Games of the XVIII Olympiad - roleplaying thread

by **Haruhata** » Sat Sep 07, 2024 6:04 pm

OFFICIAL BROADCASTER for the XVIII OLYMPIAD

"For the first time in Haruhata's history, we will be participating in the Games of the Olympiad. Though our nation is small, our people have the determination to achieve anything. I hope Haruhata can showcase the talent of our people, and carve the way for many more to come. For many, many years, the sports of Haruhata have been vastly underfunded, so participating in the Olympiad is our first step into opening the doors for the athletes of the future.

I believe in you Haruhata! Huuganba!"

Haraajiurda Songren, Head of the Alba Fuurgen i Olympiadrhurn Haruhata

For the first time, Haruhata will participate in the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, in Hamilton, Electrum and Schimpol, Liventia! Though Haruhata is not necessarily known for it's sports, it does not mean there is not a swathe of sporting talent within the nation. Though some ask whether the affair will be an international embarrassment, there is a question, a light at the end of the tunnel. 'What if?'. What if Haruhata proves itself to the world? What if Haruhata is able to utilise this shining opportunity to showcase their culture and people to the world? The people of Haruhata are proud people, even if that means holding back as to avoid failure and embarrassment. So, when it was announced that Haruhata was to participate in the Olympiad, it came as a shock for people, nationally and internationally. But it is too late to turn back now. It's now or never!

For Haruhata's debut Olympiad, the Alba Fuurgen i Olympiadrhurn Haruhata (Official Olympiad Committee of Haruhata) are sending a delegation of small but strong 32 athletes, spanning 13 disciplines. With 18 men and 14 women from ages 15 to 33, Haruhata is represented by a wide range of athletes from all over the nation, from the far east in Haruhata's capital, Alhaanfuutar to the steppe of the far west. Traditionally, Haruhata's nomadic history, with over 750,000 Haruhati still leading nomadic lifestyles in the present day, has entrenched the nation in equestrian and archery culture, staples in Haruhati culture the people pride themselves in. However, will that translate to successes at an Olympiad level? And what other sports should you look out for Haruhati success? Here is the ULTIMATE guide of who, what, where, when and why of Haruhata at the XVIII Olympiad!

ONES TO WATCH

ARCHERY
Unsurprisingly, Archery is a sport that holds a glimmer of a chance for Haruhati success. Throughout Haruhati history, the bow and arrow has been the weapon of choice for the largely nomadic populace, with ancient texts describing Haruhati tribes' eagle eyes and perfect aim spreading fear across the land. As a result, it's no shock that Haruhata is sending a sizeable and talented team for the Olympiad, including a complete women's team.
Who to look out for?
Haruhata's shining star of the team, Ahaoyuan Arangyon, is a descendent of the first Haruhati people, the Haoyuan, enshrined in myth and legend. With ancestry on her side, she has claimed victory in the past 5 National Haruhati Archery Championships, since the age of 19. However, her success internationally is spotty leading many to doubt whether she can replicate her national success at the Olympiad. Despite this, she is considered Haruhata's best chance at a medal in archery. Seosajirit Tuurong and Abkaheisen Suuykede are also highly talented archers, hoping to have their own Olympiad success.

ATHLETICS
Athletics is a staple sport at the Olympiad, the event not being complete with it. Unfortunately, Haruhata is not known for it's athletic ability. Despite having a multitude of events and thus medal opportunities, Haruhati athletes are only competing at 7. Despite having no short distance sprinters, where Haruhata thrives is in the long distance events, particularly the marathon. Haruhata's sprawling landscapes lends itself to long distance running, being necessary in the past when one's steed has collapsed or died.
Who to look out for?
Guurhun Gunduule is Haruhata's national marathon hero, the 25-year-old hailing from rural Haruhata. She is widely considered to be Haruhata's best runner, though has had little to no experience competing abroad, the Olympiad being her third international marathon. Despite this, people remain confident in her ability and determination to bring home Olympiad success.

BREAKING
When one thinks of Haruhati sports, breaking might not be the one that jumps to mind. However, Haruhata has had a very prominent breaking culture, particularly in the capital city of Alhaanfuutar. The New York dance style entered Haruhati mainstream in the late 80s in the advent of American media in the country, as well as permeating through the American military base stationed on the east coast of Haruhata. Breaking has been an important part of urban youth culture ever since. As a result, there are no shortage of talented b-boys and b-girls to represent Haruhata at the Olympiad, with 2 of Haruhata's fiercest hoping to achieve gold at the Olympiad.
Who to look out for?
Akuu is a 23-year-old b-boy from Alhaanfuutar who is known for his original and wild style of breaking, making a name for himself within Haruhata as the nation's premier breaker until recently. However, he is not only known for his moves, becoming a fashion icon in the late 2010s, popularising nail varnish on men. His cultural impact is no visage to his skill, a contender for a medal for his skills alone. On the other hand, Ilhataan Araasang is Haruhata's up and coming star. At only 17 years old, she has already made waves, and is deemed to do so at the Olympiad. Unlike other breakers, Araasang wears her full name on her sleeve, showcasing her tribe heritage. She is considered perhaps Haruhata's best chance at a medal, so keep your eyes on the 'blossoming flower'.

EQUESTRIAN
Though horse culture is still an integral part of Haruhati life, equestrian sports are not a strong suit of Haruhata. Perhaps it's the differing style of horse riding but Haruhata's international success at equestrian events is minimal. As a result, only a single horse rider is competing at the Olympiad.
Who to look out for?
Hailing from the Yaangse tribe of north west Haruhata, Ameyaangse Araangchue is a prominent rider in Haruhati equestrian sports. His control over his steed is the envy of many, his youth on horseback preparing him for the speed and agility necessary for horse jumping. However, competition is decidedly stiff, so whether he will rise to the occasion is yet to be seen. Even so, he is definitely one to watch out for.

SPORT CLIMBING
The mountainous terrain of Haruhata has trained some of the bravest and best climbers in the world, certain Haruhati communities still scaling peaks daily as they have done for thousands of years. However, sport climbing is a far different tale, with climbing being a rather niche hobby only available to those who live near a climbing wall. This does not discourage dedicated climbers. With four climbers representing Haruhata, it is the nation's third most athletes participating in a discipline.
Who to look out for?
Angeit Jereke is a fearsome speed climber who is supernatural, even for Haruhata's climbing community. Referred to as 'Mongge Mongge' (Monkey like), her speed is said to be animalistic. However, she has yet to claim international success, due to lack of experience and the level of international speed climbers. Regardless, if there is anyone to watch out for it's the 'Mongge'.

OTHERS

CYCLING
Despite cycling being a popular mode of transport in the city, cycling is not exactly a popular sport in Haruhata. Despite Haruhata's swathes of mountains, mountain biking is not the preferable mode of transport. As a result, only a single Haruhati is participating, the sport being Men's Mountain Biking with Ejeibetu Ainuun.

DIVING
Aquatic sports have never been Haruhata's strong suit. Even so, Jiruumgan Tuwan is representing Haruhata at the Men's 3m Springboard.

FENCING
Despite Haruhata's competitive fencing scene, the nation has yet to compare to the level of international fencers. Haruhata is participating with three athletes, though weak international performances prior certainly do not inspire confidence for successful results at the Olympiad.

GYMNASTICS
Gymnastics is a recent sporting phenomenon in Haruhata, inspired by the successes of neighbouring nations. Overall, though the future seems bright, the nation is only represented by a single gymnast, one with little experience in competitions.

JUDO
Much like fencing, judo is a staple in national competitions. And like fencing, it does not translate to international success. Three Haruhati judoka will fight for the Olympiad gold, though chances appear slim.

SKATEBOARDING
Though a popular hobby in urban areas, particularly Alhaanfuutar, the sport remains a hobby with few official skateboarding events nationally. However, representing Haruhata is the delegation's youngest athlete: Jeiyin Heseir, age 15. His lack of experiences proves worrying in regards to results, though his talent at such a young age heralds hope for the future of skateboarding within Haruhata.

SWIMMING
As stated, Haruhata is not a nation of swimmers, divers and sailors by any means. Two swimmers will represent Haruhata.

TAEKWONDO
Taekwondo is a increasingly popular sport within Haruhata, with national leagues growing year by year. Unfortunately, as of now, it has yet to build the foundations for the Olympiad, with only a single athlete representing Haruhata in the sport.

by **Britonisea** » Sat Sep 07, 2024 6:10 pm

Sports News
Brityunik Vefecosoin Cairkovoin
http://www.bvc.com/news
Day -3

Watch extensive coverage of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad across the BVC this summer!

Four shows: There will be four headline television broadcasts this year at these Olympics while additional livestreams will provide even more action.

BVC PLAYER

After the 21 medals gold medals won by the Britonish delegation at the last summer Games, BVC are stepping up their coverage of the Olympic Games to make sure you will not miss any action while also getting expert analysis...

Brityunik Vefecosoin Cairkovoin is one of the most engaged broadcasters who has the rights to the Summer Games. Since the Games of the XV Olympiad, which was held in Electrum, the broadcaster started to take it incredibly seriously - sending out droves of staff to the Games to make sure that BVC would be anywhere and everywhere. With Britonish success slowly increasing throughout the years, the demand for content is higher than ever. While the trend of younger audiences preferring on-demand content compared to linear (live) television is something that Brityunik Vefecosoin Cairkovoin is not immune to, events such as the Games of the Olympiad are a great way to get the nation together to watch the same thing together. At the Games of the XVII Olympiad held in Afanc Strait and Quebec & Shingoryeo, there were extraordinary viewership figures, showing that there indeed was a huge demand for that content. With that in mind, BVC has decided to ramp up its services to provide more high quality content and sporting analysis to meet this demand. In addition, BVC will also ensure to update its on-demand content too so that if you cannot watch the Games, you will be able to find whatever sport whenever you can get to it. The headline programmes will also be available to watch after they have been aired.

Games of the XVIII Olympiad: Electrum
[BVC ONE] Content from Electrum will start at around 5AM so make sure to turn your alarms on! Helena Huang and Teddy Cornivus will be back on our television screens for the fourth time as they both return to Electrum where it all started. This year, they will be joined by two new co-hosts, Peter Nicholson and Maya Aboah. Peter Nicholson is a well-known television soap actor who has expressed interest in all-things sports. He most recently hosted a television sports charity event on BVC and is more than excited to be a part of the Olympic commentary team. Nicholson will be joined by Maya Aboah. Some of you may remember Maya from her appearances on the Global Athletics Tour. Maya was one of the post-race interviewers and so has a real depth of athletics knowledge (hence why she is in Electrum). Though, Maya is very versatile and can cover any sport! Any events that start before 5 AM Britonish time will be broadcast live on the BVC Player and the Olympic channels. At 1PM, there will be a break to cover the local and national news.

Games of the XVIII Olympiad: Liventia
[BVC TWO] Content from Liventia will begin at around 8AM after the news which will be broadcast on BVC Two between 6AM and 8AM instead. The immensely popular Julien Zagarino and Lisa Kaur will return to the sofa to give their expert analysis on each of the sports live from Liventia. This year, there will be joined by Abbie Foster - a radio presenter up in the north who is taking a leap of faith and switching to television. Her upbeat personality and sports knowledge will make her the perfect co-host. Alongside her is Tristan Herrara who played in the ABEN Union's Handball team. He has since retired and instead will be providing expert analysis on, of course, handball but all sports. Events in Liventia would have gotten underway at around 6AM our time but you will be able to watch every moment live on the BVC Player and the Olympic channels. Unlike over on BVC One, there is uninterrupted coverage of the Games from Liventia until the end of the day, with moments missed in the morning being replayed.

Today At The Games
[BVC ONE] Each day, before the national news at 10pm, the same pair from the last Olympics - Nicky Samuels and Mark Bryan will be providing us with the latest updates from both Electrum and Liventia all wrapped up into one single 90-minute episode. During the 90 minutes, Nicky and Mark will cover all Britonish medal wins (hopefully there's enough to report in each episode!), near misses and things that simply couldn't be missed out. Fans who want to have an overview of what went on before they head to the on-demand content will enjoy Today At The Games but beware - there might be some spoilers! Nicky Samuels is a pro at doing this now, with this being the fourth time that Nicky will be hosting the wrap-up show for the Olympics, while Mark Bryan will be hosting this for a second time. The pair will be broadcasting live from Liventia during the eight days of the Games before heading over to Electrum for the final eight days.

Justin Coates: Investigates (Olympics Edition)
[BVC] Justin Coates is known for hosting hard-hitting documentaries exploring all parts of society. Coates wants to know the “why” and thought it would be a good idea to explore what has gone into making the Britonish delegation go from less than four Olympic gold medals over the course of sixteen days in consecutive Olympics to 21 in a singular Games. As he journeys up and down Britonisea, Coates will be getting in touch with each and every Britonish sporting organising body that contributed to the medal table to find out what they did to improve their chances at the Olympic Games. Coates intends not to sugar-“coates” the process - Britonisea’s Olympic selection is one of the most ruthless amongst the competing nations and he wants to explore how this affects athletes - an unbiased review will be provided. For those of you who are interested in the funding and finance behind sports, the day in the life of an athlete, the mental aspect of sports and how it affects their day-to-day livelihood - this will be the programme for you.

Coverage of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad will begin in just three days with Day 0 and the Opening Ceremony. Pre-qualifying rounds will be shown on the BVC Player.

by **Panay Islands and Guimaras** » Sat Sep 07, 2024 6:56 pm

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to..

(English translation: Olympic Recap)
Where we will cover the Panayense athletes' performance in one recap!

GIRALDO YOON THROWS HIS WAY TO THE OLYMPICS, AS THE FIRST PANAYENSE TO COMPETE
The first Panayense to step foot in this event was Giraldo Yoon, a #1 athlete from Passi, home to Korean immigrants in Iloílo. This athlete had shown his prowess since high school when he started doing it, from just a casual hobby to now a serious one. He first started well in his first to third attempts. He may mistake in 2 separate attempts but he's still doing well and goes into the Top 32 to give the first medal for the country.

PORFIRIO CASTRO QUALIFIES TO THE OLYMPICS, AFTER 2 ATTEMPTS
Porfirio Castro, a star thrower for the Royal University of Antique, took his shot to the international stage first was so badly but, he recovered back from his mistakes and made his own way to the Olympic and hoping for himself to earn a first gold medal for his country.

JULIETA ZAMORA IS THE FIRST PANAYENSE WOMAN TO QUALIFY FOR THE OLYMPICS
Julieta Zamora, from Capiz, just like Giraldo Yoon, throws her way out to the Olympics after some attempts, and a mistake too. She proved her worth to be the first Panayense woman to have the gold for her country. But who knows what's the fate of this woman.

IS THERE NO HOPE FOR MIRASOL CORDERO?
There were good thing about Mirasol Cordero, she's Ilongga, and a Cantonera. But her journey on golf? That's too hard for her as she placed 102nd alongside Dunja Huseinović of Mytanija and Melinda Page of Kytler Peninsulae. And she was hoping that she could qualify and bring a medal to the country.

And last but not the least,

MURILLO DID HIS BEST, BUT THE BEST HE HAD WASN'T GOOD ENOUGH (OR DOES HE?)
Rolando Murillo excelled in both freestyle and backstroke, both varsity and provincial. But his stint at backstroke wasn't good enough for him. Could his stint at 50m freestyle would led him to have a gold for the country?

That's all for today as we would update what happened to the Panayense athletes, either they could be qualified or not here at...
¡RRRESUMEEEEEEEEEEEN OOOOOOOLIIIIIMPICOOOOO!

by **Hopal** » Sat Sep 07, 2024 7:01 pm

A Look at the new Hopalian Olympic Committee

Hopal returns to the Olympic Games for the first time in years, with their last appearance being at the XVII Winter Olympic Games in Joongyeong and the Eiran Mountains and their last Summer Olympic Games appearance being at the Games of the XV Olympiad in Bunjil. There are various reasons for this hiatus, but it would seem that the blame could be squarely pinned on the instability that has racked the Hopalian Olympic Committee. During our last appearance at the Olympic Games in Joongyeong and the Eiran Mountains, we were without a proper Olympic Committee. A corruption scandal had rocked the HOC, where it was revealed that Committee President Lucy Gurvaneses was laundering Committee funds into her personal accounts. The siphoning of these funds was what led to Hopal being unable to send a team to the Games of the XVI Olympiad in Prescott and the Twin Cities. The implications of this scandal were wide-reaching as Gurvaneses had also taken funds that were meant to fund athletes and their training, possibility setting back high-level sport in Hopal for years. When the Hopal Herald finally broke this story a year after the Games of the XVI Olympiad, the Committee went to war with one another. Committee Vice President Helen Fernando tried to force Gurvaneses' resignation and take over herself as Committee President. Gurvaneses exposed that Fernando was using funds to cover up an affair. Eventually, both women were forced to resign and with Committee Co-Vice President Bob Ingram going into retirement, the Committee was suspended.

The Hopalian Government through the Ministry of Sport, Identity, and Cohesion managed the Hopalian Olympic delegation to the XVII Winter Olympic Games directly. Managing entries, funding athletes, and managing the team at the Games. This was meant to be a temporary solution with a reformed Hopalian Olympic Committee meant to be organized in time for the Games of the XVII Olympiad in New Oxford-Whitehaven and Jolbonopoulos. This would not come to pass with the government fighting over appointments to the Committee and the issue falling down the list of government priorities. The Hopalian government's drift into isolationism would contribute to Hopal's withdrawals from the Games. But now, as Hopal finally returns to the Games, there is a new reformed Hopalian Olympic Committee finally in place. Let's go through every member and give you a rundown of who they are and a bit about their background.

Michael Bach - President of the Hopalian Olympic Committee. Former Olympic Tennis player. Competed at the Games of the XV Olympiad in Bunjil. From a privileged background, he trained at the exclusive Port Hope Tennis Club, notable for producing Hopalian Tennis icons such as Kyrsten Fletcher and Madeleine Jeffries. He competed for a bit with the Nationstates Tennis Tour, but was never incredibly successful. Had a poor showing the Games of the XV Olympiad and retired shortly after. He became a prominent sports administrator in Hopal and organized the Hopalian Tennis Association and national tournaments. With Hopalian success in high-level tennis waning and the reform of the Hopalian Olympic Committee, he was asked to become the Committee President as a compromise from all sides and accepted.

Kelly Hern - Vice President of the Hopalian Olympic Committee. Former Olympic Chef de Mission. XVII Olympic Winter Games in Joongyeong and the Eiran Mountains. From a middle class background, as many Hopalians do, she joined the civil service as the bureaucrat. She soon proved her technical efficiency and managerial skills, quickly rising the ranks to soon become the Deputy Minister of Sport, Identity, and Cohesion. This came right as the Hopalian Olympic Committee was falling apart. As the XVII Olympic Winter Games approached, she was asked to lead the delegation, being in charge of everything entering the athletes to making sure that Hopal Olympic House was up to snuff. The XVII Olympic Games proved to be a resounding success for Team Hopal and she was credited with steering the ship and making sure that Hopalian athletes remained focused on the prize with all of the drama in the background. When the Hopalian Olympic Committee was reformed she was an easy choice to be asked to a prominent role within the committee.

Jesse Duclaire - Athlete Representative to the Hopalian Olympic Committee. Olympic Swimmer. Competed at the Games of the XV Olympiad in Bunjil. From a comfortable middle class background, living in a coastal community near Port Hope, she fell in love with swimming. A great freestyle swimmer, she became a part of that first generation of Hopalian athletes to compete at the Olympic Games in Bunjil. She still holds the national Olympic record in the 100m Freestyle, 200m Freestyle, 100m Breaststroke, and 100m Butterfly. When the National Swimming Program opened under the direction of Georgia Juan, as the program veteran, she became the natural leader of the team and helped nurture a generation of swimming talent. Remarkably still swimming at a competitive level, making a return at these Olympics, she was elected as the Athlete Representative to the new Hopalian Olympic Committee.

Paul Baumann - Coach Representative to the Hopalian Olympic Committee. Olympic Speed Skating Coach. Coached at the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Joongyeong. From the frigid and remote Reid Pass, the mountainous north of the country, he bounced around working with Skiing and Skating over years. He found a particular love with Speed Skating, and as he and Hopal grew in wealth, he moved to Hopton, where after working to build Hopal's first proper Skating oval he founded Hopal's Speed Skating program. Working first to recruit a team for the XVI Olympic Winter Games in Liventia, though the small team didn't skate to much success. Over the next four years, he would tour the country to find athletes to join his program, finally hitting gold (literally) with University of Hopal student Mina Driver, who would skate to a Gold and Bronze medal at the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Joongyeong. Since then the program has only expanded, with him taking much of the credit. When the Hopalian Olympic Committee was reformed, he was elected Coaching Representative.

Brad Lapierre - Official Representative to the Hopalian Olympic Committee. Olympic Short Track Speed Skating Official. Officiated at the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Joongyeong. From an old family of French settlers, he had drifted around in life, bouncing between jobs and moving around the country. When John Molina started his Short Track Speed Skating Program, Lapierre, an old friend joined him, learning the ropes and being an official. Eventually, he'd become an Official at the XVII Olympic Winter Games in Joongyeong. Widely respected in the officiating world in Hopal, he was elected as the Representative of the Officials to the new Hopalian Olympic Committee.

Kenny O'Connor - Journalist Representative to the Hopalian Olympic Committee. Former Journalist. From a higher class background, he joined the Hopal Herald where he worked as a Sports Reporter, covering all three of Hopal's last Olympic appearances as well as following the Hopalian National Soccer Team. Widely respected for his rigorous journalistic practices, he has been elected as the Representative of the Journalists to the new Hopalian Olympic Committee.

Joe Lighthardt - Medical Representative to the Hopalian Olympic Committee. Former Olympic Long Distance Racer. Gold Medalist at the Games of the XV Olympiad in Bunjil. From a small town in Western Hopal, he was a bright young student who dreamed of being a doctor, but he would also astoundingly good at long distance running. His High School coach noticed his talent and pleaded with him to focus on developing it instead of focusing on medicine. Eventually, he agreed and his training would eventually get to the Olympic Games, where after stumbles in his marquee events, he scrapped out a Gold Medal in the 1500m by the skin of his teeth. Eventually going back to school, he got his medical degree and has a practice in his hometown. However, Maud Hicks asked him to work with her as she tried to assemble an Olympic Athletics Program, agreeing he joined the staff as both a coach and head of the medical team. Respected not just as an Olympian, but also in the medical field, he was elected as the Medical Representative to the Hopalian Olympic Committee.

Georgia Juan - Former Olympic Swimmer. Gold Medalist at the Games of the XV Olympiad in Bunjil. Hopal's golden girl. Famously had a gruelling childhood, where she had to fight to receive training in the sport that she loved, where she was ignored, bullied, and underestimated. Fought her way. with as she describes it, sheer will, to get the Olympic Games in Bunjil. She stunned the country when she won the Olympic Gold Medal, Hopal's first ever Olympic Medal, in the 100m Backstroke and then a Bronze medal in the 200m Backstroke. Forever lionized as a Hopalian Olympic legend, after retiring she got to work heading up the National Swim Program, nurturing young new talent. An Olympic legend in Hopal, she was a lock to join the new Hopalian Olympic Committee.

James Horrell - Former Olympic Short Track Speed Skater. Silver Medalist at the XVI Olympic Winter Games in Liventia and XVII Olympic Winter Games in Joongyeong. From a working class background in Hopton, he struggled to find his way early in life. Noticed by John Molina, he took a risk joining the new Short Track Speed Skating program, but soon proved to be a hit, finally feeling as though he'd found his life's purpose. Going to the XVI Olympic Winter Games in Liventia, he became Hopal's only medalist of those Games and first medalist at a Winter Games with a Silver in the 500m. Returning at the following Games in Joongyeong, he struck with another Silver in the 1000m. Devoted to sport, he was selected to the new Hopalian Olympic Committee as a kind of representative of winter sport.

Maud Hicks - Former Olympic Runner. Bronze Medalist at the Games of the XV Olympiad in Bunjil. After falling in love with running from a young age, she devoted her life to running. Her High School coach took a chance on her, and decided to fund her in her early career, still gratefully she's paid back with interest. Her passion got her to the Olympic Games as part of that first generation of Hopalian Olympians at the Games of the XV Olympiad in Bunjil. She salvaged herself a Bronze Medal in the 800m after a tough race. After retirement, she recommitted herself to the sport, pledging to be a coach to the next generation of athletes in the same way her High School coach was. Leading the National Program, she toured schools across the country to recruit young talent and has nurtured their careers to the Olympic Games.

by **Kannap** » Sat Sep 07, 2024 7:48 pm

Kannapian National News
Official coverage of the 18th Summer Olympic Games from Electrum and Liventia

The KNN news logo appears on screen while some pleasant music plays behind it for a few moments, the screen then switches to two anchors - one man and one woman - sitting at a news desk with images of Olympic locations in Electrum and Liventia moving around on a full-wall screen behind them

Barbara Welstrand: Good evening and welcome to your nightly recap of today's events in our ongoing coverage of the Games of the 18th Olympiad. My name is Barbara Welstrand.

Max Chand: And I'm Max Chand. We are bringing you this nightly recap courtesy of the Kannapian News Network. Thank you for joining us. First, we'll be discussing the athletics prelims in Electrum.

Barbara Welstrand: That's right. In the men's 400m preliminary round, William Dowd placed second in his heat with a time of 45.21 seconds, while Felix Davis placed third in his heat with a time of 45.05 seconds. Both of these gentlemen will be proceeding to Olympic competition. John Harris placed fourth in his heat with a time of 45.84 seconds, failing to qualify for further competition.

Max Chand: And in the men's 5,000m preliminary round, only one Kannapian managed to advance to the Olympic competition, Benjamin DeWolfe managed to qualify with a time of 13 minutes and 40.81 seconds. Both William McDowell and Jacob Spring fell short of qualifying.

Moving on to the men's 110m hurdles prelim round. Here, all three Kannapian men managed to qualify through their heats. James Moore finished first in his heat with a time of 13.51 seconds while George Ashe finished first in his heat with a faster time of 13.37 seconds. Finally, Harvey Walker finished third in his heat with a time of 13.53 seconds. Since the first three finishers in each heat advance, he will move forward to further Olympic competition.

Barbara Welstrand: In the men's pole vault competition's preliminary round, all three Kannapian men also advanced to the Olympic competition. Universe Parks and Anthony Banks tied for fourth in the preliminary round, along with three other men from various nations. Patrick Myrick tied for ninth with three other men.

On the other side of the coin, all three Kannapian men failed to proceed past the preliminary round in the discus throw.

Max Chand: In the women's 400m prelim round, Andrea Thompson managed to qualify with a time of 51.38 seconds. Jenny Evans finished second in her heat with a time of 51.31 seconds, securing her place in the Olympic competition. Finally, Brenda Stulk finished first in her heat with a time of 51.55 seconds.

In the preliminary round of the women's 5,000m, Kristen Jackson and Carla Lewis finished first in their heats, while Jennifer Young finished third in her heat. All three women will progress to the Olympic competition.

In women's 100m hurdles, Gwen Malone qualified with a time of 12.91 seconds. Evelyn Ashford finished first in her heat with a time of 12.84 seconds, sending her onwards. In unfortunate news, Michelle Jenkins was unable to finish the race after just a few hurdles. She left the track injured with medical officials and we will report more on that when information is available.

Barbara Welstrand: In the women's pole vault prelim round, Tine Berube and Kim Rhodes found their way in advancement while Melissa Thompson failed to qualify.

In the women's discus throw, Ally Kiraly qualified to advance while Kendra Steffes and Trina Barnes fell short.

In the first preliminary round for men's individual golf, Julien Armbrust finished tied in 12th, Sohen Hallett placed tied for 22nd, and Harry Forgeron tied for 88th. Russell Gibson tied for 136th.

Max Chand: In the first prelim round for women's individual golf, the women faired better. Kristina Westlake tied for 7th. Monika Douma tied for 9th. Daniele Larsen tied for 31st. Finally, Wendy Tregunno tied for 83rd.

In the preliminary round for men's individual artistic gymnastics, Lawrence Young, Herbert Langerfield, Mika Moffatt, Franklin Zasada, and Jeffrey Worthington all qualified to advance in competition. They also qualified in the men's team event.

In men's rhythmic individual all-around prelims, Frank Abbott managed to qualify to advance.

Barbara Welstrand: In the preliminary round for women's street in the skateboarding, Melanie Flood and Marianne Lee both managed to qualify to advance.

In diving, the Kannapian women failed to qualify for the 3m synchronized springboard and the men failed to qualify for the 10m synchronized platform.

In the women's qualifying for the C-1 canoe slalom time trial, Jessica Watson qualified to advance to the Olympic competition.

Max Chand: And that's all for our evening recap of coverage of the Games of the 18th Olympiad. Join us again tomorrow at the same time for a recap of tomorrow's events. Thank you and good night.

by **Tero al Disco** » Sat Sep 07, 2024 8:07 pm

Olympic Games: the big questions heading to Hamilton and Schimpol

The upcoming couple of weeks will be a first in the history of Terense sport. Not football, not tennis, not basketball, not any sport in specific that has already had at least one international tournament, but Terense sports in general, as (long story short) the 18th Olympic Games are coming up, behind held in the Rushmori cities of Hamilton, Electrum, and Schimpol, Liventia. Inside the 350-odd strong delegation sent by the Terense Olympic Committee, there definitely are some up-and-coming gems inside the different sports that need to be addressed. So, here are the hard-hitting questions and the athletes to look up for in these Summer Olympics.

M Waterpolo: will Enzo Garcés and company repeat the solid Doportedas Grand Prix performance?
Waterpolo is a sport that is definitely not on the radar for the average Terense sport watcher. A national league was formed only around ten years ago, and to this day it only features semi-professional players. Still, going onto the warm-up tournament hosted in Doportedas, the capital city of Britonisea (who by the way, are the current men's and women's defending champions of Olympic waterpolo), the Terense national team managed to pull off a bit of a dark horse performance in the end. In the group stages, they managed to defeat Kelssek (the defending Bronze medalists), and they ended persevering and advancing to the quarter-finals as one of the best third-placed teams, below Darmen and and eventual runners-up Darkmania (the latter of which blew them out of the water by 17-8 when they met the Terenses). In the Final Eight they were edged out by the Britonish themselves by just one goal, and Britonisea wound up as the champions.

Now, as was said before, Tero al Disco getting out of the group stages was thanks to them persevering more than actually showing off their capabilities at defending or attacking. Anyhow, this shock run has apparently proven to give a massive morale push to the Terense players coming into these Olympics. In the words of starting point Tomás Afanador: "I am super excited for what is to come, we are all excited here in the team. Waterpolo is not given the priority that other of the more important sports have; we sometimes had, and still have to deal with a lack of training equipment and lack of funding in general, but after the Doportedas tourney we're very optimistic about what can happen (...) I know it was just a preparation tournament, and there can't be any definitive conclusions made, but nonetheless we've got the momentum in bucketloads". Enzo Garcés has been selected as captain of the squad after an excellent as Yaguareté's goalkeeper in the domestic scene, with Yaguareté having the best defense throughout the season. At the front, Valentín Gualtieri and Jairo Medina have excelled on the attack, and so they'll be coach Federico López's best bet at scoring.

M Basketball: will the basketball NT carry on a convincing IBC debut into Schimpol?
In this case, instead of the men's waterpolo team having a good first foray into international play, we're going to go towards basketball for this one. In case you don't know, in the 40th edition of the International Basketball Championships hosted in Banija, the Teros' performance went...very well, ending the group stages with a 6-1 record, only second to the then-3 time consecutive champions Quebec & Shingoryeo. In the knockout stages they went as far as the round of 16, when they were blown out by the hosts, Banija. With center Leónidas Gregori as their captain and Agustín Encarnación, a sixth man, as a key piece in the team, that first-time performance was lauded by some important players from the other NTs. Aside from whatever others might have said, Juan Cruz Vivona has more or less the same roster formula, with Pedro Píriz, Alfred Durante, and Paulo Sferrazza being the only new namings for this Olympics squad. All eyes are especially on Sferrazza, with the 20-year-old small forward standing out as a pace merchant and an accurate shooter in Defensores de Boca. In their qualifying group, being the best team, they've been drawn with Kriegersien, Estogium, Nova Calania, and Da Cunha, so if everything goes well they might qualify, because only the qualifying group winners will advance to the Olympics proper.

M Football: can the B team win big despite being...the B team, with the squad they have?
Needless to say, Tero al Disco's second team roster for these Olympics is not something that should go unnoticed. Although normally B teams aren't supposed to be fielded with the purpose of going all out to win something, to win a tournament, the squad, particularly the attack, looks stacked for a B side. That's probably got to do with Tero al Disco only sending five forward line players in their 26-man WC finals squad, which is why for the Olympic squad we've got, at the front, Miguel de Fiore (Player of the season in the Doubeinese 1.League), Sergio Cervantes (of multiple first-team caps), and at the front there's Benjamín Insfrán, one of the best strikers in the Terense league before leaving for Saterun's Ias CF. In the bench there's Roberto Villar (Silver Boot in the Nacional A last season) and Lautaro Araujo (who, like Paulo Sferrazza in basketball, is a very speedy 25-year-old lad, arguably in his prime years).

Meanwhile, you can also find players like a 35-year-old Eduardo Acciaio in goal (who is also one of the best keepers in the Terense league as well), and capped players including left-back Javier Miranda, center-back José Salas, left-midfielder Paulo Tedesco, with the preferred eleven also featuring a 19-year-old youngster, Marco Lixau, who among other things is an avid free kick taker. That's more or less the reason why this squad of World Cup rejects is something to look out for.

W Aquatics: will Lourdes Luján (being the Terense swimming favourite) go far?
Swimming has a curious backstory in Tero al Disco, being (quite unexpectedly) one of the most practiced sports at any level in the country. Most people seem to go to swimming classes in their childhood and youth "just to do some exercise", which occasionally leads to pools at several clubs across the country to routinely become at least quite crowded. The other effect is that, as children, teens and adults, more people have a desire to do competitive swimming, and that leads the sport being more developed than most and the only one where all the available slots are filled in, in the case of the Terense delegation.

In the men's category, the two best swimmers in the delegation are backstroke specialist Salomón Samarzija, and "intermediate distance" swimmer Gonzalo Garechana. But to hide the huge disparity between male and female athletes representing Tero al Disco, we need to present Lourdes Luján. Luján will only swim individually in the breaststroke category, but the 21-year-old from the city of Casuarinas has stood out from an early age due to her tendency to use heavy and energy-intensive strokes, but that with an excellent technique, and lots and lots of stamina, she has become one of the top swimmers for the Olympic Games. She'll also run (or rather, swim) the three women's relay races, with the 4x100 freestyle quartet of Luján, Nadia Jara, Marina San Antonio and Gloria Narciso expected to deliver the most.

W Shooting: can Salomé Competente excel in the skeet category?
Tero al Disco is definitely no shooter country, with the territory of the country (mostly flatlands or mountains), not allowing much in terms of, I don't know, hunting capabilities, and there are probably like four Terenses who are rifle enthusiasts...Although, at the same time, judging from the delegation they are? The favourites for Terense shooting are Rodrigo Añonuevo for the men's 10m Air Pistol, and on the other side it's going to be one of the flag-bearers, Salomé Competente in women's skeet. In her case, Competente has got an exceptionally keen eye for shooting targets, which compesates for a lack of...proper training, I guess. In an interview with RED, she told us that "I got interested in shooting with my grandpa, he taught me how to shoot the guns, because he had an air rifle at home that he could practice with. At first it felt weird, because in our day and age if you go around shooting at targets in our house like how I started out...you're a weirdo to the rest. In my case, shooting was actually quite pleasant for me. (...) When I was 17 I joined a shooting club. Very small, obviously, but you've got to acknowledge that that was the first time I had actual, or shall we say professional equipment to practice with." Now, with 24 years old, Salomé has already qualified for the Olympics proper, unlike many of the other sportsmen competing, as shooting does not have (or require) extra preliminary rounds.

by **Polkopia** » Sat Sep 07, 2024 9:11 pm

..Who Will Be Carrying the Polkopian Flag at the Opening Ceramony?..

Polkopia's Olympic Flag Bearers: Cosmin Nistor and Anna Savina Lead the Nation in Somer

SOMER, ELECTRUM - As the grand opening ceremony of the Olympics in Somer, Electrum, unfolded, Polkopia's delegation entered Somersville Stadium, hands waving to a cheering crowd. Everyone could see how excited the Polkopians were to make a return to the Olympic games. At the front of the large Polkopia group were the two athletes chosen to carry the nation’s flag: Cosmin Nistor, a rising star in badminton, and Anna Savina, a formidable competitor in canoe sprint. While neither athlete has yet to claim an Olympic medal yet, their selection as flag bearers reflects the massive support that they've received back in their home country. But who exactly are these athletes, and why have they been selected to have the honor of carrying Polkopia's flag during the opening ceremony?

Cosmin Nistor: The Rising Badminton Star

At 23 years old, Cosmin Nistor has become one of Polkopia’s most promising talents in badminton. Known for his agility and strategic play, Nistor has dominated the game domestially, having won three championships at home. The fame and notiority brought by these championships have resulted in Nistor becoming a hosuehold name in one of Polkopia's fastest-growing sports. Though the Polkopians eagerly awaits his first Olympic medal, Nistor’s consistent performance and rapid rise through the ranks have made him a fan favorite.

His selection as a flag bearer is not only a recognition of his athleticism but also a celebration of his journey, from a small badminton academy in Pomtyemka to competing on the multiverse’s biggest stage. Moreover, the selection of a badminton athlete for Polkopia's flagbearer represents the rising popularity of the sport in Polkopia. Many believe that Brewster Hall might be where Nistor finally cements his legacy among some of the multiverse's greatest badminton athletes.

Anna Savina: Canoeing's Leading Light

On the water, Anna Savina is a force to be reckoned with. At 28, the sprint canoer has earned a reputation for her fierce determination and incredible stamina. Competing in the Women’s C-1 200m and C-2 500m, Savina’s powerful strokes and relentless pace have seen her rise to the top of Polkopian canoeing. Although she failed to earn a medal in her solo event at the Saintlake Regatta, she did win the bronze bedal along with her teammate Polina Sergeeva.

Although she has yet to bring home a gold medal at a sporting event, Savina has captured the attention of the Polkopian public with her social media presence, where she has donated much of her winnings to charities and organizations promoting youth sports. This, in combination with her athletic ability, has made her an inspiration for aspiring athletes across the country.

For both of these athletes, along with the rest of the Polkopians taking part in the Olympic Games, the opening ceremony is the first step on their path to showcasing their incredible talent in the multiverse's largest sporting competition. Their hard work and dedication will serve as an inspiration to aspiring Polkopian athletes at home, who will undoubtedly look to these individuals as role models. As the Polkopians proudly wave their nation's flag during the opening ceremony in Somer, they carried with them the hopes of an entire nation eager to see what greatness they can achieve.

by **Macadia** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 12:20 am

MACADIAN OLYMPIC BROADCASTING
brought to you by the Macadian Olympic Committee and MNBC
Macadia Struggles in Olympic Prelims

Macadia’s Olympic debut isn’t going as planned… and the opening ceremony hasn’t even began. Today marked the beginning of Olympic competition for Macadia, but not the beginning of the Games themselves. This year, a new preliminary round was introduced for all sports, and it appears to be hindering Macadian athletes as they try to get on the sporting world’s biggest stage.

Earlier today, known as Day -4 in Olympic speak, the men’s artistic gymnastics team failed utterly to even come close to qualifying for any events at the actual games, meaning a sizable part of Macadia’s path to a medal has been cut off. Not much was expected from the men’s team, to be fair, but their poor performance today is casting sizable doubt on Macadia’s fairly new Olympic program as a whole.

Evan Greskov, arguably the most experienced member of the team, underperformed and only ranked #108 individually, almost falling off of the pommel horse during his routine, but he successfully performed a new dismount skill on the apparatus, a single pommel circle to handstand with 450 spin and 3/3 travel. The rest of the team was not as successful, every other member ranked below Greskov, and Joseph Malone fell off both the pommel horse and high bar.

Tomorrow marks the preliminary round for women’s gymnastics, where hopefully Gretchen Harlemane can lead the Macadian ladies to more success.

by **Libesia** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 2:45 am

Mwatubu determined to compete in 10,000 m quals despite injury

Karolina Mwatubu says she is “95%” certain she will be able to run in the Olympic qualification race for the 10,000 m, a day after being forced to abandon the 5,000 m. Mwatubu, previously thought to be one of Libesia’s strongest contenders to qualify for the Olympics, had looked comfortable in her qualification race for the 5,000 m in Hamilton, but as the race tempo increased stumbled twice after being spiked. She was forced to step off the track with blood pouring down her calf just after the halfway mark. Fortunately, the Olympic dreams of one of Libesia’s most popular and decorated athletes are not yet over, if she can recover in time for her 10,000 m race in a day’s time. “Fortunately the injury is not a muscle injury or sprain, she was just badly spiked and couldn’t continue, but we think she will be fit in time,” said LOC team medic Ahmad Bouras.

Libesian running commentator Bethany-Joy Mbugua says the injury does point to the adjustments Mwatubu, feted as a medal hope in Libesia but little known outside her homeland, will have to make to the Olympic field. “Karolina prefers a front-running style and is used to few Libesians being able to keep pace with her, she’s not a tactical runner, she just runs straight off the front,” says Mbugua. “In the Olympics, she will be surrounded by elite athletes who can keep her pace, the field will be bigger, and she will need to sharpen up her racecraft in the 10[,000 m] in order to avoid being spiked again or losing position.”

Libesia will still have representation in the 5,000 m after Maria Nyambugi comfortably won her heat. Nyambugi faced off against expatriate runner Lilian Jerotich, now competing for Barkhastan under that country’s expedited nationalisation law. The two tussled through the first 8 laps before Nyambugi pulled clear ahead, and with 2 laps to go powered away to win easily. Afterwards Nyambugi and Jerotich exchanged some sharp words suggesting the equanimity with which some Team Libesia runners such as Florence Nakalema have accepted Jerotich’s affiliation switch isn’t a universal value. “But rivalries like that are really good for the sport,” says Mbugua. “It now means the Olympic heats will be Round 2, and Jerotich will be looking to punch back. Hopefully not too literally!”

Other Olympic headlines:

Berg smashes national record in butterfly
Four bookings for Cheetahs as they play out dull draw
Emergency search & rescue parties dispatched to bunker on 13th hole to recover Marouazi

by **Kanmer** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 2:55 am

STILL DAYS BEFORE THE OPENING.

The results of the 5th heat of men's 400m qualification.

Even if it still many days before the Opening ceremony, in accordance to the new rules, Olympic competitions have already started, and only best of the best will advance to the actual Games. That's right, not everyone will have a chance to compete after the Opening ceremony. Qualification preliminaries are held in many sports. Among those, Ritsport can notice athletics, as every sportsman here needs to secure qualification. Four days before the Olympic Games would actually begin, athletics qualification has finally started.

Even if the first days of the competitions are more tence then at the last Games, Kanmerin athletes actually showed better results then last time. Four days before the actual Olympics, the already mentioned athletics qualification has started, and for now, it is going great for Kanmerin athletes. Among males, probably, it is easier to name athletes who failed to qualify rather those who qualfied. 5000m runner Taras Garmdara, hurdles runner Leanid Meynir, pole vaulters Ales' Soreiten and Sergey Danaksen, and, finally, discus thrower Dzenis Sanormin, who only narrowly missed the qualification, finishing 33rd while only top 32 athletes qualify. Other Kanmerin athletes succesfully completed that hard task and will stay in the Electrum for longer, haveing chances to bring a medal to the Empire. Great success!

Meanwhile, in the decatlon, the qualification is still going, but it's already brought the Empire a bunch of unexpected results. And the main deliver of the sensations here is... somehow it is Bogdan Denkar Jr. The 20-year old son of the veteran wrestler and last games silver medalist Bogdan Denkar Sr. was never concidered a medal hope or a strong athlete, as at the last games, he finished 59th among the 78 decathlon participants. But now the Ritsport redaction thinks, that his successful father was enraged with the son's results and forced him to undergo some infernal training, because there are no explanation of Bogdan Jr's sensational results. This year, after 5 events, Denkar Jr. sits on a 8th place among the 93 athletes, and at the long jump competition, he showed the second best result, jumping for 7.77 metres! Last year it was only 7.10m.

The Kanmerin gymnasts, as always, are showing their class. Their leader, Wasil Wirpalin, probably, forgot previous year's failure in the finals and now is going to write a new page in the book of Kanmerin successes. In all-around qualification, he finished 4th among 181 athletes. The Kanmerin team also finished 4th in the preliminaries and easily qualified for the Games.

Artistic gymnastics. Men's competition.
All-around preliminary ranking:

4. Wasil Wirpalin - 87.800

16. Mark Mada - 87.100

26. Hardzey Kirlinden - 86.500

46. Ihar Genkelin - 86.033

93. Dzenis Meiden - 84.267

TEAM:

4. Kanmer - 262.867

Notice some patterns in comparision to the last year Games. Then, Wirpalin was 3rd in the qualification and Hardzey Kirlinden was the second-best gymnast, finishing 15th. Now, Wirpalin almost repeated his result among the bigger number of athletes, finishing 4th, and the second-best athlete, this time Mark Mada, finished 16th.

Kanmer men's basketball team is also going to write a new page in their history, now under the leadership of 59-year old Jan Hinde. Previous head coach of the team, Rindeslau Wrinder, was fired after a complete failure at the 40th International Basketball Championship. Then, Imperial team, being placed into pot 3, failed even to qualify at the Round of 24, finishing only 5th in their group, and having more losses then victories. After this, Wrinder was fired. Now, he is working in the second basketball division side Alitar-2008. There were some rumours, that Wrinder was banned from working in the Supreme League clubs by the Basketball Federation after "ashaming the Empire on the international stage", but the truth is that not a single club from the Supreme League wanted to hire Wrinder as a coach, seeing his results with the national team. Under the management of Jan Hinde, Imperial Basketball team had a good start in the qualification, defeating Loch Dearg 81-69. Other opponents in the group are Magnus Phoenicia and Sirian, and only one of the four nations will advance to the Games. Let's hope, that Hinde will do this.

BASKETBALL-MEN. QUALIFYING MD1.

KANMER 81-69 LOCH DEARG

Most points - Todar Kankodarin, 23.
Most rebounds - Todar Kankodarin, 8.
Mosts assists - Baris Udmalin, 6.

The main part of the results was good and hopeful for the Kanmer, but, seeing how much events are at the Olympics, there always will be some dissapointing moments. And for Kanmer, there was two of them. At first, women's football team, women's team in a sport that is considered the most popular in the Empire, lost to Deadvlei and made the situation more difficult for themselves. Then, a sport where Kanmerin had won several medals last year, judo. In men's 60 kg tournament, Mikita Korinder failed to qualify to the Olympic. The man who almost won the bronze medal at the last Games, was defeated by Richard Schroeder from Magnus Phoenicia. On the other side, there is still a plenty of other judokas who can win a medal, like Mikalai Sorin, who, unlike Korinder, succesfully qualified for the Olympics, defeating Dave Power from Loch Dearg. Moreover, the people who won the medal at last games (Kanmada, Gantarin, Kagamin) still hadn't completed and have every chance to forge their way to a victory.

To not end this report on a sad note, interesting facts are presented by Ritsport:

INTERESTING FACT

Ranmir is a Kanmerin male name of a native, Slavic origin. According to one theory, this name descended from the name Ranimir, 
which is composted of a two Slavic words, raniti "to wound" and mir "the world". And so, Ranmir means "the one who wounds the world". 
Pretty badass meaning.

The most famous man who holds this name is, of course, the man's hockey team captain and Harugwahandir Ranmir Dantagain, 
who will soon start his Olympic journey. The redaction of Ritsport wishes him and the all team 
to qualify for the Olympics and defend the title.

by **Crpostran** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 2:56 am

[*]NOTE:AI-generated images used in Pg.3 of the Newspaper (Judoka & Football team), while RL stock photos of RL olympians used in Pg.2, credits to the player & photographer. Comics on the last page taken from https://121clicks.com/funny/funny-singl ... nate-fakes . Full credits to them. Viva la Crpostran! Wishing all the nations the very best!

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 2:58 am

OOC: This top section is from 'Road to Rushmore: Tricolour Taegeuk's Guide to 2068 Summer Olympics', a pocket book that's written by Joseph Sachtel, an RQOC public engagement officer who had previously worked in the Quebecois Foreign Office.

Thanks to Saint-Eleanor for her answers to my questions regarding Abdullah, his neighbourhood and upbringing, and leaving behind additional crumbs of information where needed.

Association Football:

It is common consensus that association football, or 'soccer' as the dirty forein'ners would call it so, is one of the most popular sports in Quebec and Shingoryeo. The sport, whose historical origins may across the world, has long been a part of the national sporting landscape, with its point of introduction usually agreed to be around mid-late 1800s when waves of immigration from Schottia, The Licentian Isles and the allied states of then-Shingoryeoite Empire in Rushmore have brought the sport as a cheap, leisurely fare for the urban labour class. The sport, with its simplicity and affordability, would be recognised as an effective tool for social cohesion, something that the public would find enamouring in the times of rising tension and extremism at the turn of the 19th century, with the multi-sport clubs, best known through the ethno-intellectuals of Koreana Society and military-based CSKA of the Shingoryeoite Superclassique, leading the charge.

With greater monies came greater responsibilities, and sooner than later came the need to codify and address the integrity-related issues that came with increasing instances of payments being made under the table for the matches. So there's no surprise in that the professionalisation of football came very early in Quebec and Shingoyeo, with the Royal Quebecois Football Association [RQFA] formally legalising professionalism in 1891. Then, as expected over the next 175 years since the historical decision, Quebec and Shingoryeo came to gradually and steadily develop would its professional pyramid, which nowadays incorporates three fully professional tiers in the Q-League, Championship, and the Circuit d'Esperance, with promotion-relegation enabled between the top three tiers and then between the CDE and the State Leagues. The league has traditionally been dominated by the 'Big Three' of Montreal Koreana, CSKA Quebec and St. John's Arsenal, but remains highly competitive thanks to a high parity spread ensured by other regional powerhouse clubs, as well as the popularity of local derbies. The sport's popularity and strengths, of course, is a comprehensive one with strong performances met in the Quebecois involvement in both the NSWC and the UICA/IFCF that go back decades. On one hand, the Grim Reapers have made the World Cup sixteen times in two different stints, which would include back to back quarterfinals in World Cups 73 and 74 and a fourth place in the World Cup 77, while seven Quebecois clubs have reached the latter organisation's competition finals with Mipojoseon winning the IFCF Champions' League just over five years ago.

As with a majority of the Tricolour Taegeuk's team sport squads that are set to participate in the 18th Summer Olympics, Team Quebec will be fielding an under-23 side with three overager quotas in both men and women's football. Unlike in the senior level, however, the Reapers are expected to play a more rigid, regimented brand of football that is driven by possession and away from the fiery, Takil brand of football the Quebecois have made themselves known for. This outlook, while likely to satisfy no fans at home, is inevitable, especially with relatively little time and support allocated for the Under-23 football team with the RQFA, following significant criticism and government-led enquiry made over its governance and ethics issues, indefinitely suspended their World Cup participation. The RQFA, at this point in time, set a limit on Team Quebec programs to age-level competitions, the Arrosian Regional Championships [ARCs], and the Quebecois Commonwealth-level competitions, meaning that there will be relatively less foray for Quebecois internationals of now and future to secure opportunities abroad after a strong campaign.

This doesn't mean that they would be fully left out, however, with a new addition to the program having already drawn major attention. Abdullah Ibn Salam, the gigantic goalkeeper best recognisable for his dreadlocks and 2m height, is named the starting goalkeeper ahead of their preliminary group stage against Uskad and Sangti and the Filindo Isles. While the Good Hope Club starlet, who is a dual-national through his birth father, is yet to start his, strong reception by men's team manager Jang Seong-Woo on his reliability between the pipes and his ball-distribution skills should give plenty of football fans enough to anticipate for decades to come. As for whether Abdullah chooses to represent the Tricolour Taegeuk at senior level [the Olympics still count as age-side competition under the RQFA rules], the chances seem less likely with Abdullah reportedly wanting to start for his birthplace, 11th-ranked Saint Eleanor, as a full-fledged in future cycles.

Tricolour Taegeuk: Days of Future Past

Future - Part 1: Juliette Oleksiak-Collinson [Athletics]
Future - Part 2: Abdullah Ibn Salam [Association Football]

For the first eighteen years of his life, Abdullah Ibn Salam never left Saint Eleanor. He had neither the reason nor the finances to do so. His mother, Fatima, was a low-rank postal service worker whose wallet never opened unless for groceries, rent or anything emergency, and their focus was to save up enough money to eventually get out of their residential block of Trident District.

Of course, it was easier said than done to get out of somewhere so bleak and depressing as the infamous J-Block. The Trident District, while a colourful part of Saint Eleanor that is better known for its bustling docks and expatriate quarters, had pockets of grime and poverty surrounded by it with grey and black apartment blocks, soulless facial expressions of its residents, and occasional news of [un-]reported crime. There the sirens were common, the screams piercing, and the shouts an hourly affair that the hopes of tranquility felt more like a wishful thinking than anything else. Not exactly the most conducive environment for a child in a single-parent house to grow, for sure.

This was perhaps best represented by that of Abdullah's bedroom, where he happened to be lying on top of his small, wooden bed with a mattress on top of it. Fitting the mentality of being an out-of-place teenager, a Muslim man of darker complexions and dreadlocks growing up in a small, uber-Christina nation, its concrete walls were grey with not enough old-time posters and secondhand jerseys able to fill the bleak background. Every night Abdullah would look into the wall, feeling the touch of old, cold walls that started to show its age, and wondered when he would be able to escape. This was something that he didn't exactly talk a lot with his mother, mostly because she's busy herself trying to keep their household afloat, or his friends or classmates. The bleakness of the environment, combined with an incident when he and a couple of his mates were nearly shot as bystanders, made sure he would avoid bringing people avoid, preferring to hang out or party at friends' place or in nightclubs.

This did not mean that things were improving for Abdullah and his mother, however. Things would change one day when a Misiriyaa Football Group scout, Pascal Dion, had been informed by Fatima Ibn Salam that her son, who stood two metres tall and held a six-game clean sheet streak in the Charles Trump Shield, may be a prospect worth looking into. Then, as the final weeks of his graduation examinations unfolded, the goalkeeper would find himself welcomed by the officials from several clubs, with two frontrunners coveting for his services in Newbanks United, aforementioned Pascal Dion's employers under the international Misiriyaa Football Group banner, and and his hometown club Good Hope Club, whom he had played for their youth side in Trident Community School.

Abdullah, deep inside, knew that he was going to receive a professional offer. He, after all, has been the Good Hope Club's most promising goalkeeper prospect in decades, and the Trident Community School's not located in the backwoods of this island citystate either. Still, what he did not expect was the additional offers elsewhere, especially from Newbanks United whose background had involved a delicate mix of Squidroidian internationals and Quebecois-Tamazghan ownership. The MFG, for what it's worth, did hold a peculiar interest in establishing their brand among the 3,000 Quebeco-Eleanorians based in the islandstate. While Abdullah would hold relatively little to no hesitation in signing for the GHC, the unexpected interest did have him wonder if his father, whom he had never heard of his identity or name, was a Quebecois, making him a person of interest here and abroad.

His questions, even with the biggest one of them unanswered, would start being answered in the subsequent days. Just outside, Abdullah could hear his mother packing delicate foodstuff, a mix of Middle Eastern and Anglo-Eleanorian fare that she would buy or prepare for the weeks leading up to his travel to the Olympics. With the way she would order foodstuff and cook them, usually in bulks with the aims to give additional food to her neighbours and the leftovers at fridge, it was inevitable for lots of noise to be made. Abdullah had not exactly been paying lots of attention to the packing much, him being occupied by the club practices back in Golden Hope Club's training grounds, as well as being constantly under communications with those at the Team Quebec staff. Shortly after signing the contract with his hometown side, the RQFA came calling, as the officials directly came to ask if the 18-year old goalkeeper, whom they had confirmed to be a dual-national on the grounds of his yet-to-be-mentioned father, is able to join the Under-23 national team for the Olympics. Team Quebec, while not really expected to make it past the qualification stage, wanted to put together their best possible squad, and they had assumed that Abdullah, while not being made aware of his dual-national status until weeks prior, would be interested especially with lack of cadet and junior national team program in Saint-Eleanor.

Discovering new things, however, don't always lead into good things. This was very much the case between Abdullah and his mother as the discovery of his dual-citizenship, while giving him a rare opportunity, left a clear gash on their relationship. They, for almost twenty years, had depended on each other, yet this news left them a realisation that there still loomed the identity of his birth father. Abdullah wondered if his mother's silence about the birth father, who she would have likely met back when Saint-Eleanor was coming out of a long period of Tinhamptonian occupation and then military rule, was done under his best interest. At least that's what his gut feeling told, based off the RQOC officials and even coaches' mixed feelings regarding said birthfather. Abdullah, in that, was sure his birthfather's either someone heinous or famous, and also feeling sure that he wanted no part with Abdullah, hoped not to find out so soon.

by **Electrum** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 3:11 am

DAY -3 CUTOFF

by **Sargossa** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 3:24 am

Sergio Leoz was, by anyone’s definition, a fine physical specimen. Lithe, handsome, possessing a swagger that bordered on irritating. He was a new star on the athletics scene in Sargossa, thrilling Azul League crowds in the two years that he had been on the senior tour. Such was the impact he’d made that some coaches suggested he could threaten the long-standing national record held by the great Israel Ibarra. Although it’s not the first time those claims have been made. But, like every athlete on Sargossa’s domestic circuit, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow was the chance to compete on the international stage. Leoz had dreamed of competing at the Olympics since he was a small boy, leaping over that low brick wall outside the family home. And now, here he was. Sort of.

They had definitely spent twenty minutes winding through the streets of an actual Olympic host city, from the athlete’s village in the Flameworks to the pithily named Hamilton Multi-Purpose Venue. The arena in which he now stood was an actual Olympic venue. Indeed, in four days’ time one of the two opening ceremonies would take place on the very ground he was stood on. But the atmosphere was just a little flat. There were plenty of people in the arena, but it was far from full. Track and field fans were probably enjoying the opportunity to see some extra elite level action. Particularly those who’d missed out on tickets to the main events. And that was probably the problem, this wasn’t the main event. Technically, this wasn't quite the Olympics.

None of the athletes seemed that thrilled to be here for an extra round of contests either. Normally the track and field stars would arrive to the Games later into the proceedings. But here they all were, in Hamilton four days prior to the big kickoff. The prelims were a necessary evil, but they weren’t fun. Leoz had already seen an inconsolable Tamara Vasić trudge past him and disappear towards the buses that ferried the competitors back and forth to the Flameworks. The Mytanar-born athlete had been a controversial addition to Sargossa’s team, but had been backed up by strong showings on the domestic circuit. She’d comfortably cleared 4.65m in her final Azul League outing before the Games, heights she’d been around all year. But three failures at 4.30m had seen the pole vaulter’s campaign come to a very premature end. It just served to remind Leoz exactly what was at stake.

A second place in the second heat in the 110m hurdles had seen Emanuel Laguna, who had battled hard with Leoz all season, safely through to the Games proper. Although, he now had a full two weeks to kick his heels until the sprint hurdlers were back in action. Raúl Romero, the veteran, hadn’t even bothered to take off his sunglasses before breezing through in heat eight. His time was the third fastest of the day. Romero was the only one of the trio with previous Olympics experience and perhaps it showed. Another heat came and went, before Leoz and eight others were called up.

He waited by his blocks as the camera man panned across the group, giving the stadium and TV audiences a look at the athletes as they were introduced in turn. The top three would make it through to the Games. 13.54 was a current lucky loser time, but the equations got murky there and Leoz was keen not to be involved in them. They were called to their marks. He took a glance left and right, noting the familiar kits of Krytenia, Kelssek and Magnus Phoenicia.

Set.

They were all away cleanly at the sound of the pistol. Leoz was quickly into his stride, his quick starts were one of the qualities that had marked him out from the rest of the pack back home. They were part of the reason he came to Electrum as the top ranked Sargossan in this event. He glided over the first couple of hurdles, settling into that rhythm that had served him so well. Two more went by, then five and six. He knew he was in front, you just get a sense of it. He cleared hurdle nine, but the landing was just a fraction off. It was barely perceptible, but it had happened, and it meant that rhythm, as he leapt the final hurdle, was a fraction off too. He clipped it, just a touch. Again it was barely noticeable but when the difference in success and failure is measured in the fractions of seconds, it doesn’t take much. He was no longer in front.

He dipped to cross the line, a dreadful feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. He knew full well that he was out of the top three. A look at the screen showed the Phoenician athlete had pipped him too. And the time, the time was not good. Head in hands, Sergio Leoz turned away. There would be a chance at redemption, with his participation in the relay event on the flat. But that was a world away in his mind. Because right now, Sergio Leoz’s Olympics were over before they had even begun.

by **Da Cunha** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 9:02 am

Today, there is only one dour, corpulent man in the studio of NRDU-1's Olympic Coverage. He looks no more engaged than he did yesterday.

"Good evening and welcome to the sports desk, covering the second day of pre-competition at the Olympic Games in Electrum and Liventia," the man says. "I am Ánton Vonálca."

----

"Tima, they're back again with the sports."

"No! Nuh-uh, not going to watch that drivel again. I don't know why you bother."

"Hey, gotta make sure they don't magically improve before our premiere."

"Whatever. I'm in the jacuzzi if you need me."

---

Ánton leans forward.

"Today's prequalifying results from the men's track saw Égor Íslamić qualify in the 200 meters and Bóris Bráncović and Názir Táplović eliminated. In the 3000 meter steeplechase, Nurédin Avatrnatíçavić qualified, but Dçulhiélmo Grígorić and Sabahúdin Mávrić did not."

He coughs a little.

"In the field events, the men's high jump had Támarbaj Vladimíravić qualify, but Aládin Topálović and Násir El'hamédinić missed out. The same happened in the men's shot put, where Hajrúlah Caracójavić qualified, but Lúb Abdulínavić and Édvin Alispáhić missed the cut. The decathlon qualifiers saw Édelmir Tancqerájavić and Sebástian Itálović qualify; the only to not qualify was Úmadbaj Albánavić."

"Now, the women's track: In the 200 meters, Nuradína Haççaphizbéjević and Violánta Múr are through, but Nicolína Júcqić is not. In the steeplechase, only Juliána Jelénović qualified. Both Vládimira Stricque and Morgána Quícqić fell and were eliminated."

Papers shuffle around off camera.

"In the field events, Zlatána Hairudínović qualified for the high jump along with both Olívia Déović and Gurgána Boloménta. In the Shot Put, Cámala Áčas was the only qualifier. Maisie-Amálha McCloy and Mususláva Xolhánin are out of the games."

----

"I swear, if we cannot take the spotlight from THIS, I am gonna quit social media..."

----

"The women's artistic team all qualified, including for the individual competition. The men's rhythmic team also qualified, and in the street skating, Jean-Louis Lefebvre was the only qualifier, with Raphíq Xabírović and Ácqmet Áltinić nowhere near progressing."

----

"Ooh, he actually commented on any details there. He must not like those guys."

----

"And in the tennis, Júsip 'Lhájić, Íxac Tegósević and Taricqhásan Másopuxt fell in the 2nd round, joined by Jusupína Érbić from the women's side. And lastly in Electrum, the men's indoor volleyball team qualified in a five-set slogfest."

----

"Daring there, old man..."

----

"In Liventia, Phátima Tuzacóvić and Halíla Carahassánović failed to qualify in the women's duet artistic swimming, and Aïxa Páldum and Muhammedína Arnáudović did the same from the women's 10m platform. Muhámmed Txúdić and Ládimir Víldanić also failed to qualify for the synchronized 3m springboard."

"Lastly from Liventia, Júsip Bábić qualified for the men's C-1 canoe slalom; Volodár Xcóro qualified in the BMX time trial on the men's side, and on the women's side, Jánnicqa Gaspáravić qualified. Jásmin Bibánović, Hammíd Márinić, Volodár Xcóro, Sćepána Sámarić and Sinána Almadíranić were eliminated in the same event. Cajreddíno Junúzović failed to advance in the men's 100kg Judo, but all windsurfers had byes and passes into the Olympics proper."

"In other sporting news..."

----

"Don't fall asleep in the bath, Tima, would really spoil the mood."

"As bad as yesterday?"

"Worse, if you can believe it."

"So we still looking good?"

"Peachy, Tima, peachy."

by **Magnus Phoenicia** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 9:55 am

Sweet Circles: Where Every Bite is a Delight!

Chocolate, strawberry, pineapple ring, jam-filled, custard-filled, classic cinnamon, bubble gum, sweet potato and blueberry... and that’s just the start! Whether you're craving a classic or something a little more adventurous....Sweet Circles has the perfect donut for every sweet tooth. With over fifty flavours to sink your teeth into.

With 30 stores colourfully sprinkled across the Empire of Magnus Phoenicia, and growing fast!
it’s easier than ever to grab your favorite treat. And with new locations opening soon, there’s no excuse not to dive in and have a sweet taste of Heaven.

It all began in 2016, in the donut loving capital of Taigahamadu, nestled within the small but vibrant Holi Territory of the Empire of Magnus Phoenicia. What started as a humble Bakery and Donut shop after beginning in a home kitchen has now bloomed into a full blown donut sensation, spreading sweetness far and wide.

50 year old Mrs. Maggie Ahluwalia, a passionate home baker with a knack for irresistible sugary treats is the creator of the new craze. It began with simple posts on her VibrGold social media account which has now accumulated over 200,000 followers.

Fans demanded a taste of her lovely donuts and she soon found that home baking was no longer practical. She rented a small store with a large commercial kitchen to meet the demand of both online and in person orders.

Word spread like wildfire about Mrs. Maggie Ahluwalia's irresistible treats, and soon, customers across the empire were craving more. From state to state, donut lovers were demanding their very own Sweet Circles stores and it didn’t stop there. With her delicious creations in high demand, Mrs. Ahluwalia began receiving requests to feature her goodies at special events, making Sweet Circles the go to treat for celebrations across the Empire of Magnus Phoenicia.

Online sales manager Timothy Ahluwalia, thanked the online social media community for pushing the donuts into the spotlight. “We have so many orders it's never-ending. Much love to sugar lovers across the Empire.

Fast forward to 2024. 30 stores later and with 10 more opening in the next 6 months. The goal is to have a store in every capital city within the next year! Mrs. Maggie Ahluwalia is now a millionaire.

Sweet Circles is taking the Empire of Magnus Phoenicia by storm! With such rapid growth, there's no excuse not to indulge in a freshly made, melt in your mouth donuts and for the low price of $4 for an original is in everyone's budget.

Beyond her booming business, Mrs. Maggie Ahluwalia is passionate about giving back to the community that’s helped her grow.

Since 2021, Sweet Circles has proudly supported local and national events like the Magnus Phoenician Police and Fireman Games, the Police Charity Ball, and the prestigious Holi Territory Governors Ball.
These yearly events highlight Mrs. Ahluwalia's commitment to her community and her belief that great donuts aren’t just about flavour, they’re about bringing people together and making people smile.

It's Olympic Games season, and the entire Magnus Phoenicia nation is rallying behind their favorite athletes!

Whether you're cheering them on from the stands in Hamilton, Electrum or Schimpol Liventia. Or catching every thrilling moment on the Purple & Gold sports channel at home on the sofa.

Supporters of all ages are gearing up for what is expected to be a thrilling Games.

Magnus Phoenicia social media site, VibrGold is already on fire with fans sending waves of love and encouragement to the athletes.

Tired of looking at an Olympic pool over on Purple & Gold when you know Judo is happening at the same time? With fast channels dedicated to each individual sport on the official website, fans can dive into their favorite events and never miss an event

With their love and commitment in helping the local sporting community, Sweet Circles Bakery & Donuts is throwing out a very special sweet treat to show their love and support for team Magnus Phoenicia.

During the official Games. Any time a Magnus Phoenician reaches the medal podium will be giving away free donuts!!!

Sweet Circles Bakery & Donuts is joining in the Olympic spirit by offering a delicious treat for our medal living fans!

Silver and bronze place athlete wins, will allow a shopper the ability to enjoy a free original donut covered in vibrant purple and gold icing. What a great idea to support our nation's colours.

For those gold medal moments, there's an extra sweet reward: a purple and gold donut and a special cookie shaped like a gold medal. A tasty way to celebrate victory!

This exciting offer from Sweet Circles Bakery & Donuts is available to everyone in Magnus Phoenicia.
When you purchase another product over the value of $5, you can claim your free Olympic donut or cookie treat.

Plus, for every purchase made, $1 goes towards supporting local sporting clubs, helping to inspire and train the next generation of Olympic athletes. It's a win-win for everyone!

This wonderful offer was thought up Mrs. Maggie Ahluwalia, a lover of the Olympics.

What an amazing way to support the community and fill your tummies with yummy treats in the process.

Bring on the Opening Ceremony!!!

AI used for Sweet Circles logo.

by **Waisnor** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 10:17 am

Now that's a bit better

Now it's day -3 of Olympics competitions for Waisnorian athletes, and qualification rounds were still going strong, as athletes battled for their places at the Olympics. And several Waisnorian athletes managed to get their place there, some with shining results:

First up are the swimming competitions, more closely women's 100m backstroke preliminary rounds, where we find Polina Golovko, one of the biggest stars of Waisnorian swimming. She already proved her worth at the European championships, where Polina showed some great results, even if medals evaded her. With such background, these Olympics were a good place to get another good swim and show the multiverse what she's capable of. With such short distance, Golovko really needed to be swift and fast to get herself a good result, because at 100 metres these is very few, if any place to get a warmup flow and conserver her energy. That means that Polina needed to get fast and put all her forces into this round. And she did put her all into this - she already finished her first 50m and the leader of her heat, and with time her gap away from the rest of the swimmers was growing only bigger. But even though she already had a good result in her bag, Polina didn't stop and continued to push on until the very finale of the swim, when she predictably finished 1st in her heat and 3rd overall with the result of 58.89 seconds, 0.7 seconds away from the leader of the preliminaries overall and the new holder of the Olympic record. After the swim, Polina said she was happy with her result and that she would be preparing for her proper Olympic appearance now.

Next up (and couple of days prior) are the handball qualification matches, where Waisnorian handball women's team was preparing to make their Olympic debut. Before that, only men's basketball team was making Olympic appearances if we are talking about team competitions. Even if they were making good results and getting into playoffs at the last Olympics, it wasn't entirely enough for Waisnor. And so, the expansion in team competitions occured with women's handball team being a part of it. And so, their first match with Lisander attracted more attention than it usually would. With such amount of attention drawn to them, it would be understandable if Waisnorian team showed a subpar performance, especially considering that Lisander team was assumed to be equally strong. And in the beginning of the match, those who said it would be a tough match for both of those teams were right - both teams were trading shots at each other, constantly equalizing the score, and even if Waisnor or Lisander got a little gap from the competitors, it was closed pretty fast. All of this came to a close in the beginning of the second half, when Lisander team began to actually lead in the battle, scoring goals rather easily. As the coach of Waisnorian team was screaming directions on her team members, something began to get better for Waisnorian team as they found their groove and took the initiative from Lisander during the end of the game. The gap of Lisander was closed and in the last moments 2 seift goals from Waisnorian team took the victory to them with the score of 25-27.

Other Waisnorian results:
In men's 200m in athletics, Artur Erokhov placed 2nd in his heat and qualified to the next stage while Vitaly Akhmatov finished 4th in his one
All 3 Waisnorians failed to progress further in men's high jump qualification - Anton Meshkov finished 60th, Alexey Mansurov placed 75th, Valery Praslov placed 93rd
In men's shot put qualification, Dmitry Krause placed 102nd
Competing in the same heat, both Svetlana Grechaninova and Snezhana Chistaya failed to progess further in women's 200m heats, placing 7th and 8th
Tatiana Kovaleva placed 55th in women's high jump qualifications
Anna Golubtsova became the first Waisnorian to qualify further in field competitions, placing 32nd in women's shot put, while Nina Labunskaya and Sofia Biruk failed do to so, placing 68th and 72nd
Ilya Komissarov had a rough fall to 140th place in golf competitions
Snezhana Sharova placed 156th in women's individual tournament in artistic gymnastics
In skateboarding men's street, Ivan Losev finished 81st
Antonina Guryeva and Nadezhda Stolypina placed 4th in extra routine in women's duet in artistic swimming and qualified further
In swimming men's 400m individual medley Leonid Vinogradsky placed 36th
Vladimir Kutsiy progressed further in men's 200m freestyle tournament, placing 19th
In men's 800m freestyle Danila Birkin qualified to the next stage, placing 7th, while Nikita Brodovich was cut, placing 41st
Another Waisnorian in women's 100m backstroke, Alisa Kirillova, didn't manage to qualify, placing 68th
In men's 200m breaststroke Daniil Bozhkov qualified further, placing 17th, while Stanislav Chashnikov failed to do so, leaving at 60th place
In women's 3x3 basketball, Waisnorian team lost to Crpostan 14-20
Men's team in regular basketball also lost, now to Mytanija with the score of 73-91
In men's cycling BMX racing Igor Parechin placed 27th

Random Waisnorian tweets about Olympics

by **Mytanija** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 11:18 am

MILANOVIC LOOKS TO PERFORM MEDAL ALCHEMY IN SCHIMPOL
CAN THE LONG DISTANCE SWIMMER TURN TWO SILVERS INTO GOLD?

by Alen Kujovic

Adnan Milanovic made a name for himself as a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 18-year-old competing at his first Olympics last time the Games came around. The long-distance swimmer shocked near enough everybody by battling his way to a pair of silver medals in the 800m and 1,500m freestyle events, and Milanovic has returned for the Hamilton / Schimpol Olympics with his eyes firmly set on turning those silvers into gold. The 22-year-old, an age which often acts as a shortcut for experience given the propensity for prodigiously talented youngsters in the pool, started his quest for medal alchemy strongly in the 800m preliminary, posting the fourth best time overall and securing his place for when the event properly starts. He’ll now have five days rest before the 1,500m preliminaries, a welcome break for any competitor in the most gruelling events in the pool. Gazeta Sporta caught up with Milanovic after his preliminary heat to discuss his hopes of gold in Schimpol.

For Milanovic, the last Olympics represented a personal breakthrough, though he now admits it wasn’t without its mixed emotions. Two silvers in perhaps the two toughest events in the pool absolutely were a triumph, particularly for an 18-year-old and especially in the hyper-competitive international fields we see in swimming. But for Milanovic, there was a sense of unfinished business ahead of him, the top spot of the podium was where he wanted to be.

“I’m proud of what I did last time, 100%. How could you not be? Nobody really gave me a chance outside of a few people involved in Mytanar swimming. There’s not too many people who can say they’ve won double Olympic silver as an 18-year-old, right?” Milanovic chuckles, as down-to-earth as an Olympic medalist can be. “But we’re all competitors, every athlete at the Olympics is a competitor who wants to push themselves and ultimately win, if you can. When I touch the wall and look at the clock, pushing PBs and all that is great, but what you really want to see is that nobody else has managed to touch the wall ahead of you. That fuels me and made me hungry to continue. I want to win a gold!”

The margins in swimming can be cruelly slim, particularly in the shorter distance events where competitors can be separated by mere millimetres when it comes down to it – issues with precisely measuring a pool notwithstanding. In longer distance events, the competitors are often separated more noticeably when they’re in the pool, the strongest gets to the front and the margins are larger. But what remains true is that the margins between competitors to make those distances happen remain so slight, and that’s a fact which Milanovic knows only too well. His pair of silvers showed how agonisingly close he was to a remarkable victory, with only one swimmer better than him in both events.

“You do learn a lot from those races.” Milanovic says. “You go back, watch the footage, see perhaps where you could have pushed a bit harder to try and prevent the gaps from going. In truth, when it’s these longer distance races you’re really just trying to outthink your rivals... And that’s hard, because they’re all trying to do the same thing! Can you come up with a strategy which allows you to conserve energy for a really big push towards the end of the race? Do you push from the start to grow a gap and see if anybody can go with you? It can be a bit tactical, but in the end I decided against looking at the footage for too long and thought ‘how can I be the strongest in the race so that whatever happens in there I win?’”

And his conclusion?

“Well, easier said than done.” Milanovic laughs.

In the four years since thosse silver-medal-winning swims, Milanovic has been anything but complacent. He attended the famed Mytanski Institut za Sport to study sports science, a pursuit which has proven useful for his own understanding of his performance. Whilst studying, Milanovic was also subject of the Institut’s scrutiny as their experts looked at how to maximise Milanovic’s potential for Hamilton / Schimpol. In those four years no stone has been left unturned, with every facet of Milanovic’s preparation reviewed, rethought, measured and remeasured. Long hours spent improving endurance, speed and strength both in the pool and on dry land.

“It’s been pretty cool,” Milanovic said, speaking candidly about his time at the Institut. “You hear of the place before you go, and it sounds like this shadowy, scientific hideout where people in labcoats do experiments on athletes and turn them into Olympic medalists and whatever else. Really, it’s just a big university with lots of kids there studying under some of the best in class in their field and in turn it benefits people like me who are lucky enough to be a competitive athlete. The fact I got to study there at the same time as going through my Olympic prep programme was brilliant.”

And what did they change in his programme?

“We shook things up a bit, I think that was the advantage of being so young at the last Olympics. I went into that basically training in a completely ad hoc way. My coaches have been great since a young age but it’s a different class altogether when you come to the Institut. There was actually a lot of focus on the mental side of things, which is so interesting, not panicking in a race if you lose ground can be so important. I also feel more confident in my sprint finish, which is something that doesn’t always get used too much in 800 and 1,500m but it’s useful to have in the back pocket if you need it. If it gets me on the top step of the podium, then that’s the main thing.”

Milanovic’s return to Olympic competition got off to an encouraging start, comfortably qualifying for the Olympics proper by clocking the 4th best overall time in the preliminary heats. His time of 7:42.62 wasn’t quite a personal best, though it wasn’t far off (Milanovic’s 800m freestyle PB being the 7:42.19 he produced for Olympic silver), and that made it a clear statement of intent. The competition is fierce, with Sebastian Hardie, Danil Zivkovic and Hatem Abir all posting quicker times. Milanovic posted a marginally quicker time than defending Olympic champion, Britonisea’s Usman Cameron. Cameron also holds the Olympic record in the event. An early marker down against his rival?

“Some might see it that way,” Milanovic grins mischievously. “I’m sure Usman won’t be too concerned about it at this point, though. There’s a long way to go and things can go wrong in all of our races, so I need to keep focused, take it race-by-race and see where I can get to with that. I think everybody in my camp thinks it’s a great opportunity, preparation has been excellent, so let’s just see what happens. I’m confident, my coaches are confident, I just need to go out there and do it now.”

by **Malta Comino Gozo** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 11:55 am

Malta Comino Gozo at the XVIII Olympiad

Malta Comino Gozo. vs Polkopia

Team Sheet

GK Marky Arenas 2 March 1990 (age 34)
DF Thomas Leo 29 July 1998 (age 26)
DF Andrei Muscat 12 August 1988 (age 36)
DF Alex Tristan 13 November 1996 (age 27)
DF Ethan Azzorpardi 8 January 1996 (age 28)
LMF Jake Borg 18 November 1997 (age 26)
CMF George Romeri 24 August 1996 (age 28)
CMF Antonio Galea 17 April 1999 (age 25)
RMF Steven Magro 29 November 2000 (age 23)
FW/CF/ Striker Lucas Calleja (C) 21 March 1992 (age 32)
FW/CF /Striker Daniel White 5 June 1994 (age 30) [/size]

SUBS

CMF Antonio Galea 17 April 1999 (age 25) replacing LMF Philip Camilleri

Malta Comino Gozo (MCG), riding high after their success in the IBA Champions League, took on Polkopia (PLK) in a tightly contested Group F clash. Polkopia, fresh off a 2-0 win against the Alezian Union, came into the match in top form.

The first half saw MCG working hard to establish control, but it was Polkopia who struck first. After creating several opportunities, including a superb chance from Stepan Kuzmanov that was brilliantly saved by MCG goalkeeper Marky Arenas, Polkopia finally broke the deadlock. In the 41st minute, Vadim Dobrinko found the net with a clinical finish, giving Polkopia a 1-0 lead just before halftime.

MCG responded in the second half with renewed vigour. Striker and Captain Lucas Calleja had two key chances, the first coming in the 55th minute when he connected with a cross from Lucas Calleja, but his shot was denied by Polkopia’s goalkeeper. His second attempt came in the 61st minute, a powerful strike that was once again saved.

However, MCG’s persistence paid off in the 67th minute when CF and striker Daniel White equalized with a well-placed shot, following a clever assist from George Romeri, making it 1-1. The match remained intense, with both sides pushing for a winner. In the 80th minute, MCG substituted LMF Antonio Galea with CMF Philip Camilleri, who immediately made an impact. Camilleri's fresh legs helped set up another promising opportunity, but despite MCG’s pressure, they were unable to find the net again.

Polkopia continued to threaten, with Pavel Sepsugov coming close to scoring in the 78th minute, but Arenas made a crucial save to keep the score level.

Despite MCG's 14 shots on target to Polkopia’s 6, the match ended in a 1-1 draw. MCG now sits second in the group with 1 point and will face the Alezian Union next, while Polkopia remains at the top with 4 points.

by **Macadia** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 3:34 pm

MACADIAN OLYMPIC BROADCASTING
brought to you by the Macadian Olympic Committee and MNBC
Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Team “Distraught” After Prelim Shortcomings

Welcome back to MOB’s coverage of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad in Hamilton, Electrum and Schimpol, Liventia. Earlier today, Day -3 of the Olympics, Macadia’s Women’s Artistic Gymnastics team had a rough preliminary round, and no member of the team was able to advance to any finals in the Olympics themselves. This comes after yesterday’s setbacks for the men’s gymnastics team. It’s becoming increasingly clear that Macadia just can’t truly compete with the legends of the sporting world.

MNBC correspondent Artem Sashova spoke with Gretchen Harlemane, the de-facto leader of the women’s team, after their routines:
Artem Sashova: You ladies all had lovely performances out there, but you ultimately came up short in the rankings. How do you feel about that, Gretchen?
Gretchen Harlemane: I don’t want to be too negative but frankly, I’m distraught. That wasn’t the best meet of my life but I think we all did really well, and yet not one of us scored anything higher than a 13.9 on any apparatus.
Sashova: Well you yourself didn’t score anything higher than your 13.567 on vault, and Camilla Kovenstky, Ilyia Romina, and Jeanne Morgan all ranked above you individually, despite you being the favored girl on the team from the start.
Harlemane: Well— Thank you for highlighting that, really. I think that speaks more to the ability of the rest of the girls than it does to my inability, if that’s what you’re trying to say. I’m well aware that I was ‘the favorite’ going into this, but sometimes we can’t live up to our expectations. This was a great learning experience and as far as I know I’m still going to be holding our flag with Gregori Anton.
Sashova: Alright Gretchen, well this was nice, do you want to say anything about the rest of your team?
Harlemane: Sure! Camilla [Koventsky] had beautiful routines and while she deserves her ranking as is, she also just deserves so much more honestly, she’s the future right there.
Sashova: Before I go, on the topic of future, where do you see yourself going next? Is gymnastics still a pathway or is it time to get back to your activist and political roots?
Harlemane:I mean, I’m old, to be honest. Older than pretty much every other lady out there earlier, so, gymnastics, or at least competing, might be out of reach now. Really though, we’ll just have to see.
Sashova: Well, no matter where you go, Macadians will be watching with love and appreciation.

Overall, both the men and women of Macadia’s artistic gymnastics team had good performances, but the failure of either team to qualify means that a major pathway to a medal has been removed. The new preliminary rounds for almost every sport seem to be really hurting Macadia.

by **Haruhata** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 4:17 pm

OFFICIAL MASCOT FOR HARUTV's OLYMPIAD BROADCAST REVEALED!

Article by Saamgan Tuwon

Introducing: Manekeshke! Amidst the Olympiad pre-qualifier events, HaruTV revealed the official mascot for their broadcast of the Games of the XVIII Olympiad! This cute kitty serves as the network's mascot to help bolster national spirit on HaruTV's broadcasting of the Olympiad. Designed by Raharaat Suuykede, his name is Manekeshke (ᠮ‍‍ᠠ‍‍‍‍‍ᠨ᠋‍ᠡ‍᠊ᠺ᠊᠎‍ᠡ‍‍ᠱ‍‍᠊ᠺ᠊᠎‍ᠡ / マネケシケ), and he is cat inspired by a Maneki-neko! Unlike a maneki-neko however, he does not beckon luck, instead succeeding by his own hard work and merit, hoping to inspire Haruhati athletes to try their best and not to rely on luck. Beyond his clearly feline features, Manekeshke features a range of traditional Haruhati motifs throughout his design. The koban coin usually found around the neck is replaced by a gold medal, and the Haruhati green top is marked by the Haruhati word for Haruhata. Furthermore, the whiskers resemble the Haruhati letter 'ᠠ' and '‍ᠲ‍', the letters for final A/E/N and medial T respectively. The markings on Manekeshke's forehead replicated the distinct striped patterns upon the Haruhati flag, which is in turn inspired by the cord markings of neolithic Haruhati pottery.

Overall, the cuddly cat has been received extremely positively by Haruhati, with an approval rating of 92%. Following his reveal, 'ᠮ‍‍ᠠ‍‍‍‍‍ᠨ᠋‍ᠡ‍᠊ᠺ᠊᠎‍ᠡ‍‍ᠱ‍‍᠊ᠺ᠊᠎‍ᠡ' and 'マネケシケ', his native name in Haruhata become the 1st and 2nd most searched item on Haruhati Google, his names trending on the small but sure Haruhati corner of X. As a result of his positive response, sources say that a walkaround mascot costume of Manekeshke is in the works, alongside a multitude of exclusive merchandise. Talks are also underway regarding a potential animated TV series aimed at children featuring the mascot. However, his future beyond the Games of the XVIII Olympiad have yet to be decided, and whether the cool critter will become the permanent HaruTV Olympiad mascot remains under wraps. However, one thing is for certain: Manekeshke won't be going any time soon!

OTHER HEADLINES: Day -3 Round Up: Pre-qualifiers Proving Tough for Haruhata / Turbulent Winds Enter Chihalaar Valley / Who To Watch And When!

by **A Kea** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 4:50 pm

Olympic Countdown

by KTV

Welcome back to Olympic Countdown, tonight our hosts, Athanasia Karvela and Ioannis Hatzinasios will be joined by sailor and three time Olympic medalist Simeon Kalousis and the women's volleyball team libero, Marika Tzofra.

A: For these games, a new qualification system has been implemented to prevent extremely large amounts of participants in each event. As participating athletes, what are your takes on this? How does it affect you?
S: Well, in my case it doesn't. For now at least, maybe it will as I get older and aren't in as a good shape anymore. Thankfully for now me and my siblings are all directly qualified due to our achievements in international tournaments so we've escaped this "last chance" to get in. But overall I think it's a good idea, I think a large amount of participants makes the events much longer and perhaps lowers their quality since almost everyone can get in. Now things will get more competitive and with shorter durations which will help the athletes focus and not have to encounter overly crowded training grounds.
M: Although it makes getting in the Olympics harder, I think it's a necessary evil. My team has now earned the right to an Olympic participation and I feel so damn proud saying this out loud. These pre-qualifying events also make the competition more heated. We had to face Uskad to earn this place and it was a thriller of a game, we got the first set, then they got the 2nd, we got the third and they got the 4th until we managed to prevail on tiebreak for the last set. One of the most memorable and nerve-racking games of my career.
I: Simeon, I noticed some changes in the events you're competing in this year, can you tell us more about it?
S: Well, when I started competing I got a solo medal in one person's dinghy, a silver. Then we decided to focus in the doubles to help out my brother, Evristhenis and sister, Sylvia. You see I'm the oldest and as the most skilled, and only medalist at the time wanted to share the joy of earning a medal. I also helped them out with their technique in their individual events, so despite an injury I had right before the XVI games, which led to a disaster in my events, my brother still managed to get a bronze in his individual debut. We spent yet another focusing on the double events and by this time last year we managed to achieve our goal. Me and Sylvia got bronze in mixed two-person dinghy and me and Evristhenis got a gold, the only Kean gold last year, in men's skiff. Now that we crossed that goal off the bucket list, and as I'm getting older I initially wanted to focus on my individual event and try to return to the medals after 3 years. Then this 16yo girl, Gioulika Tserkou started training with us and once again my plans changed. She shows great potential so I agreed to help her out in mixed multihull this year, so I'll be in 2 events instead of the planned one. My siblings have also found new partners and we're hopeful that despite the rearrangements our team will be successful once again.
I: As for you Marika, our team has qualified for a smaller and tougher Olympic tournament compared to your past participations, what are your goals?
M: Well, we're a team that has always made it out of the group stage, but never got further than the Round of 16. Now, if we keep our qualification streak, we'll be directly in the Quarterfinal, so this is our biggest goal this year, going further than ever before by basically doing the exact same thing. I know that less teams means that only the toughest and best opponents will be at the Olympics so we have to rise to the occasion, we've been training hard and hopefully success will come too.

A: Let's now connect to Kristie Eleftheriou, our correspondent in Hamilton, covering the qualifying campaign of our athletes.

"Yesterday, we witnessed two of our finest runners, Lila Kofa and Evaggelos Pithagoras Scorsone, fail to qualify for the 400m race. Thankfully both have managed to stay calm and not let this disappointment affect them and are through to the Olympics in the 200m. Lila shared her disappointment on camera, nearly bursting to tears and determined to show her worth today, her demeanour is completely changed now."

Not the perfect time I wanted, but the result is more than welcome. Placing 3rd in my heat might not be what I came here for but it gets the job done. I'm glad to have proven my worth and now I have to do it again at the Olympics. I feel more confident now, yesterday was a really bad day for me both physically and mentally but now it all seems to be in order. Thanks for believing in me, thanks to all Keans for reaching out and encouraging me, I hope to keep making you proud. Also I have to congratulate Nefeli, for qualifying to her 2nd Olympics and Aurelia, this extremely gifted young girl that made it to her first Olympics and has a bright future ahead of her. A Kea will be well represented in women's track.

"Unfortunately, yesterday's success of our male gymnasts couldn't be repeated by the girls. Pulheria Hatzisavva placed 2nd in the overall ranking and secured her qualification, but all her 4 teammates failed to achieve good scores and got subsequently eliminated. Pulheria is the only Kean gymnast in the women's category left, but her amazing score is giving us hope that she'll manage to make us proud yet again.
As for our Olympic debut in tennis, Elisavet Takalidi and Kiriakos Mathioudakis have both won their 2nd preliminary game and are now just one win away from a historic Olympic qualification. Our doubles debut will be made tomorrow, while I have to remind you that John Andreev and Maro Karakosta, our highest ranked tennis players, have been directly qualified so we'll have representation regardless. We're just hopeful that we'll manage to qualify more."

A: And with this, I'd like to thank you all for tuning in and also thank Marika and Simeon for finding some time to join us tonight.
I: See you all tomorrow for the penultimate Olympic Countdown, as we're inching closer to the opening ceremony.

by **Libesia** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 7:31 pm

Group H is providing riveting action in the men’s football

As Libesia is a newly independent postcolonial nation competing in their first international sports cycle, most of our competitors will be unknown. So each day we will be bringing you the story of a couple of different members of the Libesian delegation, so you can learn a little about their stories, the events they’re competing in, and about Libesia itself!

Day “-6”/“-2”: Uchenah Chijindum, athletics, women’s hammer throw (Hamilton)
Ozioma Uchee, women’s basketball (Schimpol)

Two Akramans trade alternative perspectives on modernity

When I assigned you to cover “the races” this really isn’t what I had in mind. This series is now concluded. -Ed.

Women’s hammer throw
Defending champion: Snædís Arnþórsdóttir (KYP)
OR holder: Irritti o Redwood (BRS)
Favourites: All three medallists from Jolbonopolis (Snædís Arnþórsdóttir, Ye-Rahng Pimmiq of Quebec and Shingoryeo, and Krytenian Lois Neuer) are returning.

Women’s basketball
Defending champion: Quebec and Shingoryeo
Reigning IBC champion: Quebec and Shingoryeo
World #1 ranked basketball nation: Quebec and Shingoryeo
Favourites: Hmm, it’s anyone’s guess.

While so far we’ve been looking at individual athletes – and some Libesians continue to enjoy considerable individual success, such as swimmer Hatem Abir, who set the second national record we’ve seen in the pool as he cruised to qualification in the 800 m freestyle, or golfer Jasmin Meissner, who after opening birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie on the Day 1 was one of very few players able to follow-up with any sort of consistentency on Day 2¹, posting a 67 (1 under) to leave her² just 5 shots off presumptive leader Linnie Sandhya, who spent much of the day being chased round the course by angry copyright lawyers for aggrieved webcomic artists – team sports are expected to be the biggest draw for the crowds back home. And after a sleepy start, with a 0–0 draw for the men’s football team and a bye for the women’s basketball team, things finally got up and running with three wins out of three for Libesia!

Touray³ sisters lead Libesia to exciting victory over Banija

Little fancied Libesia entered the opening encounter of their Olympic qualifying journey against Banija. A former world number one and multiple time IBC champion so dominant at their peak that they were considered unbeatable, Banija’s men’s teams may have inspired awe, but their women’s team comes up with scarcely less pedigree and are defending bronze medallists from Jolbonopolis. But led by two plucky little (or, importantly, not particularly little) sisters from Mbocké, the Libesian women pulled off an astonishing heist, coming back after trailing 37–31 at half-time to win 76–69 and take a huge step towards qualifying for the Olympics. “In these small groups every win is really vital and we knew we couldn’t afford to be overawed by the occasion,” said team captain Musukuta Touray. “This is a really important win!”

Neither Musukuta nor her younger sister Kenenjaye featured heavily in the scoring, with 5 and 6 points respectively, but both hit the boards to take 8 rebounds apiece, joint game highs, and Kenenjaye in particular moved well against the taller Mariame Tambadou, getting the Banijan center into foul trouble in the fourth quarter. “Kenenjaye played really well in the paint and once the fouls racked up on Tambadou, [Banijan coach Sarah] Lotombo had to pull her,” says basketball analyst Nfansu Mansaré. “That was crucial because [Hawa] Diabate didn’t offer the same defensive presence.” Diabate missed two key rebounds and was unable to stop Libesia’s late surge as they came back in the fourth quarter, outscoring Banija 28–18 and at one point putting up 12 unanswered points in a row to completely reverse the game situation.

Libesia’s top scorers were its ebony-and-ivory backcourt duo, Ozioma Uchee (20 points, 6 assists) and Lilly Steiner (22/2). Uchee, Libesia’s talismanic star, took a while to get into the game and struggled with turnovers throughout, but went 4–of–5 from the three-point line to drive the fourth quarter comeback. Her 8 turnovers were a concern, largely at the hands of Haby Danioko, who had an outstanding game with 4 steals to go with her 17 points, 7 assists and 4 rebounds; Libesia turned the ball over 23 times in total to Banija’s 10. “That’s an obvious area for improvement,” admitted coach Sara Diouf. But she credited the Tourays with winning the battle on the boards. Libesia benefitted from some wayward shooting by Banija, who went an eye-watering 8–of–29 from three-point land, leading to some speculation that Lotombo was having her team use the game as an extended practice. But Musukuta, at least, doesn’t care about that: “Maybe the Banijans weren’t playing at 100%, but it’s a win in our column, that’s all we care about!”

Bulls blow off the cobwebs quickly with comfortable wins

More so than cricket (seen as a ‘white’ sport), basketball (a ‘black’ one), and ice hockey (we had an ice rink but it melted), rugby is the closest rival to football as a national sport in Libesia. And unlike football, which features very few white players in the national league, conscious efforts have been made at creating a genuinely multiracial, multiethnic game at domestic level. Hopes for the Bulls, the national 7s team, are correspondingly high for these Olympics, therefore: not just in terms of putting in a good performance, but in seeing a team that truly represents the rainbow nation of Libesia take to the field. So when Estogium’s winger pounced on a loose turnover ball and sprinted in from 45 metres out to give Libesia’s first opponents the lead within 5 minutes on the Walkers Stadium field in Agri while Tobias Habeler gave Pascal Djalo a death stare as though he were about to incite the Second Libesian Bush War, there was certainly room for pessimism…

Fortunately, the proved something of a false dawn for Estogium, who never again so much as sniffed the Libesian try line. Within three minutes Habeler was sending over Peter Keanjaho for the first of his brace of tries that set up a 14–7 lead at the changeover. In the second Francois Grünbaum scored the prettiest try of the morning with a devastating swerve inside, and Babangida Kirabo pulled off a clever kick and chase, admittedly getting lucky with the bounce. Nathanaël Chapuis touched down in the corner in the closing seconds, with Liberio Calabrese sending the conversion wide, but it was still a resounding victory. Energised by their performance, the Bulls brought an even more convincing performance to bear against Afanc Strait in the final game of the day. The Bulls scored within the opening 90 seconds as Thomas Chapuis more or less ploughed his way straight through; he grabbed another before the half, along with Djalo, to set up a 19–0 lead. The second half proved something of a rout: Habeler, Calabrese and Kirabo all went over, before Keanjaho, who played the full game and had to wait until the final minute, was rewarded for some tough-tackling defence with a try served up on a plate.

“We played OK, it was good to get up and running quickly and not be shaking off the rust,” said Habeler, who kicked 6 of 7 conversions across the two matches. Despite the free scoring, he credited the team’s defence. “We really didn’t let either of them get going, and you can’t score tries when you’re sat on the ground,” he said with a grin. Djalo and Keanjaho were both responsible for monster early hits to set the tone. Coach Luca Venter said the team should “not get ahead of themselves” after finding themselves at the top of Group G (thanks to Kelssek holding Uskad to a tie) but that so far he hadn’t found much to complain about in the performances. “That first try [by Estogium] when we put the ball on the floor, that was sloppy,” said Venter. “But after that we looked pretty good. “We know there might be rain in Agri, so it’s important to cut out the handling errors, and we generally did well at keeping the ball in hand.”

¹ Which is actually day -47Z in base 19.
² Possibly. Working out the overall standings in golf was pretty tricky!
³ Yes, the Libesian fan chant is (a) to the tune of Come On Eileen and (b) deeply irritating. Fortunately the vuvuzelas mostly drown it out.

by **The Afanc Strait** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 8:18 pm

This was ICly written prior to the start of any qualifying events.

Terranean Broadcasting Company

Four young Afanc Olympians to watch as world's gaze turns to Hamilton and Schimpol

By Elliott Stephens
TBC Sport in Hamilton, Electrum

TBC Sport has already made the short hop from New Gelderland to Hamilton to cover the Games of the XVIII Olympiad, one of the largest in recent memory with 67 delegations descending on Rushmore to compete for the eighteenth time in these Games.

With most of the delegation returning from the Games of the XVII Olympiad held on home soil in New Oxford two years ago, let's look at some of the fresh faces representing the Afanc Strait in Hamilton and Schimpol:

The Axpe-Windsor brothers (track and sprint canoeing)
Where we have the Koromin family out of Ceni being a football dynasty, we might start to see another athletic dynasty emerge out of New Gelderland this time in the form of the Axpe-Windsor brothers. Eliot, 18, will compete in the two hurdling events, and Kael, 19, will compete in three sprint kayaking events.

The intense competition in the hurdling events doesn’t daunt Eliot. “It may seem cheesy, but the other competitors are no different than the literal other hurdles in the events,” he says.

Even so, there is some reason for pause; there are so many competitors in the hurdling events that pre-qualifying is needed before even the preliminary rounds of the Olympics happen, a practice that was somewhat controversial when they were first introduced in the Eleventh Games in Paripana, but organizers in Liventia and Electrum apparently saw no other choice given the intense international interests in these Games.

“I just like to take the hurdles one at a time,” Eliot says. “It’s easy to do that when there are literal hurdles in front of you that you have to look at.”

Eliot’s older brother Kael will be a five-hour flight away in Schimpol, but he’ll be figuratively by his side. “Kael did inspire me to pursue track and field, and we’ll definitely be VisageClocking each other every night to compare notes,” he says.

Kael is a competent sprint canoer in his own right, apart from his siblinghood with Eliot. Indeed, he’ll represent the Afanc Strait in all three kayak sprint events available, something that is apparently rare across Olympic delegations. “I was just hoping to qualify in one event, to be honest,” says Kael. “Three is a nice bonus. Will I go for three medals? We’ll see!”

Kael is proud that he inspired Eliot to start competing. “It feels like we’re in totally different events - I’m on water, he’s on land; he has hurdles, I have just straightaways on the water; he uses his legs, I use my arms. But we’re both trying to move forward quickly! That’s something.”

Eliot chimes in. “There definitely was a lot of friendly competition in our house. That’s definitely pushed us forward together.”

“Should we do an event together midway between the two of us? Like equestrian?” Kael jokes.

“Someone would have to give us horses, and I’d definitely want to look those gift horses in the mouth,” Eliot responds, with an even more cheesy joke.

“This is why being separated will be hard,” says Kael. “We banter like this all the time. But hopefully we can put our Medal Rack at home to use!”

Koa Cairngan (shooting)
Shooting is a bit of a funny event in Ceni and New Gelderland, countries with strict gun regulations. And things are made more complicated with the complicated bureaucracy surrounding the international movement of guns, even between two countries aligned on so many matters of policy as New Gelderland and Electrum. Hopefully the close working relationship between officials in the two countries will result in the Afanc Strait’s competitors being a little bit less stressed about everything going well so far.

Speaking of those competitors, Koa Cairngan has a bit of an advantage, even over others in the Afanc delegation: A dual Cenian-Gelderlish national, Cairngan has had the advantage of training in the shooting facilities in Nassau Bay that surprisingly have remained standing ever it hosted the last Olympics.

“Those facilities are not something that I could experience in Ceni,” he says with a chuckle, so he sucks up the intergalactic portal ride between the two countries to get the best quality training.

Admittedly, the Afanc Strait has not done too well in the shooting competitions as of late. Former international football player Xoan del Alcazar had transitioned to shooting, but to little avail in Quebec and Shingoryeo two years ago. He’ll try his hand here in the Hamilton suburbs, but in some senses, Cairngan is the new hot prospect in shooting.

“I don’t know why you picked me for this profile,” Cairngan says in response. He admits that he prefers to stay under the radar, especially as one of the few people of color on the Afanc Strait team. (He has some Indigenous and Racaoan ancestry.)

But frankly, Cairngan has been shooting up a storm so far in the pistol events in domestic competition across Rushmore, and we think he has one of the best chances to pick up a medal in the shooting since the successful haul of medals all the way back in the Tenth Games.

Eira Alaxor (track cycling)
Since the last Olympics, where the Afanc Strait won a handful of medals in the track cycling, and all with aging athletes dating back to New Gelderland's participation in the Games of the X Olympiad, track cycling has seen an increase in popularity within Ceni as throngs of fans surprisingly turned out in droves to the University of New Oxford velodrome two years ago.

Alaxor was a product of that boom in track cycling interest. “My interest in biking started when just exploring the streets of New Oxford,” she says. “But man, competing indoors is a breeze compared to having to compete with cars and pedestrians!”

After the last Olympics, Alaxor quickly started training in the velodrome, and she’ll be representing the Afanc Strait in the keirin, sprint, and team sprint, hoping to partially dislodge Krytenian dominance from those particular events.

In Orean, Alaxor will have further camaraderie and companionship of fellow New Oxfordite Sorcha Selestat, even if the two don’t compete together in any of the team events.

“We’ll be able to root on each other and provide each other with some support,” said Alaxor. “If we’re not in events at the same time, I’ll definitely be cheering her on.”

In just a few short years, Alaxor has posted times that could very well put her in contention for a medal. But she will be happy even if she doesn’t come home with a medal.

Just exploring Liventia will be enough for her.

by **Chromatika** » Sun Sep 08, 2024 9:24 pm

KEY FIGURES FROM THE XVIII OLYMPIAD

NILS SKOGLUND
Day -3

FIVE QUESTIONS WITH NILS SKOGLUND

1. You had two races today, and you didn't qualify to the main event in either one. In fact, you weren't even the best finishing Chromatik in either one. What happened today that was so different from yesterday?

"I couldn't really put a finger on it. Felix and Joar swam some very good races, and I wasn't up to the par. It's hard to determine how the rest of the field is going to do - you just have to do the best you can and see if it's good enough. Today, it wasn't good enough. I knew coming into these Olympics that it would be a good test to see where I stack up to the rest of the world, and it's absolutely turning out to be that; I'm proud to have qualified to two events already, and hope to qualify for many more, but if I don't, that's another lesson learned too."

2. How do you keep that acute balance between being such a recognized name and a superstar at home while understanding that you've a way to go to reach your goals?

"It's rather simple, actually. I watch tape of other meets and swimmers getting way better times than me, and it returns me to reality. I'm no longer content to just do well in Chromatika - I don't just want to be the best swimmer in our country, I want to be one of the best swimmers in the world. To do that, I have to and will always continue to strive to be better, whether it be by learning about other people's workout routines, diets, or anything else that they do. I love all the support from home - it means the world to me - but not many in Chromatika understand what it means to swim at a high level, so I have to look outside of our country to be able to do that."

3. What do you think is the most important thing that is missing from Chromatika for Chromatik swimming to reach that level to become a recognized name in the scene?

"We need more people who are passionate in the sport. Sponsors, coaches, athletes, and fans - we need people on every level to fall in love with the sport of swimming and to invest in it. The sponsors will make sure that there's enough money in it to incentivize people to try, or to support those that want to try, while the coaches and athletes will be the ones to devote themselves to the craft; the fans will make sure that the money is coming in to support the sport. How did archery and fencing become the darlings of Chromatika? People invested money and time into it, and it's truly blossomed. I think there may be a day where we can get to that level."

4. You've always said that your faith is a huge part of what motivates you. Can you tell us a little bit about that?

"My family has been going to the local chapter of the Puritan Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints since I've been little. There may not be as many churches on Myana Island as there are on Urrhed Island and on mainland Chromatika, but the location on Myana's Eastside Hill has a rather sizeable congregation. My faith has been a guiding force in helping me see my calling, granting me wisdom and strength in times when I've needed it the most. In a land like ours where oppression is in the very DNA of our history, it's important to find truth and peace in higher powers, and the Church has been that to me."

5. Is there anything you want to say to the millions of Chromatik viewers watching you in the Olympics?

"Thank you for your support, and for your support for Chromatik aquatics/athletics as a whole. Please keep an eye on us even after the Olympics are over - we are truly dedicated to our craft, and it is our life. We will do our best to make sure to do you proud in this stage, even if sometimes, our best isn't enough. Thank you, and go Chromatika!"

Women's Volleyball Falter in Five-set Thriller

Despite mounting a furious comeback after going down 0-2, Chromatika's Women's Volleyball Team lost the fifth set 9-15 to Hispinas, ending the Chromatik dreams of qualifying for the Olympics. Dropping the first two sets by seven points in total, the Chromatiks rebounded with a pair of victories by two and three points apiece before arriving at the fifth set. There, despite Lee Jin-Kyung dropping five more kills on the day to end the match with thirty-six, the Chromatiks could not handle Hispinas's aggression.

"It's a disappointing way to end the tournament before it even begins," admitted Lee, "But it's a bitter pill that we must swallow. We will be back, though."

Chromatik volleyball has been on a downturn since the cessation of the CVL, but with the league returning after the one-year hiatus, the hope is that the team will rebound in time for the next Olympics.

As for the Chromatik men, they took down Sargossa 3-1 to qualify for the Olympics.

Games of the XVIII Olympiad - roleplaying thread

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