[RP thread] Games of the XIV Olympiad

by **Tikariot** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:41 am

Damian Carovalo: Good evening everyone, welcome to the studio here in Istra for our continued coverage of the XIVth Olympic Summer Games in Liventia and Banija. We are five days into the competitions and things have been very, very busy. When we entered the Games, our delegation leaders were hoping for one medal each over the whole 16 days that the Olympics are running and now after five we sit at two gold and four bronze, which is am amazing haul for our first ever participation.

Matt Novak: Absolutely! We have seen our fair share of surprises and disappointments, some of them pretty heartbreaking, but there is no use in crying over spilled milk, but we should look forward and all the cheese we still have ready to make.

Lisa Carr: This is one of the weirdest analogies I have ever heard!

Matt Novak: I came up with it all by myself!

Lisa Carr: I don't doubt that one moment...

Julian Sovran: So yesterday we took a bit of a closer look at our two gold metal winners Nathalie Blanchard and Alex Limniatis, so today we will give you another behind the scenes look at our other medalists so far, starting with one of our biggest surprises so far, in the women's synchronised 3m springboard, the team of Clarissa Hampstead and Virginia Cassovalo.

Caitlin Makonda: Our synchronised 3, springboard team is coming from the opposite sides of the country. Clarissa Hampstead was born in Cellinfigna in Soharr and actually came to diving late, she was already 17 when she went up for the first time, which is very unusual.

"When I was a kid, I suffered from really bad vertigo, so after trying a lot of different things my therapist recommended that I would try diving. The thought process behind it was that I knew that, unless something really weird would happen, I could not die if I fell." - Clarissa Hampstead

Caitlin Makonda: It took her a while to get over her vertigo, but eventually found a passion for diving and then wanted to try to go synchronised, because she found it beautiful to look at and so challenging to master. At the National Diving Centre in Varathos on the Emerald Coast she then was paired up with Virginia Cassovalo about a year and a half ago and it was not an easy relationship at first.

"At first we were like fire and water. Me the book nerd that loved classical music, Virginia outgoing, always on the move and listening to hip-hop. Eventually I managed to calm her down and she got me out of my shell and we became best friends. I still don't like hip-hop, though." - Clarissa Hampstead

Caitlin Makonda: Virginia Cassovalo was born in the far west of Tikariot, in a little village near Ysgrann Bay. Her parents said that they were sometimes wondering, if they were raising a fish, as she spent almost more time in the water than out of it. Ever since her childhood she would participate in anything from swimming over water polo to diving and eventually the coaches recommended diving to her.

"There was the time when the coaches called me into their office and told me that I had to make a decision which discipline to specialize in, because otherwise I'd just be a jill of all trades and mastress of none. So I asked where they needed me the most. They said diving, so there I went." - Virginia Cassovalo

Caitlin Makonda: So eventually her career also led her to Varathos and then into the team with Clarissa. As Clarissa had mentioned earlier, their first steps together were not exactly easy for the two young ladies, but both being stubborn, even though they prefer to be called 'determined', toughed it out and with time became a really tight-knit team.

"She was sooo boring, hahaha. I was a firecracker, but I learned that sometimes it is better to calm down and focus than to bounce around like a pinball. I like to believe that we both tried to take away some of the traits of the other and kind of balance each other out and looks like we succeed pretty good. I still can't see what she sees in classical music, that stuff is boring, haha." - Virginia Cassovalo

Caitlin Makonda: And it indeed looks like they succeeded extremely well, taking literally everybody by surprise, including themselves. The only teams that managed to beat them were Ko-oren's Viwa Mizoguchi and Kiri Kinoshita and the clear winners of the contest, Jacqueline and Letitia Briggs-Thompson from Chromatika, but that did not do their happiness about the medal any harm.

Lisa Carr: Thank you Caitlin. One thing that is striking is that all of our medals are from all different disciplines. Judo, triathlon, diving, cycling, shooting, which is interesting to see. Where some nations seem to favour certain sports as strong suits for their teams, we seem to be all over the place.

Damian Carovalo: I think they prefer the term 'versatile'.

Lisa Carr: Haha, yes, that definitely sounds better. So next up is cycling and our next bronze medal winner, Spencer Buitimea. Here is Clay Knightsbridge with our portrait on him.

Clay Knightsbridge: Many people say that cycling is one of the loneliest sports to train for and they are not wrong. Countless hours are spent on the road, in the mountains, just to build up the necessary skills and stamina. Now Spencer Buitimea's roots lie in northern Dhaencunor, but he grew up in the Paladonian hills around Wyvernwood, where he could find both flatlands and hills to train in.

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

Clay Knightsbridge: And as it turned out, his dream would come true with a bronze medal in the road race, which was very hard fought, especially towards the end, which also turns out to be his least favourite part of racing.

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

Clay Knightsbridge: Thankfully there were no crashes in the finale, so that is always a big plus. Back to the studio.

Julian Sovran: Thanks Clay. That has been something I've always been wondering, how people could do those sprints and not just take everybody else down with them. Now I wish I could use this as a segue to something safer, but some people will argue that rifle shooting is not necessarily a poster child for safety, even if it just the air variant. I would like to point out, though, that I have not heard of any injuries at any of these events, so they must be doing something right and speaking of doing something right, Frederick Castlethwaite is our next candidate and he did not just win a bronze medal, but he also set a new Olympic record in the ranking round. Here is Caitlin Makonda again.

Caitlin Makonda: It is a widespread cliche that boys like guns. Nobody really knows why, but sometimes an early interest in them can go a long way. Enter Frederick Castlethwaite, 23-year old air rifle specialist from Baraldhur, Balkash. Just like so many boys he was fascinated with guns from an early age, so it was just natural that he would join a shooting club in his hometown as early as their statutes would allow.

Other kids would go hang out and play video games all day and night or go out, I'd be at the shooting range. Some kids would think I was cool for being able to shoot well, others thought I was the next serial killer in the making. But I guess that I managed to stay on the right side of the law after all." - Frederick Castlethwaite.

Caitlin Makonda: As soon as the Tikariotian Olympic Committee announced its intention to send a delegation to Liventia and Banija, Frederick was one of the first athletes to officially announce his intention to participate and given his national pedigree it was just a formality to see him show up on the athletes' list. He did not see it as anything particularly different to be performing at the Olympics.

"Sure there are more people watching and more people participating, but what it comes down to is you, your rifle and the target. At that moment it doesn't matter if you are at the Olympics, your local shooting club or your basement. You aim, you shoot and hopefully you hit the target smack dab in the middle." - Frederick Castlethwaite

Matt Novak: So this leaves one more athlete that has managed to enter his name into the Olympic record books and in the only sport that has yielded two medals so far, judo. Our last medal so far has been on the account of Sauma Kalaihea in the 90 kg class. Clay Knightsbridge has some more information on him.

Clay Knightsbridge: Sauma Kalaihea has been one of Tikariot's biggest medal hopes in judo, but he almost would not have been participating in it. Born in Shehandra in the far southeast of Taeria, Kalaihea's family has a long-standing tradition in wrestling and his father wanted him to follow in his footsteps. However he had other plans and against his father's wishes he insisted on pursuing judo and it did not take long for even his headstrong father realize that the kid had a future in this.

"This was my first victory of my career, winning over my old man. He really wanted me to follow the tradition, but you know, sometimes you just know that a path is not the right one for you. I think that what convinced him was when he challenged me to a match and I got him down." - Sauma Kalaihea

Clay Knightsbridge: Sauma has several of his extended family participating in the Olympics and his cousin Faitalia even is part of the TSG TV team. Some people often think that the Olympic delegation is kind of like a big family, Sauma, Faitalia and the others prove that it really is.

Damian Carovalo: Thank you Clay. So, I hope that you enjoyed our little behind the scenes look to get to know our athletes a bit better and I also hope that we will be able to do several more of these in the days to come! Tonight we will resume our regular live coverage from the Olympics and hope to see you then!

by **Teremaran Olympics Delegation** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 7:49 am

Current Day
Orean, Liventia

Alec Beaumont, the Gaulic Athletics Minister felt on the spot. He seemed to keep getting thrust into a leadership role when it came to the rest of the Teremaran officials, and yet, it wasn’t a role he felt naturally suited for and certainly didn’t desire.

Bruchmeier, the Austrak, had made it clear that he didn’t care about anyone else but his own athletes. It was understandable, but not the position that a top Teremaran athletic official should take in trying to represent all the delegation. Some of the others were just too new - Soler, din Olteni, Einarsdottir, the distracted Al-Fasi, and then there was the whacky San Rositan Colonel, who just seemed lost in the ether. Namestikov, the Falkasian cyborg, had absolutely no social skills to be talking to the athletes, even from his own nation. Rolondsson, the Yellowsian, was just...a caricature of what everyone in Teremara assumed such socialist, isolationist Nordics should talk and act like. Plus the fact, Bruchmeier, din Olteni, Rolondsson, Einarsdottir, and Namestikov were over in Istria right now, leaving Koepller, Beaumont, Soler, Villalobos, and Al-Fasi to run things here in Orean, shrinking the pool greatly. A couple of the officials would probably fly back and forth to throw support behind some big events coming up for their athletes, but for the most part, they'd stay put.

That left Jean-Marc Koepller, the Neu Engollian...who was downright slippery. Every time Alec tried to ask his sometime friend and counterpart from the Confederacy to address the athletes or organize a large task, he conveniently disappeared. One on one, Koepller had a rapport with most of the athletes he approached, even Austraks and Yellowsians, who had every reason to hate him for what he represented. He had a certain charm to him. So it wasn’t that he lacked social skills, but that he’d rather not take any responsibility for the larger tasks for the delegation.

So, that left Alec to go it alone and hope to drum up a little support from the other officials. They’d done well enough to gather as many of the Teremaran athletes in Orean into this borrowed large meeting room in the Olympic Village. His colleagues had spread the word, at least. Koepller had even come through with a caterer, who seemed to have brought as many condiments as actual dishes.

Alec tapped on the microphone.
“Um...thank you for being here. Some of you have already competed, some of you are waiting, and some of you are taking time out from a training maintenance schedule to be here this afternoon. We thank you for that. On behalf of all of us, all Teremarans, we thank you for making the journey, both in your lives, and physically to overcome whatever you had to, in order to be here today. I don’t want to get heavy here, as that is not the point of this event. We want you all to just get better acquainted with each other so that you can support each other better. Get to know each other and realize that we are one big team working hard together to live out our full potential...er...”

Jean-Marc had come up to the mic. Alec handed it over, a surprised look on his face.
“Yeah...Just a reminder, no smoking outside this pavilion and no drinks walking out of here. Officially, we don’t have alcohol and that’s not part of what we’re doing, but I know you kids! Don’t do it or we could cause an incident and you would piss away everything you got here for in the first place. Don’t do it. Be smart. Yeah...thanks, Alec.”

“Thanks, um...Jean-Marc...Where was I?”

“Have fun!”

“Yes. Have fun. Be smart. Be safe.”

“Use a condom.”

“Not going to repeat that. Um...okay. We’re done.”
Beaumont walked away from the mic in the front of the pavilion meeting hall. He stabbed a finger at Koepller.
“You didn’t fucking help at all! Use a condom?! Really?!”

“Haha. Calm down, Alec. It’s fine. You’re getting too serious here. It’s a bunch of kids from across the region with a lot of muscles and hormones to burn off. It’s just a light get-together.”

“That’s what I’m nervous about.”

“I’d be more worried about the fights.”

“I am worried about fights, you dumbass!”

“Oh...well you should be.”

Beaumont looked at him steamed, then walked off to go monitor some of the interactions, going into the overpaid chaperone mode that was their second job here. Koepller shrugged, but strolled on. He grabbed a punch off the table, then waited until a high table blocked his view from most of the delegation athletes there. He began to pour a flask into the punch and swirl it around. He replaced the flask in a side pocket, then carried on to find an audience.

Mirèio Soler, the Lacetan representative from the sports ministry, happened to overhear that conversation and get a laugh out of it. She’d even thought of what would’ve been a good comeback: Only in hockey!. But nobody was in earshot to use it, and the moment was passed anyway. At least it entertained herself.

Just to think, a sport where there’s regulations and expectations of violence..., she thought incredulously.

Muhammad Al-Fasi, the token Gragastavian among the Teremaran Olympic Committee’s leadership, slipped his otherwise ubiquitious smartphone into the pocket of his blazer and made his way to the microphone. “Greetings, athletes,” he began. “I have an important message for my fellow Gragastavians from President Al-Hussein himself.”

There was a sudden outpouring of applause and cheering at the mention of the president’s name. Al-Fasi raised his hand to silence them.

“You weren’t supposed to do that!” he said with a smile, before beginning to read the letter. “Dear Gragastavian Olympians:‘I congratulate you on your achievement. To be selected to represent Gragastavia in the greatest athletic competition on the international stage is an honor all its own, though it is by no means an honor as great as service to one’s nation. While I of course invite and encourage you to keep bringing glory to the Gragastavian people as Olympic athletes for as long as you feel is appropriate based on your athletic and medical condition, rest assured that even after your retirement from sport, there will still be room in my government for esteemed representatives of our nation that yet yearn for another opportunity to be of service. Patriots such as yourselves are always welcome at my table, for is not my table also the table of our great nation? I hope that I can count on your vote in the upcoming election, and know that the cause of reunification will never end until Gragastavia is one with itself once again. Long live the Republic! Allahu akbar!”

As if it were a conditioned reflex, the Gragastavian athletes broke out into a standing ovation of Al-Fasi as he stood their basking in their acclaim. A chorus of “Allahu akbar!” bounced between them like a beach ball at a concert. Al-Fasi could feel the surprise of his fellow organizers behind him, so he decided to bring his address to a close. Once the excitement of the Gragastavians in the crowd had died down, he leaned in to the microphone again.

“I believe I can speak on behalf of the president when I say that he thanks you for your enthusiasm. Pursuant to his message, I am available to speak with any one of you regarding your retirement plans, but even so, I encourage you all to make the president proud. The eyes of the nation are on you, and we expect nothing less than the best from our finest athletes. God bless you all!”

There was some confused applause among the non-Gragastavians in the audience, while the Gragastavians went wild to express their support and admiration of their delegation’s top official. They seemed unperturbed by the veiled insinuations of the president’s message, or perhaps they were doing their best to put on a brave face, knowing full well the peril that might await them upon their return to Gragastavia if they did not measure up to whatever arbitrary standard that was being held against them.

Rupert Gendlemann, the road cyclist from Austrakia, shook his head in disgust. He spoke none too quietly to anyone around him who bothered to listen, motioning with his punch cup,
“What is this jihadist shit?! Is this allowed? We having a jihadi rally now?”

Tommy DiFirenza, the veteran Neu Engollian road racer, curled his lip up at his Austrak counterpart. He swallowed a bit of sandwich he’d gotten from the buffet table, and washed it down.
“Hrm...Calm down, dude. It just means God is great. They’re religious. So are some of the Glisandians, what of it? Just because they’re Arab, you don’t have to insinuate they are Islamic terrorists?”

“Aren’t they, though? That’s how they got this new republic, am I right?”

“That’s South Gragastavia.”

“No, pretty sure it was in the north that they just got rid of the monarchy, or their King died and they went all jihadist.”

“There have been Islamic radicals over there for decades. Maybe you should do more research before you go all racist.” This from Andrea Goviani, also a Neu Engollian cyclist. She looked over at their Gragastavian teammates, Hussein Faizal and Qasim Labidi, thankful they weren’t near enough to be hearing this shit.

“Oh, so Tommy is all the Southern Tavlyrian expert now.”

“Maybe I just know enough to not spout my mouth off, Gendlemann. Dude, chill. Get some food and enjoy the scenery.”
Tommy DiFirenza had been on the cycling circuit for some time, having done the Island Tours and many of the past Olympics. He had a lot of silver streaks in his otherwise jet black hair and was of moderate height and a very wiry, but still muscular build. He was a legend in southern Neu Engollon and a lot of the younger athletes, not just Neu Engollians, looked up to him.

Gendlemann was a brown haired, bearded short man with sharp, Teutonic features like many of his countrymen. He was not exactly a fresh newb on the cycling circuit, but neither was he quite the seasoned vet. For the most part, he had the stereotypical fasco-racist downtrodden martyr complex that a lot of that generation of Austraks tended to lean towards. It mirrored their government and their attitude towards the rest of Madurin. Many of the other Teremaran cyclists avoided him because of it. He hadn’t taken the hint yet, nor did he seem like he would any time soon.

Cycling wasn’t the only discipline that had dissension in the ranks. The equestrians also felt it. Joaquim Dietz, an Austrak, was actually one of the few equestrians that wasn’t a Gragastavian, other than a Glisandian woman named Darena Roginsdottir, who also got a fair amount of derision from Dietz. He really didn’t much care for his Southern Tavlyrian colleagues though, and after the speech from Al-Fasi, he found the first group of athletes he could that didn’t include a Gragastavian among them. It happened to be a bunch of swimmers.
“Can you believe that? What was that political nonsense? I thought we were supposed to not give into all that political, religious crap, especially not spouting it off over a mic?”

Lucrecia Joubert, the Gaul swimmer, scowled.
“You’re not doing a service to yourself either, to go on about this political stuff. It’s kind of hypocritical of you, isn’t it?”

Dietz let out a raspberry sound.
“I didn’t get up there to the microphone and say all that. Our athletics minister, Bruchmeier, didn’t do that…”

“He was just hyping up his people for the rest of the Games. Point is, maybe you should just let it go and not make a deal out of it.”

“Ah, the Gauls - you’ve taken in quite a few southern Tavlyrians into your Republic, figures you would be influenced by them.”

Amalia Herscheg was embarrassed to be an Austrakian right about now, as she had Dietz in front of her, and Gendlemann, out of the corner of her eye, both going on their little fascistic rants. Fact was, she found it hard to be proud of her country most of the time, but right now was a particularly low moment.
“Listen Dietz, your high horse isn’t here to look down from, it’s back in the stables. Maybe you should go find it, horsey rider?”

Dietz panned her with a livid look, but didn’t have a comeback ready for that. He fled, mumbling something about ‘traitor’ over his shoulder.

The rest of the swimmers laughed and high fived Herscheg. Nadja Eldórsdottir, the Glisandian swimmer, went so far as to hug her tight and give her a cheek peck. They went back to their revelry.

by **Kelssek** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 8:05 am

TRIATHLON (W)
Hudson breaks from the pack to win triathlon gold
Norah Hudson found just enough left in the tank to break away from a tight leading pack and take the gold medal in a close finish to the women’s triathlon in Istria. It also marked Kelssek’s first gold of the 14th Summer Olympics.

With a leading group of four runners in the final two kilometres, the places on the podium came down to a mix of strategy and training. Mattijana’s Kaia Krancek made the first move, opening up a gap and forcing the other three to dig deep to keep up. Hudson timed her effort and picked up her stride in the final 500 metres to overtake Krancek. West Phoenicia’s Houa Chen momentarily drew level with Hudson, but she found another gear to pull away at the end and finish with a 9-second lead.

“It’s hard to describe, really. You’re not really thinking at that point, but in training and from experience I know at what point I can really push it, what my limits are, so it was a mix of knowing at this point I’m going to go all out, and from there you’re just trying to stay ahead of other competitors, knowing what’s at stake in this particular race.”

Events like the triathlon don’t always come down to such fine margins, but here Hudson’s work on small details like running in the sand knowing that Istria would feature a beach start, as well as work to make sure the transitions went off smoothly paid off. Hudson was quick to play down this factor, though, saying they don’t matter if you’re not doing the work to be where such small things can make a difference in the first place.

“Living in Dartmoor, I’d be training on the beach anyway, and I wouldn’t say it’s always worth spending valuable training time on stuff like running with the bicycle, or practicing changing shoes, but when it does matter, if you have the extra bandwith to spend on stuff like that, you definitely don’t want something going wrong there and making the difference at the finish line.”

Hudson’s victory comes two years after taking time off from the sport to have a child, something she also noted the Kelssek Olympic Committee needs to improve its policies on.

“I can’t be the first to have dealt with this, but they need to have it in their system that athletes can get pregnant. I remember talking to them and they were like, ‘well, we can’t call pregnancy an ‘injury’, but we’ll work something out’, and I’m glad they did. I hope other athletes see this medal, and the sports authorities see this medal, and change their perceptions a bit to realize this is a gap in the system.”

WATER POLO
Kelssek seeks to tighten grip on the top group spots

MEN’S MD4
KELSSEK – 9
Sponner (2), Tetsu (2), Ó Conaill (2),
Hakemi, Dossena, Cavendish,
Dostidis
GTR VAKOLICCI HVN – 8
{missingName!;@#$!!}
(3-1, 3-1, 2-2, 2-0)
WOMEN’S MD4
KELSSEK – 11
Rust (4), Davis (3), O’Shea (2)
Mueller, Torche
ERAMAN – 3
{missingName!;@#$!!}
(3-0, 3-1, 2-1, 3-1)

The Kelssek men’s team defeated Greater Vakolicci Haven to record three wins from three and secure what could be a crucial advantage in fight to advance from the group stage, while the women’s team tightened their grip on the top spot in their group with two good wins in a row.

The women’s team held off an unexpectedly strong challenge from Npc West Florida to win 10-8 and remain unbeaten after four matches in the group stage. With the match tied after three quarters, Kelssek were methodical in the final frame and their better conditioning showed as they made full use of counter-attack opportunities to close out the win. Kelssek then rolled over Eraman 11-3, capitalizing on the physicality of Taylor Rust in front of the net to make the difference as the hole set led the team with four goals. While it’s not comfortable a lead by any means, Kelssek remains well-placed to advance at the top of their group with two matches remaining.

SWIMMING
Soucière swims to silver in 200m fly
Alaine Soucière won the silver medal in the women’s 200m butterfly to secure Kelssek's first individual medal in the pool, while in the other swimming finals, Megan Harkness and Talia Nakamura finished fourth and fifth in the women’s 100m backstroke. It was a dispiriting finish for Harkness, who was in first place after the first lap but then faltered over the final stretch as Taeshan’s Rita Carmichael. Meanwhile, Nakamura said she was pleased to have qualified and done well in the final.

“It’s not the time I wanted but making it to the final is important and it’s also about how you stand, so it’s just keep working with the coaches and do better next time,” said Nakamura, who continued to provide a cavalcade of media-friendly platitudes.

Brandon Chang was beaten out at the wall for the bronze medal in the men’s equivalent, as West Phoenicia’s Phoenix Chambers timed his final stroke perfectly to touch the wall 300ths of a second before Chang. It’s still an impressive feat for the 19-year old, who is set to split his time between studying at University of Kingstown and training at the Swimming Kelssek National Centre of Excellence in the city once the Olympics are over.

“I think I’m really learning about how to really compete at this level. You can’t bet on ranking in the heats meaning you don’t have to push in the semis,” said Chang on his experience so far. “There’s just too many speedy boys here.”

There's more to look forward to in the next swimming session. Elsie Manning qualified for the final of the women’s 200m breaststroke and Annika Niemi in the 100m freestyle, while Eirik Thorolfsson will be in the final of the men’s 200m backstroke.

A correction has been made: Swimming Kelssek media relations insisted that Chang did mean to say “speedy bois” but the copy editor still wasn’t having this Gen Z bullshit.

DIVING
Kelssek wins silver in Electrum-fied diving event
Electrum’s pair of Lochie Evans and Kellan Evans went big and won it all in the men’s 3m synchronized diving event, finishing with a score of 490.70. The pair of Nathan Daniels and Kyle Marring won silver for Kelssek with a score of 419.80 – a difference that might usually suggest everyone else had one more dive to go.

What really happened was that the Evanses went right for high difficulty dives, a risky strategy that can backfire if the dive itself doesn’t score well or worse, if the divers make a mistake and fail the dive. They set the tone with a near-perfect reverse two-and-a-half somersaults three twists and a reverse four somersaults pike.

“That’s the point when I just shook my head, and thought to myself, we’re not going to beat that. When we saw the list they submitted it was like, that’s crazy if they can pull it off. And they did. Sometimes you just have to put your hands up and say, no one’s beating that,” said Kelssek diving team coach Marc Horrocks.

Daniels has now won medals in three successive Games, but has not decided if he wants to continue competing after this Olympics.

“It was just about focusing on our own dives. It does set something of a standard that we know that we’re going to have to work on doing more, that maybe the usual strategy has got to change. So after this Olympics, we’ll think about what we’re going to do next time.”

COMING UP
Rowing finals to watch
It could be a big day for Kelssek at the rowing regatta as rowers secured places in the finals of the men’s coxless pairs, men’s coxless fours, women’s coxless pairs, women’s double sculls, women’s coxless fours.

Women’s rugby in knockout rounds
Kelssek faces Mattijana in the octo-finals after a patchy run through the group stages that saw some big wins against The Sarian and Pripet, but also an error-riddled 28-12 loss to Greater Vakolicci Haven. The men’s team are out of the tournament after they recorded an embarrassing record of one win and six losses, and there’s little to say that the raging Honkr mob hasn’t already declared in all caps.

by **Northwest Kalactin** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 12:27 pm

Part 1
Part 2
Is Northwest Kalactin Turning to Anarchy?
Each day it gets worse and worse, Northwest Kalactin has and civil unrest brewing since the election of Jason Mitchell, and at first it was the Comminist party, but with each day going by, it seems that we are starting to turn to anarchy. Just in the past week, over 10 soldiers have died as a result of shooting by civilians, the first time it has happened in over 120 years. 3 of the 5 largest forts in the nation have started evacuation processes, and many smaller ones are following suit. The Gold Coast Police Department has reported on some days, just 30% of officers showing up for work, and the numbers are going down. Jason Mitchell at first tried to crush the protests with the force of the military, but as they are starting to turn violent, and many soldiers have already submitted their resignation papers. Northwest Kalactin is in a very dark state right now, and it is getting worse. One of the protesters has said “Even though I support these protests, I’m not sure that it is a great idea to turn this nation into an anarchy, I know that it is going to turn into one at this point, it is clear.” Some others have stated that, “everyone should be freed from the strict and tyrannical rule of the government, we need this for our nation.”

Jason Mitchell, the man who started this entire mess, is expected to make a speech on the fate of the government tonight, though it is not clear what he will do. It is rumored that Mitchell, just may abdicate the position on Prime Minister, which could ensure the direction that the nation is going. Mitchell has already been criticized for his handling of the current situation, and what goes down tonight, will solidify his reputation in the minds of the people. The possible scenarios that could go down tonight are endless, so let’s go over what could happen:

1. Mitchell Stands Firm on His Position
If he makes this choice, it could very well give back the people confidence in him, and help him rebound from this situation, if it goes wrong though, Mitchell will be sought after by the protestors as one to hurt, or even further, kill.

2. Mitchell Does Nothing and Hopes The Protests Boil Down
This is probably the safest choice for the nation, but not the government. If this is made, the protests will likely cool off, but the government has no say in where it will go.

3. Mitchell Resigns
This is the Doomsday scenario, worst case, the last shot. If he resigns tonight, the nation will likely never be the same again, and Kalactin will likely become an anarchy. If he does this, he will probably be exiled to a foreign nation, and may never see Kalactin again.

by **Darmen** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 12:30 pm

Owens Wins Gold in Mountain Biking

MADFORD REDFORD NATIONAL FOREST, LIVENTIA - Sosimo Owens has won Darmen's second gold medal of these games with a brilliant final lap performance in the men's cross-country mountain biking event.

Having been forced to change bikes twice during the race, including once due to a broken saddle, Owens found himself 34 seconds behind the leader, Robert Stamm of Siovanija and Teusland, as the riders began the final lap. Through a monster effort on the final lap, as well as extra maneuvering through the various obstacles on the course, Owens was able not only to claw back the 34 second lead, but also win with a gap of 17 seconds.

"Owens was 51 seconds faster than Stamm on the final lap," commented Darmeni coach Raphael Power. "That's a pretty incredible feat for any cyclist and I'm sure the fans must have been really excited and proud by the effort."

Two other Darmeni mountain bikers participated in the race: Reinhold Jiménez who finished 28th and Tobiah Finley in 38th place.

Darmeni Swimmers Claim Two More Golds

ISTRIA, BANIJA - Cruz Kruger claimed his second gold medal at these games, being victorious in both the 200m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle realy. Alon Harrison added his name to the list of Darmeni medal winners by claiming gold in the 800m freestyle, winning by almost a second and a half over Astograthian Marz Elespe.

These two medals bring Darmen's total medals in Swimming to three, a huge boost to a sport which has never enjoyed much popularity or success in Darmen. They also bring Darmen's overall tally in gold medals to four, just one behind Darmen's record of five gold medals in an Olympiad. The mark of five gold medals in a Games has been reached twice, in the 9th and 12th Olympics.

Gaius Mac Thaidhg, Darmen's Chef de mission, has announced that he wants the athletes to meet and surpass the record. "Nothing short of six gold medals at these Games will do. Darmeni sport has a great opportunity to usher in a new chapter of Olympic success and it is an opportunity we can not pass up."

The same team that won the men's 4x100m freestyle relay will have a chance to win another gold medal as they take to the pool for the 4x200m freestyle relay today. Other events where Darmen may potentially medal include the men's and women's individual cycling time trials and the quadruple skulls in men's rowing.

by **South Newlandia** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 1:06 pm

Olympic Coverage on South Newlandia One: Day 5 Excerpts

OJ: Good evening viewers and welcome to yet another exciting day at the Olympic Games in Istria, here live on South Newlandia One! Today will bring us so many important games and matches; I don’t know where to start!
JK: Well, there is of course almost every South Newlandian’s favourite sport, football. South Newlandia will battle Siovanija and Teusland in a game that could potentially decide who makes the Round of 16. The baseball team will have another do or die game; can’t lose or they are going home; South Newlandia versus Vekaiyu. The beach volleyball team will have a similar scenario later today, and there is of course our two medallists Helen Berger and Gabriel Forster, who each have a chance to reach the semi-finals in the Table tennis singles. So much interesting stuff today, let us jump right in with the football game! Brandon van Simonson, your turn.
BvS: We are minutes away from the kickoff here, and South Newlandia is really going for it. A win should hopefully be enough to advance, maybe even a draw, we’ll have to see about that. The South Newlandian team in what might be the last official game ahead of the very important qualifiying campaign for the 86th World Cup, and they are really going for a win today with all of the top stars playing. Siovanija and Teusland have received the kick-off in this great atmosphere here in Eastern Stadium. Until we start here, let’s go over to Lucia Millher for a moment here, the baseball game has already started?
LM: Yes, indeed; we are in the bottom of the third quarter, and neither team has scored a run so far. Really not that great a baseball game, but at least Blake Robbins is holding on at the moment; or maybe he will stop doing that, right in this inning. As I said, bottom of the third, Fabio Ventura has already gone 0-2 in this game, the last at-bat leaving two runners stranded; the top star is really letting us down, yet again. We are at one out, with a runner on second; we stole the second base after a walk. This batter right here, the count is 2-0, and that pitch is a hit! It flies to Right Field, right to Fabio Ventura, this is an important catch, and he drops the ball, he didn’t catch it! He rocovers the ball fast and throws to the catcher, but the damage is already done! Vekaiyu is leading, 1-0, after this double after a Ventura error! Truly an abysmal second game for him, I don’t know what’s wrong. By the way, Vekaiyu, those are vulpines, some kind of fox-humans? If you saw the game between South Newlandia and Vekaiyu in Softball recently, you know what I am talking about. Their pitcher has really done good work against South Newlandia so far, and we now see the next at-bat for Vekaiyu;
BvS: Goal! Siovanija and Teusland has taken an early lead! A nice play here, leaving the right side of the defense completely stranded, and South Newlandia is down by one goal! Trischuk didn’t look to great on this one; and that isn’t great news, to be honest. That early goal against them obviously puts the Elephants in a hole they’ll need to work to get themselves out of; really early trouble, the opposite of what they wanted. I will keep you updated, we go to Jessica Libakra!
JL: I am here at the Royal Banijan Air Force Base, and we watch right now the fourth match day; Victoria Hope and Cindy Summers are playing against Evelyn Cho and Stephanie Guitterez from Benjamin Mark. The South Newlandian duo is 1-2 up to this point, while their opponents have been enjoying a 3-0 win streak so far; today is the very last chance for Hope and Summers to turn things around. It is the first set, and so far, both sides have been having a tough fight, with no one really better or worse. South Newlandia is leading 19-18, the serve is currently at their opponents. That serve comes in low, and hits the net! 20-18 for South Newlandia, that’s two set balls! Really important chance to go ahead right now, they’ve got to take this one! The serve is good, hard to defend, but that’s good setup play. Ball flies over, well taken by Hope, Summers with a fantastic setup for Hope, and she smashes it in! Set South Newlandia, they take this important first one, great effort! A 2-0 win would give them back dome chnaces, we will see if they can get there! For now, we move on to Lucia.
LM: The game is still terrible here, Ventura now 0-3, it sucks. Still 0-1 too, at least Robbins is holding on here, but they will need a big turnaround here. Three innings left to go, so we are through this soon, I hope. Let’s go somewhere else as fast as we can; Marcus Marksman.
MM: We are here live at the Rukunbi Sporting Gymnasium, and we are watching both Berger and Forster in action, as both have a chance to make a really big step towards a second medal today. Ladies first, Berger has played three sets so far against Lorna Vandersar from Tikariot. Like Forster’s opponent yesterday, she is proving to be very good at table tennis, and Berger is down 1-2 in the sets. This one isn’t going well either, with this point, Vandersar is up 10-6, netting her four set balls to take a 3-1 lead. Berger is fighting, as she always does, the ball’s going back and forth, but that one hits the net and misses the plate! Berger loses set four, and will need to take all of the three last sets to get to the final four. A tough task, but we are talking about Helen Berger. Gabriel Forster, he had a kind of strange day. He didn’t know his opponent until just before this match, as a spectator noticed that there had been an error earlier in the tournament; a federation sneakily sent three athletes to compete, which went unnoticed by the authorities here. No blame on them, they caught a lot, and I mean a lot of other mistakes, including a small one the South Newlandian federation made; but they couldn’t have expected such a sneaky trick. Anyway, after a late Round of 16 re-matchup, Benedict Kline from Renzynistan was Forster’s opponent. We are right at the end of set four here, too, and Forster is currently leading 2-1. This fourth set has been going well for him, after a 14-12 back and forth in the third that he eventually won. The game is, with this fantastic point, at 10-7 now, three set balls. The ball is in play again, both players are looking really good so far, great match up, and that is it! Set Forster, and he is up 3-1, just one set away from the final four! The opposite situation of Berger, and we are heading back over to Brandon.
BvS: It is almost kickoff for the second half here, we haven’t seen any further goals, South Newlandia is still down 0-1. They need a turnaround now, and Wolerine is trying his best. It would be the first time South Newlandia ever goes down in the group stage of anything; they are trying to avoid that. Irving, Glossman and McCabe now all on the field in a 4-3-3, Mada still stranded on the bench; Mohamed has been taken out of the game. I will keep you up to date, we move on over to Jessica.
JL: Second set is almost over here, and Summers and Hope are back to struggling. They have been fighting, but the score doesn’t lie, its 16-20 against them. The team from Benjamin Mark now has four attempts to equalize this match, they serve; that’s a slightly sloppy setup here, difficult attempt here for Summers, she tries it anyway, but this one misses the field, and the match is tied at one set apiece! That will be an uphill fight now, they are clearly exhausted already, won’t be easy for them here. Moving on, Lucia.
LM: The match got interesting all of a sudden, but not the good kind. South Newlandia briefly took the lead in the eighth, but it got equalized right away. Fabio Ventura left batters stranded again in a terrible 0-5 showing, nothing from him today, and he is dragging the team down. Closer Marcel Adams is already under pressure, no outs yet, runner on first, full count. The pitch comes in, and that is a hit, popping up towards David Drum. The Shortstop isn’t quite close enough to get this one, but scoops it up fast and manages to get the runner out with a fast throw to second, great play by Drum! The batter from this is save at first base, and we are moving on to next batter, one out now. Adams, not really the best South Newlandian closer, he needs two more outs to send this one to extras, but instead the batter send this very first ball flying! The ball is going down the first baseline, not clear if it is going out, but it’s going far, Dunlop trying to chase it, and… It’s a home run. The ball is ruled fair, just inside the field, and South Newlandia is making a painful exit from tournament with a game to spare. We –
BvS: More bad news here, Siovanija and Teusland has just scored again. South Newlandia is now down 0-2, that was a fast counter attack over the almost exposed defense here, and Trischuk was outplayed, plain and simple. Just under half an hour left to play, looks like we are getting two exits today. Still stuff to play for here, but against such a good team, it will be very hard to make a comeback here. Marcus, do you have better news for us?
MM: Indeed, I do! Forster has pulled through in six, after having a bunch of match points in the fifth, he ended it in set six, advancing to the last four. And Helen Berger is also still in this, she has been clawing her way back! We are in the middle of set seven right now, after the last two were won by Berger 11-8 and 11-3, really torching Vandersar in the sixth; this one is at 9, no, 10-8 for Berger! Two match balls Berger, that’s a possibility to make an absolutely huge comeback to reach the final four. Vandersar is hanging on, now she has to make comeback of her own, really big fight, immensely important ball right here, and Berger, almost! That was close, but its 10-9 now, still a match ball left, that would be amazing to get both Berger and Forster in the semis. Another very contested ball, great topspin, and what a smash for Berger there! She got it, Helen Berger reaches the semi-finals, what a game! She will be playing Lara Krausser there for a place in the gold medal match, from Siovanija and Teusland, while Forster will battle Krytenia’s Glenn Jackson for a place in the final. That’s all from me today, we will see us tomorrow, let’s check in with Jessica.
JL: We have just missed it, Summers and Hope lost out in the third and final set against the team from Benjamin Mark, 7-15, not really close. They really just were out of gas at the end there, not much they could’ve done about that, but it puts them at a 1-3 record, far worse than they had hoped for, and officially eliminated, sadly. That’s all from me, we will see us again for that final matchday, but until then, let’s get to Brandon and the end of the soccer game.
BvS: We are in the last few minutes of the game, and Wolverine has really gone for all or nothing by now. He brought in Bishop and Mada in one last desperate attempt to push for an equalizer here, changing the Elephants into an amazing 2-4-4 formation, and they have eight players in their opponents half right now. Siovanija and Teusland is defending their lead very well, but that may be an opening here; McMora over the right side, getting it into the middle, there is McCabe, gives it to the side to Mada; and GOALL! Only 1-2! South Newlandia with the goal here, Romleb Mada scores, no chance for the goalie, nothing he could’ve done about that! Three minutes left to play here; the Elephants are just one goal away from the Round of 16! Can they complete an absolutely spectacular comeback here? Just two minutes remain on the clock now, it’s still very close, South Newlandia in possession, but they can’t really find an opening. Some dribblings here for Bishop, but not much coming from it, the Elephants are stuck here. Finnley Wallis loses the ball, and that gives their opponents some time to relax. Just 60 seconds remaining on the clock, things are not looking ideal at the moment, but they do; no they don’t regain possession. They are stuck defending here a little bit, not much possible, and that is the end of regular time. The referees have indicated two minutes of stoppage time, I think that’s a little less than we could’ve gotten, but its 120 seconds they might be able to use. Time still ticking down, its working against the Elephants, right now, Siovanija and Teusland would be in the sweet sixteen. Still a minute left, one last attack maybe, that’s McCabe here, putting it to Irving, and he decides to just shoot from about 25 metres, the ball is coming in dangerously, but a good save by the goalie, the ball goes over the crossbar. One last corner for the Elephants, every single player, including Mikhail Trischuk, the goalie, is now in the penalty box. The ball is coming in, Corban kicking it in in search for Dhruv Roy, but doesn’t find him, and the ball is kicked out of the penalty box, and that is the final whistle! South Newlandia is defeated, and eliminated from the tournament, after a hard fight. That is it from me, not just for today, but for the Olympics. I will miss this, and we are now headed back to the studio!
JK: Two sad eliminations today.
OJ: A disappointing day all around, the table tennis really saved us today. Imagine if Berger and Forster lost as well!
JK: Yeah, but now, they both have excellent chances to get medal number two. Meanwhile, did you see Sansara’s face? Do you think he loses his job over this performance?
OJ: Possible. I do think he will be still here for the last game, but if they lose to the 0-3 Fraglia-Cox too, I don’t see a whole lot working in his favour. That may be potentially more than an unimportant fourth game; this might end up being very important. Pretty sure Wolverine’s job is save, at least, you can hardly blame him, he had decent performances recently.
JK: I do agree, Wolverine is doing a good job, I trust him to do well in the World Cup Qualifiers, to start soon. What do we have here tomorrow?
OJ: We finally get some room to catch a breath, although there will be a medal chance. The Softball team is playing their fifth and last group stage game, against the People's Republic of Xabia. The South Newlandian team has already clinched their appearcance in the Round of 16, but this is still about seeding, of course; going 5-0 would be very helpful; see that here live tomorrow with Lucia Millher. And, perhaps more importantly, the table tennis Singles are coming to an end. Helen Berger will play both games tomorrow, with medals on the line; gold is still very possible for her. And Gabriel Forster will be in his semifinal, we have to wait for the medal matches until day seven. All of that here, live, with Marcus Marksman. That’s actually already it.
JK: Well, that’s more than enough in my opinion. That ends our coverage for the day, my name is Jim Koolman,
OJ: and I am Olivia Jones. Hope to have you watching again tomorrow, here, on South Newlandia One.

by **Nagore** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 1:17 pm

How to Give No F***s as the World's Number One
An interview with Aliya Jones
MIcah Owensby

Just days ago, 19 year old Aliya Jones made history by becoming the first Nagorian to nab a gold medal, after placing first in women's street skating. Despite this exciting fact, you'd probably be hard pressed to find an Olympian at this games with a more relaxed demeanor. I recently sat down with Jones to discuss what this win means, (or doesn't mean) to her.

MO: Well, well, well, if it isn't Nagore's newest icon. How are you feeling after your phenomenal finish at the Olympics?

AJ: Honestly, I'm feeling a lot better now that it's over with. These past few days have made me more anxious than I've been in my entire life. I'm used to competing, and I'm obviously a competitive person, but I feel like the Olympics is different from any competition back home. Back home, if I fuck up a trick, or lose a competition, I'm only accountable to me. Sure i have my mentors and my fans watching me, but at the end of the day, nobody's going to be on my ass if I fuck up. The Olympics is different. Everyone is watching you, and you're representing this entity bigger than yourself. So yeah, I'm glad that I brought home a medal, because now everyone can stop riding me so hard.

MO: That makes a lot of sense, especially since this is Nagore's biggest "international venture" so far. How are all of the other athletes handling the extra pressure?

AJ: I dunno, I think it's really a mixed bag, but the press can be brutal. I feel like the surfers, women's handball, and women's gymnastic teams are getting the most negative coverage, because Nagore had the highest hopes for them. So, there's a lot of vile shit being put up whenever they misstep. Skateboarding is different. It has a decent sized following among younger people, but it's not like the whole nation is tuning in to see how I do. Like the pressure is still there but it's definitely different.

MO: Well, building off of that, what do you want to do when you return to Nagore? Being a Nagorian Icon at the age of 19 opens a lot of doors for you.

AJ: Honestly, I dunno. There's a part of me that kinda wants to join the 'celebrity-athlete' life, but there's also a part of me that just wants to go to college and live a normal Nagorian life. There's also a part of me that wants to just put my middle finger up in the air and retire the second the plane lands back in Nagore, but I'm only 19, and I think I've got a lot of tricks left up my sleeve, so I feel like I'm too young to throw in the towel.

MO: Well the important thing to remember is that you've got time to make these decisions, and you've definitely earned the right to have people treat you with some grace.

AJ: Exactly. And that's definitely what I'm looking forward to the most. I don't want to have to answer to anybody for a while. I just want to do me.

by **Sargossa** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 1:24 pm

SSM | Sargossan State Media

International Edition - Sport

Stroke of Bad Luck in the Pool

Blanco Borrayo reports;

Four years ago the Games in Republica were a case of close but no medal. Day five in Orean and Istria in particular had that same disappointing feeling. Back home most eyes were on the pool, as they tend to be in the first week, where the Sargossan contingent flattered to deceive. In the Men’s Backstroke there were high hopes for Yago Peralta, reigning champion in the event. But he and teammate Adrián Leguizamo came first and third in a slow heat, meaning only Peralta advanced and even then it was by a whisker. This proved a Games too far for Yago Peralta as he finished way off the pace in his semi-final. Surely the Breaststroke, a traditional Sargossan strength, would yield greater results? Well, not really as it turned out. Milagros Yepes led another slow heat to sneak into the semis but Javier Váquez crashed out. Like Peralta before him Yepes was found wanting in the semi and swiftly exited stage left.

On the Women’s side of the draw even Ariadna Martí, who is enjoying a fine personal meet, was having an off evening. The gold medallist over 200m looked out of sorts in the 100m Free and was ranked ninth overall after the semis, with the top eight advancing to the final. She was given a second chance to shine in the final of the 4 x 200m Relay but was left with far too much to do by her teammates as Sargossa finished a whopping six seconds off the podium. There was a bright spot that came in the form of Paula Dengra. She won her 200m Breaststroke heat with ease then led the field in the semis to advance into the final as the swimmer to beat. Also in the pool a strange story was unfolding as Sargossa’s women defeated Mattijana 8 – 6 in the Water Polo. It was the ladies’ third victory in the group stage and they are now just a point behind the Vilitan Union at the top of the group.

The Water Polo results were noticeable as the Summer Games always go on to show that Sargossa as a nation is pretty poor at team events. Football aside, and there’s even doubt there as the Men wait on an inquiry as to whether they advance or not from Group 10, the nation tends to struggle in the team events and these Games have been no exception. Between them the Men and Women have won a single Handball fixture. The Men are currently bottom of their group in Basketball and Baseball. The Women are bottom of their Rugby Sevens group. But both teams did finally get off the mark in the Hockey, the Men edging Jeckland in a 4 – 3 thriller and the Women overcoming Rushmori rivals Taeshan.

Tennis is always an event in which the OAS hold very quiet medal hopes, quiet because it tends to be one of the toughest battlegrounds in the whole Games. And the Sargossans have been dropping likes flies, with Gabriel Gallardo the last man standing on one half of the Singles draw, Paloma Ureña the final representative on the other and the team of Felipe Moreno and Isabel Sáez keeping some hopes alive in the Mixed Doubles. Another OAS hope is the Women’s Beach Volleyball. Eight years ago the team of Danika Candela and Cierra Zayas took gold in Kelssek and Vekaiyu and the band is back together for another tilt at the title. They bagged their fourth win in four Pool D matches against Team Diarcesia to demonstrate that they still have the magic. Mia Abasto and María Paula Costa beat pool leaders Electrum to set up a real final day tussle in Pool H.

by **Ioudaia** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 1:39 pm

Women's 3x3 Basketball
Franklin Indoor Stadium
Istria, Banija
Champion Network Live Stream

"...Rhodope's shot doesn't go in. Asenat tries the rebound, and... no!

"Only two seconds left on the clock, not much Banija can-- she's got a big drive down the court, and a three-pointer... goes in. But Ioudaia wins! Ioudaia wins!

"Wow, what a surprise this is! Not only did Ioudaia defeat host Banija, but they're headed for the knock-out rounds, something only their most die-hard fans even dreamed of! It's hard to say there's pandemonium here with only a four-person squad and just a few hundred fans, but they're trying hard! Let's go down to the court and try to get an interview..."

The stream briefly showed a wide shot of the court, before cutting to Mihr Utz courtside. She waited for a second for the celebrating players to notice her, then stepped toward the group. Rhodope bat Dinah leapt at the microphone. "We won! We won! We played strong full-court games, and competely dominated our opponents. And Atë, Atë was amazing! Every time she stepped onto the court, she brought such energy with her, it was like we put a whole new squad on the floor!"

Mihr pressed the mic towards Atë. "What do you think of your performance?"

"I'm not going to say no to the team captain, but I think the starters are stronger than she thinks."

"Oh, stop being modest!" Rhodope toussled Atë's hair. "Whatever we needed, you were there: pass, drive, rebound, block."

"Yeah, I had strong games on D, and I felt really hot with my passing game, especially these last three games."

"For the last word, let's go to Asenat, who got in Ioudaia's last shot of the group round." Mihr put her arm around the center as she got closer.

"I think we've done really, really well – Rhodope and I had a couple of solid offensive games – and I think we've got a good chance in the knock-outs."

"And now to Sophia, for the day's Olympic Roundup."

Ioudaian Olympic Village
Orean, Liventia

Still restless despite the late hour, Yotam ben Gnipho paced in his room. After taking a lap around the outside of the dorm, he decided to head to the gym, texted for a shuttle to pick him up, and checked in with the coaches. Much to his surprise, their reply said that not only were they fine with him going so late, an assistant coach was there.

Gymnastics Practice Area
National Indoor Convention Centre

Yotam smirked as he opened the door. Yup: not only was the assistant coach there, she was watching Atira bat Thisbe practice her floor exercise. He walked over to her, and waited for her to finish her routine.

"Nervous too?"

"Nah", she replied with the smallest of grins. "I have no idea what to do in an exciting new city at 9pm."

"Oh, there is at least one decent restaurant."

"But yeah, I'm pretty tense. Not just usual pre-competition nerves, I feel that everbody's hoping I get some medal tomorrow."

"At least you get two shots at a medal. I've--"

"And two routines to practice!" Atira pointed at Yotam for emphasis. "Or five, if you count each event in the all-around separately."

"I know what you mean, though. The guys' team came in set to defend our championship. I think we talked ourselves into believing what we were hearing, that back-to-back team golds just weren't a problem. I feel like everybody on the team wants me to save the Olympics for them. Sure, I'd like to, but that's a heavy weight to bear."

"Yeah." Atira took a look back at the mat, and then over at the balance beam, her other shot at gold. "I'd like to practice more, but I'm worried I'm just going to wear myself out. I really should get some sleep, maybe eat something. But I keep going over my routines in my head."

"Do you want to talk?"

"You know I have a boyfriend?"

"Where do you find the time??" He made rapid dismissive gestures with both hands; he was only kidding. "No, I mean just talk. Take our minds off our routines. Try to relax a little."

"OK. What do you want to talk about?"

"Have you gotten a chance to see the city?"

Atira shook her head. "But it sounds like you have."

"Just a little. After Anaxagoras' meltdown, I decided I needed to get away from the dorm for a while, get away from the whole Olympics. So I found a big shopping mall and took the subway there. There's a lot of stores here we don't have back home. I can't say it's the most exciting thing in town, but …" He slid his phone part-way out of his pocket. "And it's still open for over an hour. We could walk around there and window-shop until it closes."

"Sounds good. Let's go."

by **Krytenia** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 2:41 pm

Early Years
Thomas Jacob Lorqvist was born in Aigburth, the second son of a local baker. Whilst elder brother Peter learned the finer points of flour and yeast, young Tom helped out at the age of eleven, delivering fresh bread and pastries to the locals on his trusty six-speed. Little Lorqvist soon discovered that the faster he did his rounds, the more tips he got, and so began a love affair with cycling at speed.

Lorqvist soon discovered racing cycling. After convincing his father to buy him a racing cycle - agreeing to pay Papa Lorqvist back through his deliveries - he began competing in local races, first against other kids his age, then, when it became clear he was much faster than them, against adults. He soon got noticed by the Krytenian Cycling Federation's top brass, who offered him a place in their elite training programme. He was just fifteen at the time, but the KCF saw in him someone who could be part of the nation's first Olympic team a couple of years down the line. Lorqvist said goodbye to the life of a baker's son, and decamped to Emberton to become a full-time sportsman.

III Olympiad, Columbia
After a gruelling training, fitness, and dietary regime, the KCF had honed their elite cadre of cyclists into a well-oiled machine, ready to take down their rivals - especially from Sorthern Northland. Amongst the crew was a seventeen year old Tom Lorqvist. Entered into two events - the keirin and the points race - the brass must have wondered if they'd made the right decision when the teenager struggled to fourth place in his keirin heat.

They needn't have worried. If the occasion had fazed him, it wasn't for long. The Krytenian made the most of the second chance offered in the repechage, succeeding where team-mate George Hinkel had failed and eliminating Sortherner Max Melaten into the bargain. Lorqvist had hit a seam of form, and mined it in the semis, flying past Ursine cyclist Rubolph West to win and reach the final.

There, the first in a long line of velodrome scraps between sky blue and red-gold took place, with Lorqvist coming off second best. He had the pace, but Hiro Nakajuwima had the tactics, slipstreaming the Aigburth teen until he could power past on the final bend - ironically, the same way Lorqvist had won the semi-final.

A tenth place in the points race - by Lorqvist's own admission, not his favourite event - didn't dampen the experience, and he returned to see his family after the Games, beaming smile on his face and silver medal around his neck.

IV Olympiad, Aeropag
If cycling in Columbia was defined as the battle between Krytenia and Sorthern Northland, Aeropag would see the new challenge of Delaclava fighting against the old guard. Lorqvist, still not yet at the peak of his powers, was more than up for the challenge. The twenty-one year old would (happily) drop the points race, and instead take on the individual sprint. He'd also form an important cog in both the sprint and pursuit teams.

With Damian Counago and Moe Verdi alongside him, you'd have been forgiven for thinking that Lorqvist saw the sprint team as nigh-on invincible. Trust the Sortherners to puncture that belief, though, as they eliminated the Krytenian threesome in the quarter-finals.

The defeat hit Lorqvist hard, and in the keirin, he looked somewhat less than his usual self. After narrowly losing his heat to Somewhereistonia's Vesse Toll, a tactical error found him boxed in as the durney bike exited the track in the repechage, and a visibly deflated Lorqvist trailed in fifth. The team pursuit didn't go much better, as the Krytenian quartet were off the pace in qualifying, missing out on the final stages entirely in ninth.

That left the individual sprint - where Lorqvist wasn't even considered his nation's best chance of a medal. That accolade went to Counago, who true to form qualified faster than his younger rival. Lorqvist, though, was on a quest for redemption after his failure in the keirin. Bulgislavia's Humar Mesco was beaten in the first round, before the joy of taking down Sortherner Landro Pirozzi in the second.

This set up another mouthwatering clash in the quarter-finals, as Lorqvist was set to take on his fellow countryman, Damian Counago. In the end, it wasn't even close, and it felt the torch had been passed. Tim Rotchell was similarly dismissed in the semis, bringing Lorqvist to a rematch against none other than Pirozzi. Despite losing to the Krytenian early in the competition, the Sortherner had been given a reprieve in the repechage, and came back to beat the Krytenian second time around.

Once again, Lorqvist returned from an Olympics with a silver medal to take through customs; whereas the first was sweet with the enthusiasm of youth, this one was as ashes in the mouth of a man with a fiery desire for gold.

V Olympiad, Outineau
With two Olympics and two medals under his belt, Lorqvist arrived in Kelssek hungry for gold, and hoping for some revenge against the Sortherners - Landro Pirozzi in particular. This was somewhat complicated by the fact he'd been dropped from the keirin in favour of Lou Markel and Darren Medvedev.

Given the Krytenians' underperformance in the team events in Aeropag, rectifying that was first on the list. In the team sprint, Lorqvist teamed up with longtime friend and rival Damian Counago and newcomer Luke Reyes to qualify for the knockout races, before a clinical defeat of the Somewheristonian trio put them in the gold medal race. The good news was that they wouldn't face the Sorthern Northland team, who'd have to settle for bronze. The bad news is that instead they were up against Daniel Cancellara and the Delaclav team. In the end, it proved too much for the Krytenians and Lorqvist had his third career silver.

The team pursuit started even more brightly, qualifying fastest of all. An absolute shellacking of the foursome from New Rockport followed, but, once again, the men in sky blue would have to settle for silver. This time it was a Quintessential quartet containing the underrated Wurfel brothers; the writing may have been on the wall when they knocked out a Cancellara-led Delaclava in the semis.

Two events, two silvers, one more shot at glory. Lorqvist started slowly in the sprint, qualifying only sixteenth and losing in the opening round to, of all people, Counago. The repechage saved him, and meant taking on Cancellara mano a mano. It did him no good, as the man from Delaclava dumped him into the second repechage. For a second time, Lorqvist fought through - knocking out Counago for good measure - making it through to the last eight. Quodite Felix Bosch was no match for the Aigburth man, meaning he would advance to meet, yet again, a cyclist in the dreaded red and gold. Yestin Morkam was that man, and he beat the Krytenian in three races on the way to a silver of his own.

There was one bright spot, though. Lorqvist may not have won the gold he craved, but he did at least get vengeance on Pirozzi, beating him in three races to take a bronze medal. The hunger for a title would just have to wait another four years.

VI Olympiad, Lasft
By the time Lasft rolled around, Lorqvist was approaching thirty and questions were being asked as to whether he could still cut it as an elite cyclist. That question was being asked of several of the team by the end of the Games, as the velo team managed a grand total of two medals.

Thankfully, one of those did belong at least in part to Lorqvist. After a team pursuit to forget for all of the Big Three, with Krytenia and Sorthern Northland losing their first knockout races, and Delaclava suffering the embarrassment of being overtaken by Cosumar of all teams in theirs, Lorqvist and friends wanted to make up for it in the sprint. Their first victims? Delaclava, and no guessing who was leading their line. Sadly for Krytenia, the Euskirri surprise package beat them in the final, meaning yet another chunk of silver for Lorqvist.

A chance of a second medal of the games went begging, though. After battling through the first round repechage, and beating Sortherner Morann Ó Ruairc and Kericia's Sran Waters, it was their countrymen that did for Lorqvist. Vito Cippolini restored pride for the Northland with a semi-final victory, before Langley Langlais handily beat a dejected opponent to win bronze. For Lorqvist, it seemed the fire had been extinguished.

VII Olympiad, Emberton
After the Lasft Games, Lorqvist's fire did die...at least for a while. He took two years out of the sport, returning home and helping out with the growing family business. Marketing baked goods and helping open new stores, though, failed to sate the appetite, and with the carrot of an Olympics in his home country, Lorqvist remounted the saddle.

He was awarded with the accolade of a role in the Opening Ceremony, reciting the athlete's oath in front of a capacity crowd at the Isserson. Lorqvist, though, had bigger fish to fry. Four games had produced no golds, but surely this would be his time, in front of his own fans. It just had to be, especially as there would be no competitors from Delaclava or the now-irradiated Sorthern Northland to get in the way.

The team sprint started promisingly. Lorqvist, alongside Luke Reyes and debutant Ray Mester, set a new Olympic record in qualifying, and looked unbeatable. Certainly, Euskirribakondara proved little more than token resistance. In the final, Liventia's trio started strongly, but the Krytenians were not to be denied. Mester crossed the line a quarter of a second ahead, and in his fifth Games, at the age of thirty-three, Lorqvist finally had a gold medal. It's perhaps not surprising, then, that he bawled his eyes out on the podium.

One was to become two soon after. The team pursuit had provided Lorqvist and Lou Merkel a silver eight years previously, and they were looking to upgrade. Qualifying only seventh, it quickly became clear that the Krytenians were keeping their powder dry. The Qutari team were annihilated in the semis, and while Liventia did again prove a test in the final, the Krytenian quartet proved too strong a second time. Lorqvist managed to keep enough composure to actually sing O Celesta on the podium this time.

Sadly, the hat-trick proved beyond the man from the west coast. After Garrick Low of the Islands of Qutar beat him in the last sixteen of the individual sprint, Lorqvist dismounted his bicycle for the final time, with two glittering gold medals to add to his collection of silvers.

Now
After retiring from cycling, Lorqvist went back to the family business, and now oversees the expansion operations of the company, which now has over one hundred bakeries across the country. They still bake the bread to his father's recipe, and there may even be some diversification in the future; son Robbie is a qualified chef.

by **Hannasea** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 4:16 pm

Selection of articles from Hannasean news media.

Mechanistic Results Regurgitation: Basketball 3x3 team through to quarter-finals

Generic Athlete Profile Bandwagon: Addison Stewart

by **Krytenia** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 4:53 pm

DAY SIX: Medal prospects

Two days with no medals simply won't do. Luckily the sixth day of competition in Orean and Istria provides plenty of Krytenian interest, with the potential for anything up to eleven medals for the men and women in sky blue.

Rather unsurprisingly, the biggest hope is at the Widmore artificial lake. Day six marks the first of two finals days in the rowing, and it's no surprise that there's Krytenian medal chances here. In fact, the biggest surprise is that it's only two out of six. Expectation will fall on our female scullers, with both of our sets of Republican medallists hoping to upgrade their bronzes from four years ago into something more substantive. That means Roxanne Adams in the singles, whilst the two-woman craft will once again contain Jane Bull and Geraldine Wright.

They're not the only ones looking for joy on the water. Ben Gruber already has a silver for Krytenia in the canoe slalom; now it's Antonia Alban's turn in the women's C1 class. She qualified eighth from the preliminaries, and will be hoping to show the rest how it's done in the same way her compatriot did earlier in the week.

On the roads of City Centre, meanwhile, it's time trial day on the cycles. Maureen Tomassen medalled three times in the women's event, with bronzes at Lasft and Emberton followed by a silver in Orean. Hoping to emulate her are Anouska Swann and Linda Wood. For the men, meanwhile, both Alex Caruso and Warren Buchmann declined places on the road race team to keep themselves fresh for this event. Hopefully it will pay off and deliver a medal or two.

Day five's horror show in the pool means there's not currently any Krytenians in tonight's set of finals. Our 200m freestyle relay team will be hoping to rectify that in this morning's heats. Even if they don't, there's a few events with heats and semis over the course of the day, and the chance to build a foundation for more medals on day seven.

Making a splash of a different kind, meanwhile, are our table tennis players. The semi-finals of both singles events, followed by the women's final, could be a rich seam to mine. Glenn Jackson can assure himself at least a silver medal at the Rukunbi Gymnasium with a win, whilst Rebecca Morris will be hoping to start and end the day with victories. If she can do that, the gold will be hers.

Over at the Cobo Convention Centre, the team of Jane Warburton, Imogen Brooks, and Danielle Montefiore will be hoping to fill a surprising historical hole. Despite thirteen medals in fencing, no Krytenian has won a medal in the sport whilst brandishing an épée. The trio will be hoping to finally bring medals in the discipline to the storied Éscrime Emberton club.

The beam, vault, U-bars, and floor routines will be brought into focus at the NICC, as the women's gymnastics reaches the individual all-around final. Only one of our ladies made it this far, but if anything, the oodles of Krytenian fans will be cheering on Jo Jackson to give her nation its first individual all-around medal, and to score a first gymnastics medal since the women won team silver all the way back in Emberton.

Perhaps the sport that Krytenia need a good performance the most in is judo. A litany of early exits has peppered the Games so far, and the KJC has been scratching their heads as to why. It's not even a recent slide either, with only one bronze medal since Orean. Hoping to arrest Krytenian judo's disappearance into obscurity is Ben Lauder, who fights in the men's under-100kg division.

Finally, there's the most unexpected medal chance of the lot. Shooter Robyn Wilcox made it through a competitive qualifying field to make it into the six-woman trap final. Given how close the competitors seem to be, the medals are well and truly up for grabs, and Wilcox will be hoping to add a second all-time medal in the sport to Christina Rovegno's Aeropag gold.

Watch all the action from Orean and Istria at www.kbs.kt/smartview

by **Main Nation Ministry** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 6:20 pm

The Cold: To The Top and to the Bottom

The Leader jabbed the climbing axe into the cliffside. He followed the empty buildings and made sure to steer clear from anything suspicious that might be a death trap. However, upon seeing the piles and piles of rocks covering what could be the entrances of caverns. As he was near the mountain, he was noticing that the top of the mountain he was climbing was shining at the top. Possibly the sun was reflecting off of some reflective structure. Whatever it was, it was the Leader's best lead to getting to the temple.

"Ughhh! I know I have mountaining gear, but I wasn't trained to climb rock walls like these!" the Leader complained, as he was kept climbing the mountain, trying to reach the top. Eventually, he managed to reach a ledge that was overlooking some of the surrounding mountains nearby, however the Leader tried looking to see if the mercenaries were coming, making sure not to slip off, so that he would have to climb the damn thing again. Dying and having his body try to repair his broken bones was the least of his concerns. "They might have explosives to open the caves. There better be something up here that's important." the Leader thought, as he was heading up the summit, as it was more smoother, where he didn't need to use a climbing hook. At the top, there appeared to be a large stone structure with a metal spire of some occult design.

There was a square shaped opening into some darkness, which was a way to get inside of the structure, as the Leader was small enough to slip in. Digging into his bag quick, he pulled out a glowstick as he examined the interior of the structure. It was all made out of stone, but there was some wooden stairs that were leading into the mountain. Looked like it was part of a mine. However, this was the Leader's only and best lead. The Leader started to head down the stairs, however with each step, he can hear a loud creak. The stairs were full of wear and they were bound to break-

CRASH!!

"Shit no!!!" the Leader yelled, as the planks of the stairs gave way. Eventually, he knew it was going to hurt again, but luckily as he fell, he immediately felt the ground coming much earlier than expected. However, he slammed his helmet into the stone ground in the process, cracking it open and making it unuseable. "Alright..Which bones are broken now?" the Leader mused, as he checked his body to see that there was nothing serious. He checked his helmet. Not going to be of use. The air inside the cave felt more warmer. An already erupted volcano perhaps? "Well, I can let out my hair naturally.."

He saw his glowstick on the stone ground, however he didn't need it currently as there was small strands of light coming in from cracks in the walls. He still picked it up regardless and looked around. A cave system? He wasn't a cave spelunker, as he walked up to a part of the wall, he saw some markings. Cave drawings? No, they were etched into the rock. A marker. It was best that the Leader follow them.

The Leader progressed through the caves, as he felt the air be more warmer. Even as the caves were getting dark, the Leader nearly slipped off a ledge to see that there were more bottomless pits, along with some ledges that had some pointy spikes of crystals of some material. Did he still have his climbing rope? Yes, he did. He might have to climb down, sooner or later to get to the bottom. As he was following the markers, eventually the markers were leading him directly to a large obsidian door carved with many symbols and markings. All that was binding it together was a large rope covered with sacred talismans. The Leader checked what was on the talismans. A generation long ago, but there are good reasons for why they would shut this door.

The Leader digged back into his bag. He didn't want to lose it when he was near the mercs, but inside the bag was an army knife. Good in case he got himself tangled, however it was the only tool that the Leader could have. As he was cutting the rope, he heard something. Or rather felt it. It was a shockwave, which caused dust to fall from above. However, as he had kept cutting, he felt another shockwave and realized something. The mercs were here. And they were blowing open the tunnels. "Damn!" the Leader managed to cut the rope, as he tried to push the door open. He didn't have time. They were here for the temple and the Leader believed that he found the entrance. After getting the door open, the Leader slipped inside..

by **Banija** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 9:43 pm

Because who doesn't like sporting highlight videos for our Day 6 cutoff?

by **West Phoenicia** » Sun Aug 23, 2020 11:50 pm

West Phoenicia is among a slew of nations spending big in the Olympic co-host cities of Orean and Istria.
Giving the two nations economies a much-appreciated injection with an abundance of spending.

Prior Olympic Games found many West Phoenicians flock to a special venue the West Phoenician Olympic Committee established to ensure their athletes and fans had a place to celebrate; with an abundance of alcohol, entertainment and debauchery.

This time around Baroness Flora Freeman rejected the formation of a separate venue. Calling on West Phoenician athletes, support staff and spectators to spread their wings and soak up the Orean and Istria atmosphere by hitting shops, cafes, clubs and more and spend big to show our appreciation.

West Phoenicians have heeded the call, hundreds have flocked like hungry seagulls to Orean and Istria bars, restaurants and other eateries. Many on the advice of food bloggers Cinnamon Grey and Jacob Plummet of the show What to Eat? The duo currently air on the West Phoenician Olympic channel Purple & Gold. These presenters have already aired a number of episodes, tasting all the wonderful and unique foods these nations have to offer. From restaurants to street foods, from savoury to sweet.

On these recommendations, West Phoenicians have flooded these venues, creating an atmosphere of, anyone who is anyone wants to be seen wanna be seen at….

One of these newest trendsetters is Dixie Avalon and her stay in Orean where she has been photographed out and about enjoying Liventian cuisine and entertainment.

Dixie Avalon was thrust into the national spotlight, becoming West Phoenicia's newest darling with her bronze final match win in the Judo women's 70kg category against Janine Bullock of The Grearish Union.

Dixie, a first-time novice at the Olympics, her journey began long before these games.
Born and raised in the West Phoenician city-state of Neo Australis, one of the states that have a rural atmosphere and is farthest from the capital.
Dixie worked her way up in the sport of Judo, winning a number of city-state judo titles that propelled her into the West Phoenician Judo Championships. A competition that would see the victors selected for the Olympic team.

Dixie Avalon found herself in a tough category.
Duchess Marguerite D Sengali-Bush, a member of the Royal family via marriage, was the favourite to win. While the Royal was defeated in the round of 16 at Republics by Brandy Hines of Cassadaigua.
She was part of the team which had won Silver in the Judo Mixed Team.
Dixie had expressed she felt intimidated and a feeling of sickness running through her stomach when she found herself against
Duchess Marguerite D Sengali-Bush in the finals.
Knowing the majority of the crowd was anticipating her to lose, deflated, the confidence she had built up by dispatching four other opponents to get to this magical spot.
Dixie pulled off a terrific victory that no one, not even her opponent saw coming. She was able to use her opponents' arrogance against her. To claim the top spot by a wide margin.
There was a small rumbling of noise from a small number of fans across social media who suggested Dixie step aside to give West Phoenicia a chance of winning a medal at the hands of Duchess Marguerite D Sengali-Bush.
However, supporters who rallied to her cause, cited Dixie had won fair and square, and she should be allowed to compete as she had earned it. Better luck next time Duchess Marguerite D Sengali-Bush, appeared to be the majority consensus.

Her first major international match was daunting to Dixie. A flood of overwhelming nervousness engulfed her before every match. As she prevailed in each match, slowly moving closer and closer.

Sarah Jones of the Diarcesia unified team defeated in the round of 32.

Georgia Darwin of Jeckland defeated in the Round of 16.

Mimi Kobayashi of People's Republic of Xabia defeated in the quarter-final.

Each match left a battle in her body, a fierce civil war between her confidence and her nervousness. the war of the roses struggles deep in her intestines.

Dixon's first failure was against Tatjana Zangief-Valetta of Kriegiersien in the semi-finals.
Kriegiersien was the Montagues to the West Phoenician Capulets when it came to Olympic Sports.

They along with a handful of other nations were the ones to beat when it came to events. Contact sports such as Judo, Boxing and Taekwondo were territory West Phoenicia was always trying to claim from their opponents.

From the start Tatjana Zangief-Valetta of Kriegiersien held the upper hand, a position she kept for the entirety of the game. When her opponent won the round.
Dixie wanted to curl up into a ball and cry, not only did she lose, but she lost in front of her fans that believed in her.

It took her a moment to realise, while she lost this match, the battle was not over. She would simply move to the bronze medal round, instead of playing for gold or silver.

Dixie stepped out in style, wearing a silk beaded canary yellow tea-length dress with a matching cloche hat. Her shimmering image, recreating a 1920s roaring twenties vibe.
Checking out the Orean nightlife, after a historic win at Orean Great Hall the day before, where she had won the bronze match.

Escorting her on her night out celebration was Mark Fiirst, her coach. Two friends who had flown to Orean to catch her performance and a sprinkling of the society set who loved to be seen with movie stars and medal-winning athletes.
Among the society set was Maggie DuVall, a reporter for Good Morning West Phoenicia, Chad Singh, a social media influencer star and Jordan Sinclair; 10th Count of Upper Bourbon-Versailles, one of the members of the old rich families. Who was happy to slap down $5000 checks in bars to aid in the celebrations and assist with West Phoenicians splashing the cash in the host nations in the form of bottomless glasses of dirty martinis to keep the entourage celebrating to all hours of the morning.

WP||The West Phoenicia Times

Sports || Health || Technology || Gossip || Domestic Politics || International Politics || Entertainment || World || Religion || Weather

Before the Games….

West Phoenician inhabitants took to social media to express their frustrations and to call out the actions of the men's Handball coaches and staff. The move has been declared, one of the dumbest actions in West Phoenician sporting history. Which is saying a lot, considering all the dumb moves West Phoenicians have made in sports in the past.

As the Summer Olympic Games looms, one would expect the time was ripe for extra training. Preparing a team for one of the biggest international events in their sporting calendar.
Instead, the West Phoenician Handball Federation terminated the contracts of all current male players and are undergoing a seek and recruit mission in practically the eleventh hour.

The move set a frenzy of activity online.

"Bloody ridiculous decision." - @DirtyDan67

"Shame, Shame, Shame." -@Misty007

"Unfair decision. This is un-West Phoenician. I'll be tuning out of these games. -Batgirl_99

Loyalty over a gold medal every time. Fix this disgrace!!! - @Unahummer

#Saveourmenshandballs has been trending hard on West Phoenician Social media platforms Vibr and My Life, two of the biggest in the empire which has millions of followers and registered users with citizens outraged over the decision.

Oliver Mountbatten, President of the West Phoenician Handball Federation was forced to release a statement after phones were off the hook, with fans venting their frustrations and demanding answers.

"We have become aware of the disappointment of many citizens over the Federations decision to terminate all current contracts of our men's team. We are taking the phoneix approach, remerging from the ashes to start life all over again. We will rebuild the mens team from the ground up, with fresh new talent, that will hopefully fix our losing streak.
This decision was not taken lightly but we are doing the best for the future of Handball in West Phoenicia. For those who have taken to social media to slam the decision, I ask you this?
Where were you when the men's Handball league needed you? The national teams were suffering from lack of attendance. If you truly care, you need to come out in force to support the league and not just jump on the social media hate train. Come out and support the national league's games and sign up as a member for one of the national teams. It is only through a strong national league that we can truly send our best men's handball team onto the international stage.

During the next two weeks that followed, the West Phoenician Handball Federation scouted universities nationwide, advertising for the opportunity to play on the men's international Handball team.
National League players were also encouraged to come and attend tryouts. The aim is to find the most promising players possible.

With social media still trending what a minority of citizens saw as the Federation betraying its international team, many seasoned handball players from the national team leagues opted out of attending the tryout.
However come try out day, over 100 men came to compete for the 14 spots that would be required.

After a vigorous training session and a dozen friendly matches.
Head Coach Marcus Rigby and members of the West Phoenician Handball Federation appointed the following players to represent them at the Olympics.
Whether it was by coincidence or not, all new members of the men's handball come from the university sector.

Marcus Rigby asserted while we had some remarkable players come to try out from the national teams, we chose to go in another direction.
We don't want to mess with our national leagues, they need to stay strong and play some great games and lure in more supporters. By selecting university players, we can mould them to purely focus on the Olympics, and they have no other commitments as the handball university season does not start until after the Olympics.

Name	               Position	          Home Town
Loki Bryant	        GK	        Scarlett Orient Isles
Mentuhotep Montu	GK	        Seleucid Dominion
James Washington 	Left Back	Immaculata 
Gabe Hadrian	        Left Back	Jackson
Henry Tan	        Central Back	King Glenton Bush I Province
Alan Majesta	        Central Back	Jackson
Nicholas Xu	        Right Back	Debney Bay
Douglas Brown 	        Right Back	Upper West Phoenicia 
Audie Franks	        Right Wing	King Glenton Bush I Province
James Davies	        Right Wing	Agape
Rodney Powell	        CF	        Jackson
Don Landon	        CF	        King Glenton Bush I Province
Jose Santigo	        Left Wing	Savannah Grove
Lance Plumè	        Left Wing	Scarlett Orient Isles

The new roster announcement was met by a rumbling of disapproval from social media followers loyal to the original like up. A small number of voices calling the new members scabs and praying for them to be defeated at the Olympic Games.

However other fans took to social media wishing them the best of success and praying they will have enough time to join together as a workable team, hoping the new talent will bring home a medal for the nation.

New right-back Nicholas Xu has called on members of social media to give them a chance to prove themselves.

While a female handball team member who did not wish to be named, said the boys deserve a chance. I don't agree with removing the old line up. But it's done now, and we need to stay positive as we prepare to head to the Olympics.

by **Electrum** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 5:38 am

OOC: Backdated to yesterday's cut-off. With thanks to Kelssek for roleplaying the event first!

Obscure Sports Weekly - Diving Section

Diving strategy pays off for Electrum Olympic Committee
by Jamie Zhao

Just two days ago, the Evan brothers struck gold by winning the Men’s 10m synchronised diving event at the Orean Olympic Aquatics Centre. In hindsight, it was a masterstroke decision by the Electrum Olympic Committee to enter identical twins to the four synchronised diving events. The thinking was that you couldn't get a pair of swimmers more synchronised than a pair of genetically identical individuals. Although the brothers loathe to admit it, they do have more similarities than differences. The same centre of gravity, the same body shape - all essential factors when you want the divers to achieve the same distance from the springboard, angle of entry, and height reached in the name of synchronicity.

Today, Lochie and Kellan Evans have done it again by winning the 3m springboard synchronised diving counterpart event. Perhaps they were emboldened by their victory just two days ago, but the brothers decided to go for a risky strategy of only going for high difficulty dives. The brothers decided to alter their statement of dives just a few hours after their gold medal win, and submitted their new statement just before the deadline of twenty-four hours before the competition start.

For the Evanses, there was no building up momentum to attempt the more difficult dives - once the brothers did their two compulsory dives, they would go dive right into the deep end with four difficult dives. If their third dive went south, that would have surely destroyed their confidence for subsequent dives. Fortunately, that never eventuated.

The strategy paid off as the Evan brothers won the event with 490.70 points, being 70.9 points clear of the runners-up, Kelssek's Nathan Daniels and Kyle Marring. This was a large margin - in fact, it was almost equivalent to the brothers having an extra dive compared to all the other divers. The brothers had performed a truly audacious gambit, spurred by their earlier victory in the 10m synchro event.

To get there, the Evans brothers had to perform the two compulsory 2.0 difficulty dives before they could pull out the big guns in the final four optional dives. By the end of those first two dives, the two brothers were already in the lead, with two near-flawless synchronized dives, nearly reaching the maximum score of sixty both times. With synchronicity being judged as perfect tens from the judges, it was only their execution scores which prevented them from gaining perfect sixties for their dives.

Then, the gloves well and truly came off. It was dive after dive of near-perfect and ridiculous dives. The reverse four somersaults pike. The reverse two-and-a-half somersaults two-and-a-half twists. All on just the 3m springboard. These all had difficulty scores of 3.8s, 3.9s and even one dive with a difficulty score of 4.1. Recall that in diving, the median three synchronisation scores, and the two median execution scores are added, then multiplied by a factor, then multiplied by the difficulty scores. This would then yield dives of upwards of a hundred. Although the two brothers couldn't quite pull off one of their dives, achieving only 82 for a 3.8 difficulty forward four-and-a-half somersault (which is a ridiculous statement to make, given that this score would be a good score for any other diving team).

This ridiculous performance is perhaps symptomatic of the broader trend in diving: where athletes are pushing the limits of their time in the air to get those valued difficulty multipliers. Back then, the hardest dive was the reverse two-and-a-half somersault with two-and-a-half twist with a difficulty score of 4.1. The Evans brothers, who have perfected this dive, have set their sights on the reverse four-and-a-half somersault pike with a difficulty score of 4.8, which has yet to be achieved by anyone in competition. These trends can only mean great things for the viewers at home, who get to enjoy these athletes who are increasingly attempting more difficult dives at every Olympic Games.

Meanwhile, the Robles sisters came in eighth place in the synchro 10m competition, and will be looking to do match the brothers in today's counterpart springboard 3m competition for the women.

by **Kriegiersien** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 8:11 am

++Olympic telegram++

Play-Offs time

Softball

Coach Colonel Samantha von Schneider was after the 6-0 against Quebec pleased to announce that the former cricket team is in top form.
“We have now found our way, are getting better in this sport we are only playing for some month and as a team we are unstoppable. Everyone is fit, I think we can come far.”

The next opponent Mattijana isn’t known much about but “we have analysed all their games here”, the coach acknowledged.

++

Women's football

With a 2–1 against Ancharmunn the soccer ladies won their group perfectly.

Even though most goals were scored by daughters from clones from Simeone Di Bradini, striker Tonya Haudels interjected that she likewise scored a goal.
“I am not just here because I am remotely related to the president, I can score too”, after she made her first goal from the penalty spot.

Joanne Di Brandini, defense coordinator and captain of the team was very happy.
“We have a good team spirit, our dads are helping a lot and the coach.. is not making too much pressure”, she said, while looking at Coach Otto Hippo, who was napping in a seat nearby.

With Taeshan an opponent is coming that seems beatable.

“I never heard one of their names before. They don’t even have half a chance”, Emma Di Bradini declared.

++

Women's Field Hockey

A long time the Kriegiersien ladies waited to be able to play their group, then everything had to happen fast.

“We didn’t play a long time and suddenly we had to play multiple games in a short period. We had before asked our head of mission when we would start into the tournament, but she just said ‘Yeah, yeah, dry hockey, who cares’", Coach Gena Neric raged.
"Luckily we were able to overcome that better than some of our opponents and somehow qualified. For a team not worth to be supported anymore not bad.”

With New Waldensia a team with a much deeper squad awaits in the round of 16.

++

The men’s rugby team had already started into the play off round. And the gold medal winner from Republica immediately lost against Ko-oren who hadn’t played at the last Olympics.
After the match instead of a car parade some of the fans ran outside, angrily dressing in flags from Ko-oren or Kriegiersien just to throw them into garbage cans.
“They failed at the AVBF, they failed at the World Cup. I always said they should replace the whole team, they are garbage. We need new blood, we have so many good players in League and Union that could play instead”, an angry fan said, before he was arrested, being non nude, clad in a rugby jersey of his team outside.

++

What else?

++

What are the training plans of medal winners actually? We have some of three bronze medallists:

Karsten Karamel, Judo, Men’s 100 kg.
“I am eating cornflakes, candy and some chocolate, then stretching. Some Judo classes in my club, I am the coach there, then in the evening online coaching. Oh and I am playing some fighting games on my home console at the weekends. That’s it.”

Susi Nomnom, Judo, Women’s 78 kg.
“I eat Steak, beef, pork, chicken. Then muscle training 4 hours.
Yogurt, cottage cheese, bread. 10 minute cardio, some running.
Cereal, crackers, popcorn and rice. 3 hours strength workout.
Then oranges, apples, bananas, grapes, pears, peaches, watermelon or berries. Yoga and Judo moves for 3 hours in my gym.
Finally Potatoes, corn, green peas, beans and chocolate bar.
Then an hour or two sparring. The rest of the day I am sleeping.”

Ginger Brattman, Taekwondo, Men’s 68 kg.
“Uhm, I am training 3 times a week in my Dōjō. Else I am working as baker. Don’t really doing much further training except kneading dough.”

++

Mazoga Ork was one of the few hopes for a medal on the water. But like the coxed eight, who failed to reach the final, she missed it in the A-Final.
Coming last in the final of the Single Sculls with large distance to place 5, she only said few words to the reporter before sneaking off.
“I have some things on my mind that distracted me. I am sorry”, the otherwise so stoic women tiredly said.

Read the next dogman comic.

?

by **Banija** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 9:42 am

Mustafa Okello- Always the bridesmaid, never the bride

Mustafa Okello, one of Banija's star swimmers at the Istria Olympiad

ISTRIA, MORAVICA- With the home Olympics well underway, one of the most medal-rich events in these Games are the swimming events. So many different types of events to medal in, and we've earned three swimming medals at this stage- two silvers for Chinaza Sey on the women's side, and a bronze medal for Sama Mboge. But the man who was expected to be the Banijan star of the show, Mustafa Okello, has so far disappointed in his quest to earn a medal on the greatest stage that sports can offer.

For those who do not recall, he was the star of the show at the All-Banija Olympic Qualifiers, held in Hawabark as they traditionally are. He won event after event, and established himself as the best male swimmer in the Banijan delegation. He was to be Banija's great hope to earn a medal in the water. The swimmer entered 13 different events for these games, with many expecting him to medal in maybe 2 or 3. Give himself a decent haul, give the Banijans something to cheer about before our real strength come, men's track & field- although, much more specifically, track.

He's started strong, but whimpered at the finish. He made the Final for the 400m freestyle, finishing fourth in the heats- but he finished sixth in the finals. He actually "won" the Semifinal heat for the 100m freestyle, as well as making the Final for the 200m butterfly. He also made the final for the 200m individual medley, as well as the 200m breaststroke. That's five different events where he has qualified so far through the heats and all the way to the Final. But he's struggled repeatedly in the final rounds of events, with the 200m breaststroke being the only event where he finished Top 4 in the final round.

We spoke to him about his struggles in the Final Round- is it a mental block, is there too much pressure, what is going on? He rejected those theories. "There's really no rhyme or reason that after putting myself in position to medal, on multiple occasions, why we haven't been able to finish the job." He told us. "You always approach each race with the same mindset- focus on your own speed, don't look at how others are doing, and just try to keep your fundamentals down and stay moving forward. I reject that there is some sort of a 'mental block' or whatever- I have faith in my ability to continue on in these games, and hopefully medal."

However, the Swimming analyst on Banijan Sporting Television, the network that owns both the Olusanke and English language rights to the TV games, on a different commentary set, said that there does appear to be a mental block for Okello once he reaches the final rounds. "It's part of being an Olympian- the stage, and your perception of it, are what separates the good swimmers from the great ones. Look at Chinaza Sey- she's medaled twice. The differences in their approaches to that final round. Mustafa Okello has the added pressure, of course, of being the country's great swimming hope in these games- the crowd is really pulling for him, even above and beyond the rate we pull for our other swimmers. It can add psychological pressure even to the best of us- the extra weight. He's still got a couple of opportunities left though, hopefully this can be overcome."

There are a few events left for him to separate himself. He'll be in his sixth final of these Games in the 50m freestyle- gunning for his first medal. Right now, making all these Finals but then doing nothing at any of them, he's simply a good swimmer. Good, but forgettable. Respected by his peers? Yea, but without immortalizing himself with a medal, he'll be forgotten by all foreigners the moment the curtain closes on these Games. And won't be long remembered by Banijans, either. He's got a golden opportunity to star for Banija at an Olympic Games, in Banija- a once in a generation type of opportunity. Will it be a story of perseverance, his earlier failures at these Games finally yielding glory? Or will there be no story at all- just another member of a long list of forgotten good swimmers who couldn't make the leap to greatness?

The Albert III Aquatics Center will be the setting for the rest of this story.

Other News
- Both the men's and women's soccer teams fail to qualify for the knockout stages in the Olympiad, an event that the Royal Banijan Soccer Association called both a "massive disappointment" and a "missed opportunity for program development".
- With the national gridiron team's head coach Alastair Jobs retiring at the end of these games, pressured to step down after repeated World Bowl failures and his failure in the AO gridiron championships, the Olympic Committee is seemingly nearing an agreement with a Ranorian football coach to take over after the conclusion of the XIV Olympiad.

by **Waisnor** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 9:46 am

Interview with Dmitry Strutinsky

EN: Hello, I'm Eduard Nazarovich and today I'm taking interview from Dmitry Strutinsky, who just qualified for the finals in men's swimming 50m fresstyle. Say, was it difficult for you to get to the final?
DS: Of course! I think none of the swimmers would tell you that it was easy for him. If I hadn't made the effort, I would probably have dropped out on the heats.
EN: Well, I see. How did you feel when you moved is the next round?
DS: Depends on which round I went through. When I made it to the semifinals, I was, of course, happy, but at the same time I understood that I would have to try to get to the final. When I finished 5th in the second heat of the semifinals, I was very worried, there were not many chances to get from 5th to the final. So when I found out that I did make it to the final, I was very happy.
EN: Well, how are you going to compete for medals?
DS: I intend to fight with all my might. I really want to bring Waisnor the first medal in this Olympics.
EN: Well, I hope you succeed. Do you have any traditions before you go to the start?
DS: It is there, but it is not too unusual - I just cross myself before the swim.
EN: Well, I see. And the last question - how are you in Banija?
DS: I like this country very much, I like the culture of the country, its cuisine, architecture ... In general, this country is simply beautiful.
EN: Thank you for the interview and good luck with tomorrow's finals. Goodbye, dear viewers.

OTHER RESULTS:
Waisnorian team lost to team of Vekaiyu in fencing Women's Team Épée competition Round of 32
Victoria Roznova was disqualified in weightlifting women's 64kg competition
Olesya Shcherbakova qualified for the shooting women's 25m Pistol final
Victoria Tolstik and Alina Martinovich placed 5th in Final B in women's single sculls competition
Boris Zykov lost to Dominik Dasikov from Mattijana in the preliminary round of judo 100kg competition

by **Northwest Kalactin** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 10:34 am

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Jason Mitchell Addresses Northwest Kalactin Regarding Current Situation

“Hello, welcome back to KNN4 news, today we will be here listening to the speech that Jason Mitchell will be giving the people of Northwest Kalactin. There are many ways that this speech could go today, so he is doing it from a bunker in Murwelldobah. Let’s go over to Prime Minister Mitchell.”

Mitchell walks up to the stage...

“Thank you all for listening to this address to the nation. The times right now are very turbulent, so please make sure to stay safe right now. 5 months ago I permanently moved into the Prime Ministers house in Gold Coast, or what I thought was going to be permanent. I thought that I would have a successful term, one that the people of the nation got the trust, integrity and happiness they wanted. The people clearly do not want that. I would like to go over some of the stats of my term. I have had a 22% approval rate, unemployment has climbed by 12%, and we have lost half of our military. Last night Secretary of State Luke Harrison was shot, and we now have news that he is deceased in a Gold Coast Hospital. We have seen more that 5 million, which I remind you is 20% of the nations people, get out and protest. It is clear what this nation wants. The Kalactanian State Police, as of 30 minutes ago, was disbanded, releasing thousands into unemployment. First, I would like to apologize for the horrible job that I did at my time as prime minister, and hope of you accept. Also I would like to announce that, I will be leaving the position of Prime Minister at midnight tonight, once the clock strikes 0:00 hours, I will not be your prime minister. I thank all of you for your understanding, these times are very tough. Vice Minister Michael Norman is also abandoning his post at Vice Prime Minister, and will not be returning. Thank you.”

A roar engulfs the nation, Northwest Kalactin had no leader, Millions rioting, and not really any way to control it. Just seconds after the end of Mitchells speech, the Kempsey Police Department announced that this would be their last day out serving the city. The Military will likely not last very long either, most saying that it has just days left on its lifespan. It is rumored that Mitchell may be trying to flee to another nation in Atlantian Oceania, but that is still very unknown at this point. If he does decide the flee, he will likely go to a nation that the current government has very strong ties with, one that will let him stay there, because if we can tell you one thing, Jason Mitchell probably won’t be returning to Northwest Kalactin.

by **Tikariot** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 11:46 am

Lisa Carr: Good day, good evening, good night, pick whichever time fits the best for you and welcome to 'Tikariot at the Olympics'. Just yesterday we had finished our portraits of our medal winnes so far and if I may quote Damian: 'I also hope that we will be able to do several more of these in the days to come!' Well, our athletes listened and we have been able to add medals 7 and 8 to our hall of fame.

Damian Carovalo: Well, if you would want to nitpick, one of those medals is actually four, since it was a relay, but I know, I know, that's not how it works, haha. The team I am talking about are Daniel Morrison, Craig McLachlan, Raphael Ladouceur and Steven Grimmett, who sensationally took the gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay, but let's hand it over to our trio infernale Mina Soroka, Angelina Volkova and Sean Minter.

Mina Soroka: Thanks Damian. Yes, it was an event that will be talked about for a long time, for several reasons. First one, obviously, that our quartet was nowhere near a favourite for gold and some were already surprised they managed to reach the final to begin with, but it was more the manner in which they managed to win that has caught the attention of many.

Angelina Volkova: After qualifying as fourth overall, the coaches went for a very risky move and reversed the starting order for the finals, meaning that Steven Grimmett would start and Daniel Morrison finish things off. After the first leg, the Tikariot team was only fifth, with Iain Black from Electrum leading the way and over the next two legs of Ladouceur and McLachlan we only managed to gain one spot, but when Daniel Morrison took to the pool it felt like he was letting out all the frustration over his early exit in the 100m freestyle, where he won his heat, but ended up missing the semis by seven hundredths of a second as 20th. Here's an excerpt from the race:

Sean Minter: And there goes Morrison in fourth. Whitbread in the lead for Electrum, Fabian and Adams with the same time and then Morrison barely 6 hundredths of a second ahead of García. The 200m are not his forte, as he favours the 100m sprint, but he told me ahead of the race today that he wants redemption and that he will do whatever his body can give to make up for it.

Angelina Volkova: And he is doing well, him, Whitbread and Fabian look almost even now with Adams having taken the lead after the first 50m, but García cannot be counted out as he had managed to advance to the semis in the singles' race. We are nearing the 100m mark and Fabian has now taken the lead, then Whitbread, Morrison, Garcia and Adams, but they are all really close together still! Third portion of the last leg and it looks like Morrison is managing to pull ahead! Yes, he is in first place!

Mina Soroka: He is still holding on to it as he touches down for the last time to now go for the finish and he is still first, Whitbread and Fabian in second and third with Adams and García falling back just a bit! Oh my God! Look at him, it is almost as if he got a second wind here, because he is able to extend his lead! His opponents have nothing left to give to catch up with Morrison! He will do it! AND HE IS FIRST!! TIKARIOT WINS GOLD!!!

Sean Minter: Got a little excited there, Mina?

Mina Soroka: Well, how could I not? I don't want to take away anything from the other three swimmers, but it was an absolutely fantastic leg for Morrison, taking over at fourth and then pulling ahead like this, it was just wow!

Angelina Volkova: Oh it was! And that's what made this race even more memorable, with an astounding 2.67 seconds over Darmen's Roar McFarland, Cruz Kruger, Johnny Meinhardt and Toussaint Fabian, which is more than what separated the second from the seventh placed teams! Now I know that the kind of flying start often gives a light advantage over the single race, but his time today would have gotten him silver in the singles' final, but that's just an academic statistic now.

Julian Sovran: Congratulations to our relay team, it was a truly impressive race!

Matt Novak: It was and it also shows that the Olympics often write their very own stories of sensations and disappointments and I am happy that we were able to witness one of the former last night.

Julian Sovran: The other medal is another bronze and already our third in judo, with Pandora DiSabatino taking the scenic route to the medal bouts. Let's hand this one over to Faitalia Sauiluma and Mitsuko Kamamoto.

Mitsuko Kamamoto: It was the 78kg class that Pandora competed in and before the Games she was considered one of the favourites, but at an event like this anything is possible. In the tound of 16 Pandora won against Taeshan's Zima Markuson, but when Hanna Jaeger from Kelssek had Pandora down on the mat, things looked pretty bleak. Then, however came the quarter final repechage and here she overcame Zoey Vífillsdóttir from Græntfjall in a really tight contest, allowing her to advance to one of the two medal bouts, pitting her against Oh Sam-Rye from the Royal Kingdom of Quebec.

Faitalia Sauiluma: It was another much contested bout where both ladies almost neutralized each other, but in the end Pandora managed to overcome her opponent and walk away with a bronze medal, which is an amazing achievement having had to go through the repechage to still be in it to begin with.

Matt Novak: Thanks, you two, it is true, especially at the Olympics you never know what could happen, the mouse might win against the elephant.

Damian Carovalo: So how are we doing beyond that? Not too bad, actually. The team sports are usually a much contested territory, so let's have a look at where we stand in these. First up, water polo. With the men Tikariot sits first in their group right now with two games to go and excellent chances to advance as they sit at a 4-0 record right now, while the ladies are also first with two to go, but things are a bit tighter here, but still they have good chances to make it to the knockout stages.

Lisa Carr: In basketball the men are top of their group with one game to go and excellent chances as well to continue on, the ladies are third out of six, two more games and a lot of things have to go right for them to be able to make it.

Julian Sovran: Baseball is one of the biggest disappointments of the Games so far, last in their group with just one game to go, so Tikariot is out, but the women have stepped up, qualifying top of their group with five wins out of five games and they will face Jeckland in the round of 16.

Matt Novak: Football is looking good as well with both teams having won their respective groups and in their rounds of 16 the men will now face Vilita & Turori while the women have Ioudaia coming up.

Damian Carovalo: Handball is also a tale of very different paths, the men are first in their group with two wins, three more games to go, so they are looking pretty good while the women are fifth out of five and despite two more games to go, things are not looking positive for them to make it through to the knockout rounds.

Lisa Carr: Hockey is quite the different story, the men are second out of seven teams and with one more game to go it is looking very tight, but they still can win the group or be the best second placed team. The ladies do not have to worry about that anymore, they advanced as second in their group and have Eraman lined up in the round of 16.

Julian Sovran: Rugby Sevens... Tikariot entered with very few expectations and yeah, it did not get much better. The men have two games to go, are third in their group and have decent chances to advance, the ladies as fifth out of eight are already packing their gear.

Matt Novak: Two more to go, first off volleyball and the men are sitting top of their group with three wins in three games, so very good chances to continue on, while the ladies as third will have to stretch big time, as only the group winners will advance.

Damian Carovalo: And last, but not least, American football, the gents are leading their group with three out of three and with just one match to go look in pretty good shape, the ladies are already out of contention, sitting bottom of their group, but to be honest, even just the fact that they managed to win their first ever game against Liventia already can be put down as a huge success for them.

Lisa Carr: This concludes our current state of affairs. Tune in as usual to get all the events both on TV and online and is it arrogant to hope to have good news again in the morning in form of maybe another medal?

Julian Sovran: Not really, we're allowed to hope.

Matt Novak: In that sense a good day and good luck to our athletes!

by **The Royal Kingdom of Quebec** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 12:20 pm

Auld Lang Syne

PART 5A (18) - Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

‘Can they please stop scheduling these games so early,’ said Gaugin Jones, as he slowly entered the locker room with his wet, squeaking boots. ‘God. The rain isn’t stopping at all.’ He sighed, kicking his boots with his feet to the locker room in frustration. It drew a minor jeer by the rest of the team, who were really just trying to get to their normal pregame routines in what’s already a smelly locker room early in the morning.

‘Not our choice man.’ grumbled junior infielder Samuel Carlini-Mwambutsya as he grabbed himself a cup of coffee before checking his phone. ‘The QBC people scheduled them in the noon so everybody could watch it like how they do with college foo-bahll.’ It was nine in the morning and nobody was really up feeling excited over it. Having woken up at six a.m. and arrived at the hotel around six forty-five. There, they held their scheduled practice session at eight, which went horribly in the middle of the rain- everybody was sliding all over with wet grass and mudslides as they struggled to find their right tempo in both batting and fungo practices.

The coaches, after a light debate whether to go ahead with it after about halfway into an hour-long practice spot, just decided to bring the players back because they were unsure on whether the game would get postponed or not. The players were slowly getting changed to their undergarments and other training wear they had brought ahead of any unusual circumstances, but this didn’t prevent them from feeling wet, grimy and of course, in need of shower. The snow would normally be on the field, and they were used to it, but instead all they met was a torrential outpour of rain that’s been striking the nation’s capital over the past twenty-four hours.

‘Well seems like only the lord will decide.’ Asher shrugged, carefully caressing his catcher mitts in hopes that it wouldn’t be spoiled. He was a fucking mess- his fingertips were slippery, the shoes all muddy and of course his glasses hard to see. During the practice session with Myeong-Shin, he was having even more of a trouble catching the ball, and it clearly showed. ‘Looks like we may need a no-hitter to make it out of here alive. A perfect game with twenty-seven strikes even.’ The earlier pitching session was rough enough, and Asher collapsed and dived more than not as he struggled to catch the submarine’s 95-mile sinkers. Luckily for Asher head coach Sung had no plan to remove Asher as a starting catcher for the match, especially since he knew Mira Cho-Lawson would have had even more trouble with catching Myeong-Shin’s pitches.

‘Nothing comes easy, guys. Nothing. No championship victory’s easy.’ Myeong-Shin interjected with an aura fitting of the team captain. ‘Nothing will stop us - no rain, no mud, no pouring gasoline over a snow-filled field.’ He added the joke at the end, but everybody else heard it with some kind of seriousness added.

The entire team remembered how the coach Sung, on the morning of the first day of their training camp on their local park, set the snow-filled diamond on gasoline. The sight that was the fire was still very much etched into people’s minds, as they witnessed the burning of the field to make the playing surface workable, but barely functional. Just with that alone, they knew this was going to be a rough season.

At that moment, the door swung open. ‘Well, good news, children. We aren’t eliminated yet.’ Said the Erskine head coach, Sung Joon-Yeol, as he entered the dress room. Being a southwestern boy through and through, he wasn’t impressed with the weather either. It was clear enough to him that this was going to either end up greatly or catastrophically. But at least the players had to know early enough. ‘The match’s postponed ‘til 7pm tomorrow, and the QBC crew will be back around then. So this means that y’all have free time ‘til 5pm tomorrow.’

‘Woo….’ The team buzzed their excitement with whatever energy left of them. ‘Are you actually gonna let us go do whatever?’ asked Joe Stepherson the troublemaking outfield in the middle of the locker room.

‘Yes, but please don’t cause trouble.’ Coach Sung stared at him, to drive his point clear. The choice of using Korean instead of English was enough to emphasise that. ‘The team dinner will be at 6 tonight, generously paid for by Myeong-Shin’s halmeoni and halabeoji. I expect all of you to make it, so no exception whatsoever. Given the condition, good practice everybody. Keep it up- tomorrow’s not gonna be any bit easier so please don’t stay out too late! We must not give anything away from our victory tomorrow.’

Asher Lundrigan and Heo Myeong-Shin were sitting in Hector’s Acadianan Cafe, located right in the middle of the Rue and Boulevard Gabriel-Telmas. Having arrived about half an hour ago, they had already downed a cup of coffee and were thinking about possibly getting a cup of tea to add on top of it.

Outside them, everything just ran like they were panorama films, as youth, students and tourists looked at the cafe as if they were being part of what they had believed to be a walking piece of history. The rain, of course, was interrupting everything and as a result what looked like back and forth lines of people walking were instead turned into a bunch of zig-zags.

Frankly, they aren’t wrong, both Myeong-Shin and Asher thought to themselves, as they watched the people. Long familiar with the City of Eternal Lights on their own account, they embrace the slow buzz and the murmur of activities that got them to at least feel something while still feeling bummed over postponement of the final by a day. The news of a day-long postponement wasn’t really cheering them up even though the players received a full day on their own account, and they both regretted not checking the weather news and drinking a couple of bottles of vodka each. While Asher woke up on his usual competition time, late and late at ten-a.m., Myeong-Shin barely got any sleep due to all the media news and was feeling even more down as a result.

‘Tigers seem to really want you, eh?’ Asher asked, trying to get the Saguenay commit to focus. ‘Underhanded, shortstop, third base. What position really.’

‘Right, indeed, sure, absolument, avec plaisir, etc.’ responded Myeong-Shin as he massaged his forehead, still trying to gauge the volume of articles drawn by one comment made by the Kingston Tigers GM, Derrick Ha, on The Taegukgi. ‘Of course the Tigers want me. At least five of their franchise players have come from there, and they want to net a franchise star, a Cornwall native who happened to play just five kilometres away from the Mudeung Field. Nobody wants to deny that.’

‘Makes sense that they want to draft you next year. If I had your skills I’d be happy getting drafted in the first round and start playing rookie leagues this autumn.’ Asher responded adamantly. ‘But then, I’m sure that the Tigers and the Blue Jays, whichever draft you after junior or senior season, know they aren’t gonna get you playing for them at age 18 and will wait to draft you as first round pick. Any year, any draft. They know you wanna play college football as well. Sometimes people don’t have the choice to play which sport, which school, etc.
‘Of course, the virtue is that neither of us are in a hurry of money, and we could decide. And in your case, it would not make sense to go back on your promises with Saguenay, not so much for baseball, but rather for football.’

Asher was right on this. Both of them had options, and weren’t really looking the other way. The worst kept secret in all of Quebecois college football that year was that Saguenay Fighting Irish was the consensus favourite to win the Tiger Bowl, and Myeong-Shin was almost certainly penciled in as starting outside linebacker for the team that already had enough top-tier linebackers to start with.

Of course, this meant having to face and beat the rival both his parents went to, and Myeong-Shin somewhat liked the idea of that challenge. Myeong-Shin had a weird fascination about going outside of the box, like being a Tigers fan when his mum cheered for the Blue Jays and father longtime rivals Chicoutimi Lions, and Asher knew that’s a good competitive drive to have. The idea of them possibly ending up in rival schools, with Asher possibly heading to St. Croix (assuming he doesn’t fuck up any of Baccalaureat Quebecois or the interview phase) and Myeong-Shin Saguenay, did make them feel somewhat surprised after the announcement of his commitment back in february, but they kept civil to themselves over what’s even yet to happen.

‘-And that’s why winning a few more would be important- kinda guarantees the signing bonus and contract money either way. Not to mention the whole QFL factor in mind.’ Myeong-Shin nodded, once again checking his phone before quickly turning it off again. They normally didn’t go to cafes during the season, especially during the matches, but the unusual circumstance had meant that the players were just allowed to have good times. His middle school eating days were long behind him, and now the focus was on eating healthier, exactly as prescribed by his paternal grandmother.

‘Fair enough- it all makes sense that you wanna play for the Irish. It’s like a Quebecois classic to many out there who grew up watching QFL,’ Asher said, with enough turn on his tongue to emphasise the point on how much he dislikes them. Of course, that’s a natural of a man whose heart has laid upon St. Croix Bleu et Blanc and their urbanite tradition for years. It’s been like that since he was about twelve. ‘Still, they shouldn’t rush into it all so much. As long as they stay patient, they could net you in four years, and either Carlini(Mwambutsya-) or Reynolds(-Walusimbi) in the first round the year after.’

‘Exactly.’ Myeong-Shin pointed with his left index finger on air, trying to encourage Asher to think more like a student rather than just a labourer of the game. ‘The ball’s gonna roll and they will get me in the first round which I’m perfectly happy about.’ Myeong-Shin and Asher were perfectly happy with that outcome. The Tigers had a solid core centred around a couple of southpaw starters and few promising outfielders. It was clear that as long as their front office weren’t falling apart, they were going to have a solid team capable of winning a couple of Quebec Series in a few years. But they also had enough veterans on infield and their developmental system’s been iffy at best, so they knew that it was a lot better idea to maybe also see and consider football as a backup option. Frankly, that would not be a bad idea, as long as Moncton Bengals or Winnipeg Raiders weren’t going to be the ones drafting Myeong-Shin in 4 years’ time.

‘But, the waiter seems to be nowhere in sight, and it bothers me a bit.’ Myeong-Shin caught himself in a bit of irritation, and lifted his voice up to show disappointment. ‘Didn’t you order something? I think a croissant, to accompany yourself with coffee. That didn’t come along...’

‘Seems like it.’ Asher said, raising his eyebrows. To say that he wasn’t noticing it was a bit of lie, but given that it was Myeong-Shin he was with, it was better for him to not get that into his head too much. ‘Maybe I’ll ask him on the inside if he isn’t so busy...his name was Juan right?’

‘Should be. You know that better than I.’ This was true. Myeong-Shin, like his father, was good at remembering scenes and memories, but the names usually required a hint or two when unfamiliar.

‘Good.’ Was Asher’s response, as he quickly picked up his Erskine letterman jacket and went inside.

Fortunately, he was able to find where his waiter was the whole time. Unfortunately, the waiter was temporarily repurposed to the counter while his colleague was in washrooms, so everybody else had to wait. Of course none were unhappy, but there wasn’t much for them to do, as the line was just long for everybody.

Looks like we’ll be here ‘til five before six... That’s what was inside Asher’s mind, as he slowly watched the time and the line come closer to him, like a toybox. But then, something caught in the corner of his eye and he knew it was someone special. Growing up, Asher always had some knack for noticing people with anything that’d draw his interest. That, in turn, led into various turns of events that came from both the good (never had trouble hanging out in parties) and the bad of their situations (making enemies outta sheer connections from a friend of a friend).

Huh… He blinked, as he tried to figure out who just caught his eye. Flexing both his shoulders with a couple of circles, he was fairly certain that it was someone. Someone who was very much within the scene, but also quite not really fitting it all.

Like me. Indeed, like him in some ways. He may have been a son of a two-term MP, but for all that this had meant, his father was nowadays a former Member of Parliament, Kingston St-Pierre. Besides, he was still very much a country kid from Kingston who looked up to these big cities, but he knew fitting into its landscape was another story. But then who could have just drawn his notice, like a butterfly looking for their flower? So he turned his head to the left to see who it was and….

by **Sargossa** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 12:45 pm

Langdon Barracks was treated to the pleasant crack of a trap shattering in a cloud of colourful powder. Ana snapped open her weapon and blew down the breach as she stepped away from the shooting position. Polite applause rippled through the spectators; louder acclaim came from the pockets of Sargossan fans. The Women’s Trap final had drawn a decent crowd, with fans from Sargossa and West Phoenicia nestled among a sizable neutral contingent. Orean was a sporting city and the locals were a knowledgeable bunch and they were enjoying the contest.

Ana knew too that she’d have plenty of support watching back home. She was a serving member of the military, almost manifest destiny for a member of the Soldada family, and the military family got behind their own. The High Command were taking sport increasingly seriously and there was plenty of encouragement to get service personnel involved. The army ran a football team that featured in the Sargossan league’s second tier, martial arts were growing in participation, fencing was particularly popular among the officer corps and shooting was popular among everyone.

She caught the eye of a grey haired man in the dark blue of Sargossa’s delegation behind her. Three years prior the military hierarchy had turned to the seventy year old Sergio Romero to oversee their shooting programme, the competitive sport part of their shooting programme at least. So seriously were they taking it that the civilian Romero, a Double Trap Olympic silver medallist from way back at Aeropag, held the honorary rank of a full colonel. He gave Ana a thumb’s up. She was doing a fine job, just one missed target all day. Unfortunately so was her opponent.

There was another crack as another trap exploded. Lady Polycrastia Dundas against Corporal Ana Paula Soldada may have been something of a social mismatch but there was little separating their shooting prowess. They’d each held the upper hand just once. First Dundas, when the competition had lost the Omerican Judith Maçon and then Soldada when Krytenia’s Robyn Wilcox had to settle for bronze. This shot would edge the Sargossan in front. Ana settled herself before raising the barrel and staring down the sight. Then came the signal, and then the shot. Then nothing. Ana stared incredulously as the trap dropped to the ground with a slight thud.

There was no time to consider the emotions whirling around her head as Ana stepped away. Romero shouted encouragement to his charge as Dundas moved to the next position. Ana couldn’t watch. She stared pointedly at her shoes, saying a silent prayer to a deity she didn’t actually believe in. There was the crack. Ana closed her eyes. Just like that it was all over. She just about had the wherewithal congratulate her opponent, who then turned away to drink in the crowd’s applause.

Ana didn’t know quite what to do next. She saw Romero approach her, she opened her mouth to say something but had no words. It didn’t matter. The old coach wrapped her in a huge hug. She felt a tear roll down her cheek. ‘I’m so sorry’, she heard herself say. He pushed away and, with both hands on her shoulders, looked her dead in the eye.

‘You stop that’, he said with a smile. ‘You’re an Olympian. You’re a silver medallist. And I very much doubt there’s a mess in the country where you’ll have to buy a drink again. You’re a hero Corporal Soldada, enjoy it. I may only be a pretend colonel but that’s an order.’

by **South Newlandia** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:23 pm

Excerpts of the Olympic Coverage on South Newlandia One (Day 6)

OJ: Good evening viewers to another day here in Istria, with more Olympic events waiting for us! Even though it will be a shorter day, the games are still very important, with two medals on the line today. Let’s dive right into it, Marcus Marksman.
MM: We have three South Newlandian games today, and the two Semifinals in the respective Singles’ events. We will start with Helen Berger here, for her, the final and the match for 3rd place are today as well, so she has great chances today to take a medal. Helen Berger is playing against Lara Krausser from Siovanija and Teusland, and to be honest, Berger is the favourite here at least a little bit. Berger, who already has a gold-medal from the Mixed Doubles, is looking very good here after three sets have been played already, all of them won by the South Newlandian talent. This one is currently at 6-10, Berger isn’t looking great, this should be the 1-3, no big deal. Meanwhile, Gabriel Forster is fighting against Krytenia’s Glenn Jackson. The last match for the men will only be tomorrow, so he can focus all of his energy into this game today. After three sets, Forster is ahead 2-1, with the game to proceed very soon. Meanwhile, Berger is down 11-12 now, and this is another ball that both players, - and Berger loses this set, 1-3 now, still three more opportunities to lock a medal up here. We will move over for a second to take a look at the Softball game, Lucia?
LM: Yeah, here in Sisonke Outdoor Athletic Complex, South Newlandia is facing the People's Republic of Xabia. The team from South Newlandia is already qualified for the Round of 16, and consequentially, Xavier Fraser has benched a few of the key players for them to get extra rest ahead of the knockouts. Bethany Harrington is pitching anyway, but when we take a closer look, it actually makes a lot of sense. She is back at the top of the rotation anyway, so any alternative would have to pitch on shorter rest, and if South Newlandia would make the semi-finals, she would be back well rested for the eventual medal match, so that is really good planning by Fraser here. Anyways, the good batters are all chilling away from the game, so the game itself is still tied scoreless after three innings here. Harrington has been very strong, only allowing one hit and a walk. Back to Marcus!
MM: Berger has gotten under a bit of fire here; she has now dropped both of the last two sets, shrinking her lead to 3-2. Still very good chances, but she needs to turn things around now. She missed a match ball in the last one too, but this sixth set is going well on Berger’s way to what might end up being gold. 9-6, just two points away from the gold medal match. She won six of the last seven balls to turn around another set that didn’t start ideal, and with this beautiful point, she is ahead 10-6! Four match balls to lock up silver and play for gold! She can pull this through, I am sure, tough fight over this one, good backspin, very well played, and Berger wins!! She took it here, 4-2, and is playing for gold! She will get a second medal! Awesome. Forster’s game is coming to an end as well; at least it could be. Forster is in his fifth set at the moment, having won all of the three that came before this one, and with this point, he is leading 10-7! Three match balls to claim medal number two, and fight over gold number two! Jackson isn’t giving up, this is still very much not over, and Jackson gets this point, 8-10! Two match balls remain, he should close this out now to avoid giving Jackson momentum. Another closely fought over point, this could go either way, and Forster makes the final too! Two more medals are secured and going to South Newlandia, fantastic, Forster can be very happy with himself! We will see Berger in the final later, but we will make the switch to the end of the Softball game first.
LM: Yeah, the game is almost ending already; South Newlandia is down by one, given up by closer Chantelle Maynard in the sixth. This is the seventh, and South Newlandia has to score on demand without their star batters, and it just is not happening. This is Ida Vu at bat here, two outs, no one on base just yet, count is 1-2, and this pitch is another ball. 2-2 now, maybe just one ball away from the end here, not a lot of time left for sure, I really cannot see the team making a comeback here. That’s strike three and the end of the game, but it doesn’t really matter. I’ll be back on later for the Round of 16 draw, stay tuned.
JK: That was the first half of our coverage, we will be back later, but we have a quick ad break now.

OJ: We are back here in Istria, with the final match for Helen Berger. She is playing against Princess Candace Bush-Sunbury from West Phoenicia, so definitely an interesting matchup. So far, Helen Berger has been in ten games in those Olympic Games, and has won every single one of them. Can the streak continue for gold #2, Marcus?
MM: It is looking like it is ging to be close, after three sets, Berger leads 2-1, and she has been looking very good so far, really impressive. This is set four, and Berger is up 9-8, this might be crucial already. A 3-1 win is probably nothing anyone could ever take away from Berger, so this could be a big step, or we end up tied at two, no one knows just yet. This point is going to Berger, although that was a bit of luck. 10-8, two set balls to lead 3-1, this could be a huge step toward gold. To be honest, I still cannot believe she could take a second gold for South Newlandia here; that would just be insane. Really sad there is no Women’s team, she could have gotten a third one with them, or at least tried. Set ball on the way, this is close, good play here by Berger, and that’s a set! Berger 3-1 up in the gold medal match, about to bring South Newlandia a second gold! Before we see the end here, let’s quickly switch to Lucia.
LM: We have the draw for the Round of 16 for the South Newlandian Softball team, and it is going against Terre Septentrionale. They only finished third in their group, with a 3-2 record, shouldn’t be impossible for the team to win this. South Newlandia, of course, was first in their group because of the 4-1 record; we saw some great stuff from the team. Without further interruption, back to the final!
MM: It’s looking very good; Berger isn’t backing down this time like she did in the semi in the same situation, but rather is leading this set 9-8 at the moment. Exactly like the last one, and this is still really close. Her opponent ties it up at nine apiece, still everything in this. Isnt it kind of weird that we do know that South Newlandia will end up with at least four medals, but has only two confirmed? Berger still pressing and that gives her a match ball! 10-9 in set numbers five; this could be the last ball of the competition! Berger is just moments away from gold here. The ball is in play, a good serve, Berger taking the initiative, but her opponent is holding back against it, but Berger is putting more pressure, an excellent hit, AND SHE HAS GOLD! Helen Berger wins Gold! It is over, she has done it, she is a two-time gold medallist, this is crazy! Really awesome, Berger takes it in five, the second gold medal to South Newlandia! With those beautiful pictures, we head back to the studio!
OJ: What an inspiring win here, what an inspiring performance! Berger takes home two gold medals, thanks to an incredible 11 straight wins, and her Doubles partner can go for gold too, tomorrow!
JK: Absolutely amazing. Did you realize we were both already wronged on our predictions?
OJ: Yup, I am amazed; this has been fantastic so far. South Newlandia can be proud of their table tennis duo. And of Harwood, of course. Really impressive performance so far from the South Newlandian delegation, I think we can be a little bit proud of South Newlandia today.
JK: We sure can. What do we have tomorrow, more interesting stuff?
OJ: Honestly, except for the gold medal match for Gabriel Forster, the day is a little bit depressing. The baseball team, with Lucia Millher, and the beachvolleyvball team, Jessica Libakra, with both already eliminated, play their last games, and there is nothing else. Let’s hope for Forster to save the day, and for Sansara to save his job in the baseball game.
JK: Yeah, hope to have you here tomorrow anyway. I am Jim Koolman,
OJ: and I am Olivia Jones, and you are watching South Newlandia One.

by **Nagore** » Mon Aug 24, 2020 1:44 pm

Gale Keever Bounces Back
Aviva Michaelson :: NagoreSports

As newcomers to the international sporting landscape, Nagorians mostly tempered their expectations for how the nation would perform at the Summer Olympics. However, one domain where Nagorians definitely hoped to perform well was in women's gymnastics, sending over a roster full of all-stars to compete. Despite these intentions, the Nagorian media (and Nagorian public) were less than pleased when the women's gymnastics team narrowly missed out on the Team All-Around final, placing 10th overall. And while Gale Keever did somewhat easily secure herself a spot in the individual all-around, the fact that Keever narrowly qualified for the vault final, and that Aliyah Waithe barely snuck her way into the final for balance beam made many believe that the odds were not going to be in Nagore’s favor going forward.

Despite the added pressure placed on the girls as of late, Gale Keever certainly shut up her critics yesterday after claiming the Olympic gold in the individual all-around. While Keever’s performances in the floor exercise have been nothing to write home about, scoring a 15.2 in qualifying and a 15.1 in the all-around, strong showings on the vault (15.933/5th), uneven bars (15.933/3rd), and an uncharacteristically strong beam (16.100/2nd) helped her secure the top overall slot.
As the nation celebrates Keever’s gold medal win, expert gymnasts have been trying to remind the Nagorian public that Keever’s chances at bringing home another medal are not likely.

One of those critics was Chrisette Morgan, head coach of the gymnastics team at Castle Hall University. “Gale Keever is an extraordinarily talented individual, but I wouldn’t say that she’s known for her consistency. If you remember going into the Olympic Trials, while nobody was shocked that Gale made the Olympic team, a lot of people were shocked that Gale was designated as team captain. I think a lot of people had Keever penciled in as the 2nd best competitor on this squad, so it’s surprising to see her take home the gold. When Gale is on, she’s on, but when she’s off, she’s way off. Part of it is due to her injuries. She’s had two substantial injuries in her career: one that occurred on the floor, and one that occurred on the beam. I think that in some ways, that PTSD has stayed with her. She psyches herself out. Keever is an extraordinary talent, but I think that even she would admit that her gold medal win was nowhere close to a foregone conclusion.”

Devontae Grubbins, head coach of men’s gymnastics at the University of Trodega had a different hypothesis. “I mean, yes Keever has had some substantial injuries, but I think the bigger issue is how she’s chosen to respond to those injuries. With a lot of gymnasts, we see them become more conservative and reserved after recovering, because they’re afraid to push beyond their limits. Keever has largely responded in the opposite fashion, making her routines more and more difficult after injuries or poor
performances. She’s a daredevil, and it’s a risk that doesn’t always pay off.”

When NagoreSports caught up with Gale to ask about her penchant for pushing the envelope in her routines, she simply let out a small chuckle and said “Someone has to put on a show for everyone.” One thing’s for sure, after Keever’s unpredictable performances so far, the nation will definitely be watching to see how she does in the vault final.

[RP thread] Games of the XIV Olympiad

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