MFO SPORT
Mattijana made history on day 6 of the 14th Winter Games as a tie for gold between Mattias Burges and Dominik Hirser inspired a medal rush that pushed the nation into the top 3 of the medals table.
As well as the skiers, there was also a gold for the luge relay team a silver for Giorgio Mazaro in the men's 10,000m speed skating and bronzes for the mixed curling team and David Velezi in the men's snowboard cross.
Elsewhere, Mattijana's men's Ice Hockey team stunned group favourites Kriegiersien 5-1 to guarantee their progress to the round of 16, a massive result for the team on their return to international competition.
10:00 (14:00 MSZ): Men's Super-G
Neverend Ferrandieu Ski Resort
The men's Super-G had always been earmarked as a big race from a Mattijanan perspective. It would be the last race of Mattias Burges' legendary career and with Dominik Hirser also in good touch following his silver medal in the super-combined, it would be a real chance for more Mattijanan Alpine Skiing success. Adding an extra layer of interest were the history books - a medal for Burges would make him the most decorated Mattijanan Olympian of all-time.
The morning sun in Neverend would make for good conditions for those lucky enough to get an early start draw, but it looked like it could soften up for those running later. With both Burges and Hirser's good form putting them in the top 20 starters, they were both in a position to lay down competitive runs for what promised to be a thrilling event.
Savojarnan Kjetil Sandström, the super-combined winner, set the early pace with a 1.25:30, an impressive time given his usual reputation as a slalom specialist, but that was quickly overhauled by West Phoenicia's Ahmose Tao and 16 year-old Dion Brock from Kriegiersien, the first to go under the one minute-25 second mark. With home favourite Dylan Fisher ending up down the order, it was time for Dominik Hirser to arrive in the starting hut for his favoured event.
As was expected, the KarlaBerg-based athlete was quick over the technical top section, going a tenth and a half up on Brock over the first section. The bottom half was more glide-focused however, causing Hirser to leak some time. With just 5 hundredths in it through the final split, it looked like Brock might just claw his lead back, but Hirser held on by only 2 hundredths of a second.
Eude Pippery also went close for Tara and Cambray, but fell away towards the end of his run, finishing 4 tenths down. With that, it was time for Burges, fresh from his downhill gold on day 2 and in search of a run that would cement his position as a true legend of his sport.
The RadesBirjken would find his speed in the opposite places to his teammate, excelling at the gliding sections and aiming just to keep it tidy through the sharper turns, yet the 35 year-old started strongly, nearly matching Hirser through the first two splits. The last stretch looked like it would come down to the wire though. Burges put his head down for the line, lifting it to see a dead heat between himself and his countryman Hirser.
Savojarnans Jussi Urvalainen and Marcus Rynneberg both failed to trouble the scoreboard, but their teammate Sergey Ruvakov would be a different threat altogether. He managed a mistake-free top section that rivalled both the Mattijanans and momentarily put him into the lead through the third split.
Both Mattijanans had skied good bottom sections though and the conditions might just come to their rescue as more skiers went down the course. Ruvakov was never able to establish himself, but could still threaten to push the Mattijanans down to silver with the times level through the final split.
With palpable tension down by the line as both Mattijanan and Savojar supporters recognised the significance of the situation, it was finally the green and yellow cluster that celebrated as Ruvakov crossed the line one hundredth of a second behind the Mattijanan duo.
Timoth Lunis went close for the Gryphonian alliance, but fell away towards the end. He was the last athlete to really get close to the podium and with the course cutting up and out the usual field of rank outsiders left, an absolute classic came to a close with the top four athletes separated by just 2 hundredths of a second.
Burges will participate in the team event towards the end of the games, but payed tribute to his team after completing his final Olympic solo race.
"I don't think I could have dreamed of a better way to end my career. It was a really crazy race and I think the fans were feeling the same tension and nervousness we were in the finishing area. To come out with the win is amazing and to share the moment with Dom, who's been with me for most of my career...I couldn't have asked for anything more."
Hirser also took the opportunity to congratulate his countryman on his career, saying he had earnt his place as a "national hero".
11:00 (13:00 MSZ), Men's Ice Hockey, Mattijana vs Kriegiersien
Quirks of time zones meant that Mattijanan fans were able to catch an hour of their men's final group match against group favourites Kriegiersien. The professional opposition were taking on Mattijana's amateurs for the first time and it was maybe that unfamiliarity that saw Mattijana make early inroads.
The Marmots took the lead after just five minutes of play when Linus Christoffersonn deflected a loose puck past the Kriegiersien goalkeeper from close range, although some loose Mattijanan defending allowed their opponents straight back into the match, one of the Kriegiersien forwards burrowing into some space and flicking past Handanovic.
From there Mattijana asserted themselves however. Christoffersonn continued his goalscoring form to restore Mattijana's lead before Marko Pirson scrambled the puck home against some limp Kriegiersien defending to put Mattijana 3-1 up at the break.
Kriegiersien had clearly had a stiff talking to at the break, but weren't able to get back into the match and Mattijana nicked a couple of goals on the counter attack at the end of the match, including one where Kriegiersien had sacrificed their goaltender for an extra outfield player.
The result sends the marmots straight through to the round of 16 rather than having to face a playoff match, a massive result for a team who have never made an Olympic knockout match before.
11:30 (3:30 MSZ), Men's Snowboard Cross
Neverend Ferrandieu Ski Resort
As Burges and Hirser were celebrating their golds, David Velezi was easing through the preliminary rounds of the men's snowboard cross.
A solid run in qualifying had earned him a good draw and he backed it up with a safe second in his heat and by staying out of trouble in his quarter-final. The semis would be more of a test however and as Mattijanan attentions turned to the snowboard park, Velezi was in a huge fight to make the final.
His semi contained Taeshan's Flannery Gardenier, who finished ahead of Velezi in the heat, as well as the highly dangerous Darius Bellefeuille from Kelssek. As he and Francis Hatton from Ko-oren got a good launch, Velezi found himself boxed in and slipping to the back of the field. Some slipstreaming got him back into the action, but like in the Super-G and Super-combined, it would be a Mattijanan against a Savojarnan for a shot at glory.
The opponent on this occasion was Patrik Urjanen, who had scrapped his way to the semis and had fought his way into a good position out of the gates. With the two neck-and-neck going into the final couple of corners, Velezi saw his chance to send a move down the inside.
Urjanen saw the move coming, but a little too late and Velezi managed to get alongside his opponent, although only after the Savojar had closed the gate. The two clashed, with Velezi's momentum taking him through at the expense of Urjanen, but not without controversy.
The move was subject to an investigation after the race, but was found to be a racing incident, much to the protests of the Savojar fans lining the course. It meant that Velezi secured the final qualifying spot for the final whilst Urjanen went out.
Relative to the semi, the final was less of a spectacle with an early crash reducing the runners to 4. Once again, the front two, Bellefeuille and Naizir Lincoln from Taeshan, went off into the distance, but Velezi had enough to stay clear of fourth-placed Bhargyaraj Gupta to get the bronze.
14:30 (18:30 MSZ), Curling Mixed Doubles bronze final
Neverend Curling Club
Mattijana's curling teams have upped their game over the last couple of editions of the Winter Games, but the mixed team of Marika Sava and Matej Donilovic have especially stepped up this time round. The duo lost just once in the pool stage, albeit against the Valanoran team of Felix Nyberg and Neena Lundstrom they would now face in the bronze final.
This time there would only be one winner however. An overthrown stone in the first end won the Mattijanans a double against the hammer and their opponents were never able to get back into the game. Mattijana were able to consistently win singles on their own hammer whilst working hard to earn blanks or steals at the other end, racking up 8 points against just 3 from the Valanorans.
17:00 (19:00 MSZ), Men's Speed Skating 10,000m
Kolósaio Vóreios
The speed skating had taken a bit of a backseat with all the action elsewhere, but attentions suddenly turned to the Kolósaio Vóreios as news of Giorgio Mazaro's run filtered through. The 26 year-old had ground his way into the lead of the event with 10 skaters left to run, although they featured some of those fancied for the title.
One of those, Liventian Sebastian Cobb, blew away the rest of the field with a new Olympic record, but Mazaro's time was enough to see off the rest of the field, with Ed Reinhold getting closest and taking the bronze in the process.
8:00 (10:00 MSZ), Luge Relay
Parra Kala Sliding Complex
Despite the late start time, especially for Mattijanans, but there was still more drama left in the day. The luge relay represented Izara Alina's last chance to win an Olympic medal having been plagued by bad form and sheer bad luck over her four Olympic games. She would be joined in the Mattijanan line up by Halzo Razmov and the doubles team of Finja Kolinov and Sophia Hetzcot.
Despite some patchy performances in the singles event, Alina finally hit her form, placing an excellent sub 47-second run, the best of anyone on her leg. Razmov too followed her up, also going fastest and giving Mattijana a meaty lead going into the doubles.
That meant it was just down to the doubles to bring the team home. The run was patchier than the two preceding them, but the duo avoided major mistakes and despite failing to go under 49 seconds, they still came home around half a tenth clear of the West Phoenician team.
Alina was clearly emotional after the event when describing the victory.
"I'm really grateful for the team for helping bring this home. It's no secret that I've had a really frustrating career when it comes to the Olympic Games, so it's great to finally get it right and come away with a gold medal. It's been a long time coming, but I couldn't have done it without the people standing beside me. They've been so supportive and they managed to put some fast runs together at just the right time as well. I think I can retire now, knowing that I've earned something for all the hard work I've put into my career and into these games."
The gold is Mattijana's second luge gold after Jasmina Tallinski won the women's singles yesterday, a huge moment for the sport as it seeks to gain the same kind of popularity as bobsled and skeleton across Mattiajana.
Flashback: Tallinski wins Mattijana's first luge gold
Despite having highly-rated Izara Alina on their team, Mattijana have never managed a Luge singles medal and have never won a gold in their Winter Olympic history. Ulina announced her intention to retire after these games two months ago, but Mattijana has clearly unearthed a very bright new talent in the form of Tallinski.
The North-Easterner, based an hour's drive from Snezn in LinaStad, made the perfect start to her campaign, comfortably breaking the 47 second barrier with a 46.79 run, one that wouldn't be beaten over the duration of the event.
She would need to back it up with consistent times though, something she managed with her second run, a time of bang-on 47 seconds keeping her at the top of the leaderboard after day one, nearly 3 tenths ahead of her nearest rival Cocoabo #W06.
That gave her a commanding margin to defend going into day 2. Her third run, a time of 47.15 was a little off the mark of her first two thanks to an early exit from one of the corners near the bottom of the course, but with the Cocoabo making only small inroads into her lead, she still had over 2 tenths to defend over the final leg.
Her rivals helped her out, with neither the Cocoabo or original 3rd-place slider Izcy Slidbaa setting particularly quick times on scruffy-looking runs. A major mistake would have still cost her the gold, but Tallinski showed no sign of nerves, once again coming in under 47 seconds on her final effort to wrap up the victory.