sylestone had clawed their way back with four goals to two to make the score 22-all, but they couldn’t hang on. Saltstead scored the final two goals of the match as the Sylestoneans sank to their knees, not believing what had just happened. Single-handedly, Jasper Åubreħtssen had beaten a powerful Sylestonean side, and the pressure was on.

Goals:

Sylestone:
Fosbrook - 6
Radcliffe - 5
Barnsley - 3
Windsor - 3
Loyau - 2
Younger - 2
Bon - 1
Thompson - 1
Yagan - 1

Saltstead:
Åubreħtssen - 16
Råggesveud - 5
Fabianus - 1
Marianus - 1
Slender - 1

Schedule:

MD1: Sylestone 38-23 Abovian Union @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton, Electrum
MD2: Sylestone 22-24 Saltstead @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton, Electrum
MD3: Krytenia - Sylestone @ Warburton University, Fairleigh-Warburton, Electrum

Women’s Matchday One:
Sylestone vs Banija @ Electrum Hockey Association Stadium, Fairleigh-Warburton

Sylestone Starting XI (4-3-3): Garside; Brewer - Yirawala - Landsborough - Gell; McLellan - Lempriere - Mitchell; Bracy - Freeman - Rosenthal

Banija Starting XI (3-4-3): Coote - Gaye - Jaiteh; Ba - Singateh - Sey - Jarju; Dabo - Thiaw - Ogoo

FAIRLEIGH-WARBURTON, ELECTRUM — Sylestone’s national women’s hockey team has triumphed on Day 2 of the 15th Summer Olympics, held in Electrum, with an tensely-foughted 5-3 victory over footballing powerhouse Banija. Clearly, some tactics the Banijans opted to use in football were evident here, but Sylestone were always the superior team and thoroughly deserved the victory. Banija held them off for a long time, though, with the three-strong defensive line of Mboose Coote, Maram Gaye and Juka Jaiteh all at their peaks for the vast majority of the game, particularly in the first quarter.

During the first half, Sylestone were continuously on the front foot, with 71% possession. However, that aforementioned defensive line employed by the Banijans held firm, only letting the Hawthorns score a single goal across the opening thirty minutes. Penalty corners proved to be a bit of an issue for the pot one side, not being able to put four chances away over the opening thirty minutes. Yet, the only goal came relatively early in the second half, with a brilliant long shot from Victoria Rosenthal bisecting Nyima Singateh and Coote and opening the scoring.

The true mayhem came after half-time. Across the third quarter of the match, the Hawthorns were able to convert three shots, including two penalty corners as well as a good finish from young midfielder-captain Isabelle Lempriere after Ramatoulaye Diene, the Banijan goalkeeper, was caught off her line. However, for Banija, centre-forward Awa Thiew put two goals past Lara Garside late in the quarter to keep Banija in the game.

Midfielder Mariama Sey made it 4-3 in with just under eight minutes to go after receiving a penalty corner from winger Amie Ogoo that was blocked by Gaye for Sey to hit. And she did, bisecting Claire Yirawala and Leah Landsborough before nutmegging Garside to reduce the deficit to a lone goal. The underdogs were not out of this just yet.

SYLESTONE - 5
Rosenthal 20’, 38’, 58’
Gell 33’
Lempriere 45’

BANIJA - 3
Thiew 41’, 44’
Sey 52’

Schedule:

MD1: Sylestone 5-3 Banija @ Electrum Hockey Association Stadium, Fairleigh-Warburton
MD2: Sylestone - Omerica @ Electrum Hockey Association Stadium, Fairleigh-Warburton
MD3: Augusticinia - Sylestone @ Electrum Hockey Association Stadium, Fairleigh-Warburton

Men’s Round of 64 @ Brewster Hall, Somer

SOMER, ELECTRUM — Mixed results have come Sylestone’s way in the men’s table tennis round of 64, with Adam Cho winning but Kevin Barrington losing their respective matchups to make the road just that little bit harder. But we’ll start with bad and work to good, shall we?

Overall, Barrington’s performance as the seventeenth seed in his half of 48 wasn’t that bad. He was up against Klement Zović of Srednjaci, the sixteenth seed, but someone who had just won their opening game in the preliminary round 4-0. But it didn’t stop Barrington from trying.

Throughout the entire game, it was clear who was the better player. Klement Zović just seemed more assured with the paddle in hand and made far fewer mistakes than the Sylestonean did. Yet, it did not stop Barrington from taking out the first set, 11-9, and really putting a thorn in Srednjaci’s side.

Zović took out the second one, though, by the same scoreline, before winning a hard-fought series of rallies 11-8 to take the lead, two sets to one. Now all Zović needed to do was win just two of the last four, and he’d be through to the round of 32.

And so he did. in the next two sets, Barrington continued to trouble the man from Srednjaci, but could only reach six and seven points respectively in each as Zović took out the game, four to one. A comprehensive beating, but in all honestly, one that didn’t really reflect the quality of the players and the game.

Adam Cho’s game against Midri Molsk of Chromatika, though, was much more reflective. Neither player was able to gain much of an advantage over the other until the sixth and final set, where Cho’s pure class and experience eventually got the better of the underdog as the second seed of the half moved into the round of 32. The Sylestonean emerged victorious in the first set, 11-9, but Molsk came back with a shock victory in the second set, notching up his own eleven points to Cho’s eight, really turning heads of table tennis fans throughout the multiverse. Cho then fought back with the most decisive victory so far, by the scoreline of 11-6, to once again take the advantage leading into the final sets. Effectively, Molsk needed a miracle.

He didn’t give up, making the score 2-2 with a dominant display in the fourth set, leading 9-4 at one point before Cho made a late comeback. Yet, it wasn’t enough, as Molsk took out the set eleven to nine to once again equalise the two players. Game on.

The fifth was the best of them all, with the two players in a deadlock for the entire game, including when the score was 10-all. Both knew that this was do or die; if they lost this, they would face an immense uphill challenge to progress. But Cho kept his cool, winning the final two points to assert himself in the dominant position heading into the final two sets.

There would only be one. The victory seemed to finally bring out the best of Adam Cho as he romped to an 11-2 victory in the sixth and final set, closing out an intense match in the most anticlimactic fashion possible. Yet, it was still a game well worth watching, and in reality, both parties deserved to progress. But in the end, only one can.

Men’s singles - first half of bracket
Men’s singles - second half of bracket

Women’s Round of 64 @ Brewster Hall, Somer

After a close victory over Jill George of Lanesolde, Sophie Forsyth knew she would be up against the music when she played against third seed of the half Felicia Fairbairn in the round of 64 in the women’s singles table tennis. And she was not wrong, with the Bollonischian offering zero mercy in a clean 4-0 sweep of the Sylestonean, still far from her best that she shone with in the 14th Olympic Games.

Forsyth, though, did make sure she was at least a bit of a nuisance, though. In the first two sets, she barely put up much of a fight, only taking out eight points in total to Fairbairn’s 22 and turning off a lot of televisions back home.

But she kept on fighting. Over the next two sets, she caused Fairbairn some headaches with an 11-9 and 11-8 result, despite clearly being the weaker player in both. But the Bollonischian had undoubtedly deserved it as she really put her name out there on the medal contenders list.

Women’s singles - first half of bracket
Women’s singles - second half of bracket

Mixed doubles bracket

DAY THREE: SYLESTONE’S REPRESENTATIVES

AQUATICS — SWIMMING — Men's 200 m Butterfly (Heats and Semifinals): Nicholas Gentile
AQUATICS — SWIMMING — Women's 200 m Freestyle (Heats and Semifinals): Alice Charleston, Emily Scurry
AQUATICS — SWIMMING — Women's 1500 m Freestyle (Heats): Elanor Raleigh
AQUATICS — SWIMMING — Women’s 200 m Individual Medley (Heats and Semifinals): Elanor Raleigh, Alannah Fairbairn
BASKETBALL — Women's (Matchday One): Sylestone vs Apox
CYCLING — MOUNTAIN BIKING — Men's cross-country (MEDAL): Adam Coningham, Angus Stace, Ethan Porteus
FOOTBALL — Men's (Matchday One): Sylestone vs Vdara
HANDBALL — Women’s (Matchday Two): Sylestone vs Free Swiss States
HOCKEY — Men’s (Matchday One): Bye
SPORT CLIMBING — Men's (Qualification): Anthony Provan, Mason Scullin
TABLE TENNIS — Men’s Singles (Round of 32): Adam Cho vs Tim School (QAD)

by **Electrum** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 1:22 am

Day 3 Cutoff

The next cutoff will be tomorrow (24 hours from now).

Cutoff music: Tokyo 2020's Medal Ceremony

by **Sargossa** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 2:16 am

“I’m delighted to welcome SargoSport 1 viewers to coverage here from the Town Hall in Agri, nestled away in the far northeast of this country. Those of you tuning in for the evening’s session in the pool, that can now be found on SS2. And the Gymnastics, and more, can be found on the Blue Button service. But we’re here in Agri as we are just a few minutes away from the nation’s first medal of these Games.

“As we enter the second period of this Women’s Individual Foil Bronze Medal Bout it’s eight points apiece between Asia Andrade and her teammate Octavia Luque. And that’s a lovely parry riposte from Luque. Andrade came forward, her lunge was turned aside and the riposte landed cleanly. Luque edges in front. There’s barely been any delight between those two fencer's scores. It’s a really tight contest, which is no real surprise given how often they’ve fenced together.

“Another clash of blades, it’s a beautiful sound. They’re both a bit close though. And the referee calls a halt. It looks like a bit of a wild slash from Luque took Andrade’s helmet wire off there. The referee just helping her reattach that. Melanie Kings of West Phoenicia is presiding over this one. They come together again. Blades meet. Luque bounces backwards, she’s got great footwork. A brief pause and then they engage. Two lights on. And the signal is that Andrade’s attack started first. She has the right of way, she gets the point and we’re all level again. It’s nine-nine.

“Andrade, of course, the favourite for this bout. She’s been at the top of women’s Fencing in Sargossa for many years. And she’s been here before, a bronze medallist from four years ago. Oodles of experience, but up against a fencer who knows her very well. And that’s a lovely point! Andrade went high and Luque read it beautifully, dropped into a crouch and finds the target with a low line jab. One light and a point for Octavia Luque, she moves onto ten. For those of you perhaps new to this sport, it’s the first to fifteen we're looking for. There is a time limit to consider too but I don’t think that will come into play during this bout.

“Andrade hot out of the blocks. A flurry of blows forcing Luque back down the piste. She’s the equal to them at the moment but is on the back foot. And there’s a shake of the head from Andrade. She broke through Luque’s defences but that off-target light says all you need to know. They connect again. Two lights. They’re both claiming it. And it’s given to Asia Andrade. We can see from the replay that she finds the blade with an early parry and lands the riposte while Luque just went straight through. Andrade’s right of way, Andrade’s point. As we approach the second break it’s ten-ten.

“We have about forty seconds until that break as both fencers eye each other up. Just trying to draw an attack from the other. Luque is naturally the more aggressive, but Asia Andrade is an excellent counter attacker. But it’s she who launches this next one but that is a perfect parry and a deadeye riposte from Octavia Luque. The Sargossan number three takes the point and edges in front again. They retake their positions. Oh! A lunge from Luque and the speed of it I think took her opponent entirely by surprise. Andrade’s feet looked stuck to the floor. She tried to lean back to avoid it but the point of the blade got enough of the lamé and that’s another point to Octavia Luque. Melanie Kings signals to send them both to their coaches. It’s the second break in this bout and how important could those last two points be?

“Ricardo Sorello is the head coach of the Women’s Fencing team; he would normally be the one offering advice but he sits in the stands today. Although you could argue his work is already done, his charges will definitely claim a medal for the second successive Games. Assistant coach Natalia Navarro is in Luque’s corner. While Asia’s brother Alejandro, who coach’s the Men’s Épéeists, is her coach for the day. And what a day it’s been for the women here. Fencing is increasing in popularity back home but it’s by no means a strength of Team Sargossa, so to have two women in the semi finals is an outstanding achievement. And let’s not forget Susana Manzanedo, who made it to the last sixteen. Prior to this encounter they have fought a combined total of sixteen bouts in Agri, and won thirteen of them. A very healthy day’s work indeed.

“They’re back on the piste as we resume for this third and final period. Into the attack, they go simultaneously but there’s only one light and it’s the green of Octavia Luque. A tired looking effort from Andrade sees her opponent move to within just two points of the medal. They engage again. Forward comes Luque, Andrade heading backwards. Oh, what a point! What a wonderful point. Luque just got a little square on and Asia Andrade saw the opportunity. A flick of her wrist sent her blade whipping around to struck Luque square on the shoulder. That really is superb technique. Asia Andrade perhaps just reminding her younger teammate that there is already a bronze medallist in this bout.

“We’re definitely in the home straight now as the referee calls a halt, with both Fencers getting in a bit of a tangle. They attack again. Two lights! And this time it’s Luque with the early parry. Another point and she’s one away from the victory. It’s 14 – 11 in her favour. Andrade not quite ready to continue, taking just a moment to settle herself. She needs four straight points. And there’s one of them! A fine disengage brings her a much-needed red light. From the slow-motion replay we can see her attack to the right. Then, as Luque’s blade moves across to parry, she drops the wrist and brings her own blade down and beneath the attempted parry and up into the point winning jab. Another example of that wonderful technique.

“Luque pressing the attack now , she can do that, she has points in hand. The blades collide as Andrade reels backwards. One light! Luque leaps into the air! The counter-parry riposte finds the lower portion of the target. We have a new Olympic medallist! And that’s a lovely moment out there. Luque, offering her hand to her beaten opponent instead finds herself enveloped in a massive hug. Great camaraderie from this Fencing team. Andrade holds Octavia Luque’s arm aloft as if she’d just won a boxing match. It was a really great tussle. One the Sargossan contingent here have enjoyed immensely. Third four years ago and fourth here, Asia Andrade will be able to look back at that with huge pride. But it’s Octavia Luque who is the nation’s newest Olympic medallist. Which all bodes well for the team event. Crucially too for Sargossa, we’re on the medal table.”

by **Pratapgadh** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 4:18 am

Day 2 Results: GOLD In Swimming!
Written By Rohan Hughes
Olympics
Yes, you have read the title right! Pratapgadh has already won its first gold in the Olympics on Day 2 and it is the most surprising one as we earned it in swimming! It the men's 100 m relay team of Vanshya Purohit, Pradyot Gaekwad, Brijesh Nimkar and Samir Palekar won the gold for Pratapgadh and were congratulated by PM Manav Surerka over a video call. Suprising success in aquatics, but things didn't go as well in badminton, rugby and weightlifting. We also saw an early exit for Archanna Adhikari, who was considered the second favourite after Mahima Gadia to win a medal for Pratapgadh. Let's dig right into the review of Day 2!

Aquatics
Though most of the swimmers today were mediocre, the men's 100 m relay team's victory completely changed the mood today and saved other swimmers from criticism over their performance. Vanshya Purohit started for the Pratapgadhi team, following Pradyot Gaekwad and Brijesh Nimkar. The 20-year-old Samir Palekar was trusted to finish the job for his team and it proved to be the right decision as he finished ahead of the Mytanar swimmer. Him and and his team received their gold medals and the Pratapgadhi anthem played in the arena. Here is what Samir Palekar had to say after such an achievement, "It was always my dream to win a gold medal for my country and today I have achieved at a very young age. The Pratapgadh Olympic Association hoped that either the wrestlers, boxers will bring the gold. We were the surprise package as the association didn't expect much from the swimmers. I hope they finally see the potential in us and invest more in facilities and training for future swimmers."

Nothing much from the other swimmers today. For the men's 200 m freestyle qualification round, Faris Mirvana ended up 72nd on the table with a 1:48.65 time and Jai Chandratre finished 94th with a time of 1:49.39 out of 123 swimmers. For the men's 100 m backstroke, we had Chandeedaas Grigg and Vaibhav Singh finishing 52nd and 106th respectively out of 108 swimmers. In the qualification round for the women's 400 m freestyle race, Kishori Chaudhari came up on 39th with a time of 4:07.18 and Anjni Jadeja finished 51st with a time of 4:08.06. This was a better result for the women here compared to the men. I mean here in Pratapgadh, women are generally better at swimming than men. We had the women's 100 m backstroke in which Deepti Kahojkar finished 70th and Bhairavi Barot finished 82nd, and also the women's 100 m breatstoke in which Firuzah Vesmawala finished 59th and Armeet Kalsi finished 91st. Overall, it was an alright day for the swimmers, well mostly cause of the men's relay team.

Badminton
It was a bad day for us in badminton, as both men's singles' competitors and Jeevika Puranmalka failed miserably. Ananya Johal took a much needed rest today to prepare for next match. In the men's singles' competition, we had Meghraj Joshi facing Miralem Sehic of Mytanija and Ashok Baggonkar facing Martijn Vos. Meghraj won the first game by 21-19 which gave him a good headstart. However, things fell apart from there as he lost the second game by 21-11, a complete disaster. He then went on to lose the third game by 21-18. Ashok Baggonkar on the other hand was even more miserable as he lost the first game by 21-15 and the second game by 21-17 as his opponent was all over him. Both men are yet to win a match in this edition of the Olympics. There is no way either men will qualify for the knockouts now, but we hope they manage to at least get a win in their next few games.

On the women's side we had Jeevika Puranmalka facing Sara Cooper. After a terrible match on Day 0 against Hajharmintu nos Esmlotaer, we saw another terrible performance from the 27-year-old. Jeevika lost the first game by 21-15 and ended losing the second game by 21-15 too. She was clearly frustrated after her second match against Sara Cooper and our team was able to get a few words with her. Jeevika was hesitant at first, but gave in and answered a few of our questions. She said, "I haven't been having a great time as you can clearly see. I just need to clear my mind a bit and hopefully get back on track." Jeevika is much older and experienced compared to Ananya Johal, but the former seems to be struggling more than her younger teammate.

Basketball
The Men's National Basketball Team played their first game on Day 2 against Diarcesia and won the game by 16 points. The college bunch already showed the other national team that is currently participating in the IBC how basketball is really played. It was a team effort today, something the IBC team clearly lacked. The Pratapgadh Basketball Association (PBA) chose a team consisted of players who played for local franchise leagues for the IBC 32 instead of the impressive college students. That backfired as Pratapgadh are dead last in their group with only 2 wins out of 12 matches. It's still to early to say this olympic team made up of college students is better, but it definitely has the basics right. The PBA is getting dissolved soon to be replaced by the National College Basketball Association (NCBC), the name to be changed to National Basketball Association of Pratapgadh (NBAP).

Whatever, let's talk about the game now. The first quarter was neutral with both teams scoring 19 points. The main point scorers during the first quarter were Punit Dwivedi (7) and Vaibhav Maheshwari (6), both of whom are much taller than their teammates. The second quarter was slightly in Pratapgadh's favour as Chinmay Mittal, Punit Dwivedi and Vaibhav Maheshwari added a few more points to their names. By the end of the second quarter, the score was 37-29 with Pratapgadh leading by 8 points. The third quarter saw major attack from the Pratapgadhi side with Maheshwari and Dwivedi easily breaking the opposition's defence and kept adding points every minute. The third quarter saw Pratapgadh add 28 points while Diarcesia only managed to get 20 points, so the score was 65-49. The last quarter was going to be crucial as both sides knew. Diarcesia started to get back into the game, adding 14 points to their name. However, Pratapgadh too managed to get 14 points in the last quarter and maintained the point difference. With the game finishing on 79-63, the college bunch celebrated their first win.

We also had the women's 3-on-3 between the Vilitian Union and Pratapgadh, in which we lost 16-21. Nothing much to say really.

Boxing
We had Radhakrishna Ginjupalli of the men's featherweight division lost his preliminary round match against Boris Derricks, eliminating him from the tournament. Ginjupalli was born in Azadeshia and moved to Pratapgadh 15 years ago in 2011 and gained his citizenship in 2021. So there were also a lot of people from Azadeshia who supported him, a shame his run ended this early. For the men's heavyweight division, Sumanjot Khosla defeated Mizuro Misaki of Hebitaka 3-0 in his preliminary round match and Seema Kulkarni of the women's featherweight division defeated Juliana Verity 3-0 in her preliminary round match. So it was good day for the boxers, except Ginjupalli, and Khosla and Kulkarni were pretty convincing in their matches.

Rugby Sevens
A complete domination of The Rajput Warriors at the hands of The Grearish Union. The Pratapgadhi side only scored 7 points compared to The Grearish Union's 29 points. The first and only try scored for the Pratapgadhi side was Bansilal Karamchand and converted by Gurpal Hanjan in the first half. That's all Pratapgadh were able to do as The Grearish Union continued their amazing performance from their earlier match on the same day against Northwest Kalactin, where they defeated the Kalactinians 28-12. A 22-point defeat is the last thing Pratapgadh wants, so let's hope things get better from here.

Shooting
For the men's 10 m air rifle event, Neeraj Singh's great performance landed him a 19th position out of 91 athletes. Chanakya Bhakta, on the other hand, cam dead last and seemed dreadful. For the women's 10 m air pistol event, Sarita Chandekar and Himangi Karmarkar finished 49th and 53rd respectively. So nothing too special other than young 21-year-old Neeraj Singh today, but they will get better over time.

Tennis
In the women's singles' competition, we had Zahera Nothazai, Kashifa Rahmani and Mahima Gadia beating their opponents and getting into the next round. Zahera Nothazai convincingly beat Lisa Plaskket, winning the first set by 6-0 and second set 6-4. Kashifah Ramani defeated Jessica McBride to get into the next round, winning the first set 7-5 and second set 6-3. Mahima Gadia, the highest rated female tennis player in Pratapgadh, defeated Christel Brändle. She won the first set 6-2 and second set 6-1, clearly showing her poweress.

The one to disappoint was Archana Adhikari, who lost to Jawalda Don and was eliminated from the tournament. She lost the first set 5-7 and the second set 6-3. Adhikari had been struggling a lot recently and many claim her days of greatness back in Pratapgadh are over. I disagree, she is one of the best tennis players we have. Everyone has to go through this phase, but she will come back strong.

Volleyball
The women's team on Day 1 defeated West Phoenicia to much praise from the Pratapgadhi fans. The men didn't disappoint as they defeat Mertagne in their first match. They lost the first round 19-25 and then won the second round 25-21. They suffered another massive loss in the third round 15-25 but came back with a strong 25-14 win in the fourth round. The last round was the crucial one and Pratapgadh came out on top with a 15-9 victory. Pratapgadh took the win and the two points to start their run on a good note.

For Day 3, Pratapgadhi athletes will be competing in swimming, badminton, basketball, boxing, football, hockey, rugby sevens, tennis, indoor volleyball and weightlifting. A pretty busy day for our athletes, so let's hope for the best and grab a few medals on the way. That's all we have for today, though. Remember to follow FIRESPORTS.com for more updates and reviews on the 15th Summer Olympics and rally around Pratapgadh! For now, goodbye and goodnight!
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by **Malta Comino Gozo** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 6:27 am

Malta Comino Gozo vs Northwest Kalactin

Team Sheet

National Team

GK Ġakbu Mogg 23 April 1997 (age 24)

DF Carlos Attard 3 February 1998 (age 23)

DF Ġiljan Lanard 18 January 1991 (age 30)

DF Nigel Ortee 22 May 1995 (age 26)

LMF Philip Camilleri 1 March 1994 (age 27)

CMF Luke Dens 18 November 1997 (age 24)

CMF Blake Bruffa 24 August 2000 (age 21)

RMF Cody Muscat 17 October 2000 (age 21)

FW/CF Glen Mifsed 9 June 1997 (age 24)

FW/CF Paul Leffing (C) 22 March 1993 (age 28 )

FW/CF Rafi Farrugia 30 October 1992 (age 29)

IBA Champions League on MCG 1
Live: Coverage across MCG 1, MCG Radio and MCG Sport website with further coverage on the mobile app.
Stadium: Somersville Stadium
Nations: Malta Comino Gozo and Northwest Kalactin
Attendance: 40,000

Rafi Farrugia 's second-half goal gave Malta Comino Gozo a winning start to the XV Olympiad against Northwest Kalactin at Somersville Stadium Electrum.
Paul Leffing, who more than justified his selection from manager Robert Azzopardi with a fantastic display, picked the ball up on the right flank and beat the NWK defender before slipping through Farrugia who squeezed an effort past Norwest Kalactin.
MCG began the game in a thrilling fashion, forcing their opponents on the back foot and were unlucky not to take the lead in the sixth minute when Farrugia saw an effort come back off the post.

Although MCG could not maintain this momentum throughout the match they still created more chances to extend the lead with Luke Dens and Farrugia both guilty of missing chances to enhance the scoreline.

This was MCG's first-ever game and victory in the Olympiad They have a few days now to prepare for their next game. Group N also saw Banija beat Free Swiss States 6–0. This leaves MCG second on GD.

by **A Kea** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 6:35 am

KTV

With day 3 of the games over we can now recap the outcomes of the Kean athletes who competed. Starting off with swimming where the girls unfortunately suffered the same fate as the guys. Kathrine Marinakou and Evlambia Hatzilefteris both competed in the 200m freestyle and despite good results, both failed to proceed to the semifinals, ending 20th and 30th respectively. Kathrine stated she feels proud of her achievement in her very first Olympics and is hoping for similar outcomes in her two remaining races. Evlambia on the other hand is mildly dissappointed saying: "I now get what Nikiforos said yesterday, your first race in such a big event stresses you and doesn't let you give your 100%. Before the race I was confident, then the time came and stress took the best of me. Thankfully that was my weakest distance, I'm looking forward to the 100 and 50 meter races. That's where I need to stay focused cause I know I can qualify to a further round."

Men's water polo team successfully beat Lanesolde's team by just two goals difference. The game was really tight and both teams played equally, but the reflexes of the Kean goalkeeper managed to secure this victory. Our team's next opponent, and final one for the group stage, is Hopal.

The so far unbeaten in team sports A Kea finally broke. Women's basketball team suffered to their inexperience and lost 75-92 to the far superior team of Amuaplye in their Olympic debut. Unfortunately the kean women's volleyball team suffered a similar fate, losing to the Abovian team by 2 sets. On the good news, Kean men's football team debuted today, winning against Sargossa with a 1-0 score. A rather uneventful game with only highlight being the impressive goal of Leon Stamatakis at the 58th minute.

Sailing continued today with mostly unfortunate results, although Simeon Kalousis keeps his steadily rising strategy going, having risen in the table in both two person dinghy and mixed multihull, with his second place in the latter alongside his sister Sylvia being the highlight of Kean sailing in day 3. Unfortunately in all sailing events of today, kean teams failed to rise to the top 10, and therefore the medal race. Although it's still too early to judge how things can go.

As for the final event of Kean interest, our table tennis hopeful Djiva Trudeau had a tougher time than yesterday, but in the end her experience helped her win against Kimberley Nadal of Krytenia by 4-2, making it through to the round of 16. Djiva and her teammate Andreas Paraschos, who was himself eliminated yesterday at men's round of 128, had a really tough match against the Scornersian duo of Xabat Moyer and Asuncion Solomon, in a really thrilling and tight game the Kean players managed to get the much wanted victory by 4-3, after determingly winning the final two sets, before which Xabat and Asuncion had the lead. Thus A Kea has interest in two of tomorrow's table tennis events and is hoping to see our athletes advance to the quarterfinals.

Tomorrow is going to be a big day for A Kea with participants in 10 sports, inclidung the return of our Day 1 shooting silver medalist Konstantinos Avgerinou, who's now moving to the mixed 10m air rifle team event alongside Kassandra Enas. The entire nation will keep their eyes on him.

by **HMS Onslaught** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 6:41 am

by **Banija** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 6:50 am

What does Banija's Olympic Structure Look Like? Uniqueness of Banija's sports governance setup on center stage

SOMER, ELECTRUM- What's in an Olympic Committee? As the spotlight shines on Electrum's, as they put on this XV Summer Olympiad here in Bunjil, it begs the question- what exactly is an Olympic Committee? WHat does the Olympic Committee do? And considering Banija's distinct lack of Olympic Success before the Olympiad on home soil, how did the OCB garner so much power over the sporting scene in Banija?

We're going to dive in-depth into how the OCB works. And then, we're going to talk about the qualifying process to the games for Banija- how they were reformed going into these Bunjil Games, and how they were designed to try and maximize Banijan success here in Bunjil. Hard to say if it'll work- but nothing wrong with the effort, eh?

The Olympic Committee of Banija- Powers and Structure

Many countries have various independent sports governing bodies that joined together to create an Olympic Committee. But that is not what happened in Banija- in fact, quite the opposite happened.

When Banijan independence happened in 1906 and these sort of bodies needed to be established, three bodies were established. The Banijan Collegiate Sports Group, which oversees all intercollegiate competition in all sports(including Olympic and soccer). The Royal Banijan Soccer Association, which oversees, as one would guess, all non-collegiate soccer competition in the country. And lastly, the Olympic Committee of Banija, set up to govern literally every other sport in the country- Olympic or non-Olympic. So even though gridiron is not an Olympic sport, the OCB is the governing body for it.

The OCB is set up into various divisions for different sports, generally headed by Executive Vice Presidents. They all answer to Ousman Kaba, who is the Executive Chairman of the OCB. So the EVP for the baseball division, for example, is generally the top man in charge of all baseball matters. THat would not be Ousman Kaba- Kaba provides general oversight, but the EVP would set the general direction and goals for the baseball division. So this means even to basically any non soccer or ice hockey tournament, like the IBCs, World Bowl, etc... Teams are sent and sponsored by the Olympic Committee of Banija.

The board of directors are all the 'major sport' EVPs, a definition that changes constantly. Right now, those are defined as the EVPs for Gridiron, Baseball, Basketball, Track & Field, and Lacrosse. Ousman Kaba sets goals and targets for the actual Olympiad- strategic planning for their core competency. But the Executive Chairman of the OCB is usually the strongest person in sport in Banija, although in recent years their equivalent at the RBSA, Robel Ezera, seems to have clipped past them.

Ousman Kaba was at the core of the group that pushed for changes to the Olympic Qualifying structure in Banija, to help ensure more Banijan success in Bunjil. How does the National Qualification Process look now?

Banijan Olympic Qualifying

Second question- how does Banijan Olympic Qualifying look like? It is, of course, different for every sport. But most sports, especially the individual sports, you simply have to qualify in. But how do we do that? How does that happen?

Track & Field, as well as swimming, two of the Olympiad's largest events, have very similar Qualification styles.

Here is how it works. First, you must run/swim a minimum time for your event at an 'official competitive event' during the last two years before the Olympics. This would include any college track/swim meet(in any country), any sort of professional sporting event, any Commonwealth sporting event, or one-off events like the AOlympics. Once you hit that minimum time, you will be invited to the national Olympic qualifiers. For swimming, they now take place in Istria, at the aquatic center built at the Istria/Orean Olympiad.

For track, however, they take place at their traditional location- Hawabark. It's why Hawabark's stadium is called an Olympic Stadium, even though that city has as much chance as hosting the Olympics as Banija does of winning the 43rd World Cup of Hockey. And at the National Qualifiers, of course, it's insanely competitive. Could have upwards of around 60-70 people competing for three Olympic spots in the same event- it's one of the most popular events in Banija in terms of television ratings, and it is regarded with high esteem- the ability to become an Olympian.

Now, that type of model is used for sports with individual scoring- even field events like shot put, discus, etc... Use that format. But then, there are the directly competitive individual sports- like Boxing, Judo, etc... How do those work?

With those sports, it's as simple as this- you apply to participate in the National Olympic Qualifiers. The OCB looks at your experience in the sport, and if they deem you experienced enough, then they let you in. From that point on, it's a seeded knockout tournament, with however many participants there are.

It's brutal. The format was used for 3x3 basketball as well. But sports as disparate as fencing and 3x3 basketball employ this same method.

For most team sports, of course, the coach simply selects the players that they will be taking to the Games. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. These Qualifying events for the individual sports- generally take places around 90 days before the Games. Enough time to recover from a smaller injury, and not enough for anyone to really significantly pass you in terms of speed/agility before the Games begin.

And that's how Banija does things when it comes to the Games. Not ordinary? Of course. But confusing? After it's explained, it all makes sense. We'll see if this is a model that works at these Olympics, depending on how much medal success exactly we can have in Bunjil.

by **Chartistan** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 6:52 am

The Juniper Project
Part 3 - Collapse

With just a handful of athletes representing Chartistan from the Juniper Project, there was bound to be some days where barely anybody got the time and love they deserved - And they would fall to the wayside, once heroic vigilantes succumbing to the waves of change, the waves of elimination and the waves of the disappearance of Olympic dreams. Some nations sent hundreds of athletes this Olympiad to pick up the glory they deserve, at the expense of some athletes who fight so hard to get here and deserve a medal for their hardship. Team Chartistan didn't fight and train years for this - Little time was invested in high class training, so the athletes had to isolate themselves from the outside world in order to avoid Olympic controversy. The fact that it was avoided was a sheer miracle in the Project's eyes, but there was something that they couldn't avoid - Failure.

Only 4 athletes stepped up to the Olympic stage for Chartistan on day 3 of the Games of the 15th Olympiad, and all of them would stumble and fall in their own ways. On the pool, Kerena Styles at least had a decent 200 meter Freestyle time, 54th out of 118 athletes in the event in the heat stage with a time over a second ahead of 2 minutes. But fencing didn't get as lucky as it did over the last 2 days with Crouch and Westenberg. The sabre representative of the Project, Docia Annevelink, didn't hit at all in her first round matchup against the Alezian Union's Patricia Dubos, only getting 3 points to her name as Docia cleaned up the match and sent a fencing-happy Chartistan out early. It was, by no mistake however, Chartistan's strong suit so far these Games, with the nation getting the closest to its very first Olympic medal.

But for every Olympic medal hope there was surely despair to anguish the tributes. Keavy Weaver was no exception - Touted by the media as a possible medal contender in shortboard surfing, her time on the waves for the Round of 48 was marked by "Close, but not close enough", as she finished 4th in her heat with a score of 10.09 - Enough to advance from 2 of the other heats. Losing out on advancement to an athlete representing the Coconut Isle has to hurt especially, but her efforts in the first round gave her hope that maybe someday she could get back up and surf to the top of the world.

Leesa Casales, on the other hand, had a match to forget in table tennis. She was taking on another Kriegiersien athlete, this time Esther Ada, in the table tennis round of 32. Apart from one set, it was Ada's day as she pinged and ponged past Casales with ease. A strong run was, once again, smoldered by the despair of losing. Lessa wasn't alone. The Olympics, despite being a haven of sports, was brutal. Quests for medals can knock out hundreds trying to make a name for themselves. Some leave with no hope of coming back, others leave with optimism. Just a few more bits of training and they could do better. The dreams of athletes seemed to come and go like the waves of the beaches of Electrum, and that's what the Olympic spirit was about. Win or lose, you will be remembered somewhere.

Was there really something to win for Chartistan, though? There still was a good chunk of events to go on the Terranean Coast. In the middle of all the hustle and bustle, the lookalikes stayed at their rooms in the Olympic Village, taking in all the wonder of the city they were competing in. From seemingly genetic coding and cloning they were here, the world watching them, not caring about where they came from. Everybody can be an Olympian, and if clones can be Olympians, anything and everything is possible. The beauty of the Games was just... Beauty. Nothing more, nothing less.

by **Graintfjall** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 7:33 am

“Celina Marcsdóttir. Bounces the ball on the baseline. Spin serve curling left…”

by **Hannasea** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 7:33 am

“…Sophie Redding replies with a powerful backhand…”

by **Graintfjall** » Sat Aug 14, 2021 7:34 am

“…Celina Marcsdóttir returns with a slice backhand…”

Games of the XV Olympiad — roleplaying thread

2nd RP - Games of the XV Olympiad

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