Games of the XVIII Olympiad - roleplaying thread

by **Sjovenia** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 12:45 pm

Slaveška Times

“The Slaveškan Men’s National Basketball Team delivered a notable performance in the Men’s Qualifiers at the XVIII Olympic Games. Their recent victory against Valamora, with a close score of 83-82, was particularly impressive and highlighted their resilience and strategic gameplay. This win was crucial for their standing in the qualifiers, showcasing their ability to perform under pressure and secure important victories in tight matches.”

“Throughout the qualifiers, Slaveška demonstrated strong teamwork and effective defense. Their consistent performance in the group stage and their ability to edge out close games have positioned them as a formidable contender. Key players have stepped up at critical moments, contributing significantly to their overall success in the tournament.”

“This latest win against Valamora, where they managed to secure a victory by just one point, underscores their tenacity and skill in clutch situations. This victory is expected to boost their confidence as they advance further in the competition.”

“Sofija Gazvoda demonstrated precision and resilience in the third round of the Women's Individual Golf event. Her consistent play, highlighted by accurate drives and strategic approaches, kept her scorecard clean with few mistakes. Gazvoda's ability to position herself well on the greens and maintain composure under pressure ensured she remained a strong contender.”

“Natalia Župan had an outstanding performance in Women’s Swimming, qualifying in three events. She achieved a personal best in both the 800m freestyle and, 200m butterfly, demonstrating her versatility and skill across multiple swimming styles.”

by **Mytanija** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 1:13 pm

STRONG START IN THE POOL AND IN THE FIELD
MYTANAR ATHLETES SET PERSONAL BESTS IN GOOD DISPLAY OF FORM AHEAD OF OLYMPICS PROPER

by Alen Kujovic

An exciting day of impressive personal achievement for several Mytanar athletes, particularly in the pool and in athletics, where individual records were set in qualifying events for the Olympics and largely points to Mytanar athletes coming into form at the right time ahead of the Games. The OKM has put a lot of work in since the last Olympics to ensure that athletes would ‘taper’ at the right time for the Olympics, slowing down their training to allow them to peak for the most important singular event in their sports. Given the lack of regular international circuits for these sports it is an inexact science, with athletes having to focus on the Olympics and not having too many top-class events to prepare for it. This seems to be early evidence that the OKM may have got things right, however, you imagine that the athletes themselves would prefer for these particular sorts of performances to come in the Olympic final rather than the qualifying event. To say the least, it’s tricky.

Vangelija Alexandrova’s 53.03 Olympic record swim in the women’s 100m freestyle qualifying event is the second-best time ever over the distance at an Olympics-related event. Alexandrova is a double Olympic medalist, winning gold in the women’s 4x100m freestyle and bronze in the 400m freestyle at the Afanc Strait / Jolbopolis Games. The shorter distances are what she prefers, particularly the 100m, so this is a fantastic display of form in her favoured event. If Tina Butler did not exist, Alexandrova would have an Olympic record right now, though she was not overly positive on the idea of fast times without medals to show for them:

“It’s a great time and that’s good for what it means about my form coming into the Olympics, I feel great, and this is proof of that. But I’m not here just to get a quick time and then go home. I need to make sure that I can get through the heats and into the final and then actually get something tangible for the fast times. Once you have an Olympic medal, or two, good performances don’t really do enough for you... I just want the medals, as difficult as it is to do that. 53.03 is the second-best time ever at this level, so if I can stay at that consistently I think I have a good chance of medaling. I just hope it’s not the peak of how I can do here.”

In athletics there were some excellent performances in the field events. Zorna Zverotić put Mytanar hammer throwers on the map with a personal best of 73.96m that had her leading the field in the preliminary round. The 20-year-old is part of a young new generation of Mytanar track-and-field athletes which seems to have benefited from some good showings at the last couple of Olympics and increased funding for their, relatively niche, events. Zverotić was not the only Mytanar impressing in the event, with her 21-year-old colleague Mirjana Živanović finishing 15th overall with a best throw of 71.02m; and 22-year-old Radmila Pejić sneaking into the Olympics proper in 30th place with a best throw of 69.30m. Three Mytanars progressing is a fantastic achievement, and some praise should go to Ksenija Evic – gold medalist in the hammer throw at the Terranean Coast Olympics – who is now involved in the coaching set-up for women’s hammer. Zverotić praised her input into the group’s training programme.

“It’s a dream working with Ksenija. I think we all have vague memories of her winning gold as children and then, I think I was about 8 when she did that, but it’s great working with someone who has all that experience and can pass it onto us. She’s been there and done it, she knows how to win, so we’re all just trying to learn from that and want to implement it in how we compete too. I think it shows just how great she has been with all three of us getting into the field for the actual Olympics instead of one or two of us dropping out in this preliminary round.”

Evic’s national record of 76.48m remains safe for now, though you wouldn’t put it past Zverotić in particular having a good go at getting close to it during her career – especially with so much time ahead of her in a sport where athletes typically peak a bit later on.

Finally, there was a huge jump from Marinko Šiljan to launch himself into the men’s long jump at this Olympics. The Prizren-born athlete managed to get a huge personal best, jumping 8.31m and qualifying very strongly for the Olympics proper as a result. At 23, Šiljan still has plenty of time to make his mark, but he is also painfully aware of how important it is to seize the moment in sports, referencing a Kosara Raonic interview with Gazeta Sporta when asked about medal chances:

“I saw Kosara’s interview, and she was saying that you can never turn down a chance to go for a medal if you have that sort of ability and form and that really rang true with me. I know that I’m only 23, but you never know when your last opportunity is going to be so if you are fit and healthy and able to compete at that sort of standard – the standard I have shown in this qualifying event – then I have to go into it with confidence and try to show my best when it matters. If I do that then I’m in with as good a chance as anybody. So that’s what I am aiming to do.”

by **Da Cunha** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 2:18 pm

The same dour man is presenting the Olympic coverage of NRDU-1 as yesterday. He looks equally thrilled to be here.

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

"Today's prequalifying results from the men's track saw Néstor Matúxević qualify in the 800 meters and Mésud Márić and Lúbmir Dçómbić eliminated. In the 3000 meter steeplechase, Nurédin Avatrnatíçavić qualified, but Dçulhiélmo Grígorić and Sabahúdin Mávrić did not."

He coughs heavily, moustache juttering under his nose.

"In the field events, the men's high jump had Támarbaj Vladimíravić qualify, but Aládin Topálović and Násir El'hamédinić missed out. In the men's 10.000 meters, all three participants were eliminated, and the same happened in the long jump. However, in the Hammer Throw, 2 of 3 qualified: Mirxéa Branimíravić and Ízetbaj Bájrović qualified, with only Gregórjo Aídavić failing to make it."

"Both 4x400 meter teams were disqualified. In the 800 meter women's event, Raxída Capetánović qualified, but Cázimbaja Máqmutić and Haliluddína Alicadíravić misses out, while in the 10.000 meters, only Casimíra Hádlić qualified. Dçiánna Memmedbáçavić and Caríma Gordanavić are out."

"In the field events, both Túzja Glámočacq and 'Lhubomíra Apjatélhović qualified for the long jump. Xinadbéja Gurginovíčić did not make it. In the Hammer Throw, Izetbája Géjić and Trivomira Smírnović qualified, leaving behind Dçemaluddínna Xáphirić."

----

"And they've still not mentioned how basically all of our teams have been sent packing nearly a week ago. Come on! You're supposed to be professionals! Are you TRYING to make the Olympics bomb at home?!"

----

"The women's rhythmic gymnastics saw Dçórdça Hasilreddínavić qualify with the best score with the ball..."

----

"Oh look, the handball guy cares about the ball, how adorable."

----

"...But Tuzmíra Begánović did not qualify. All men's trampoline athletes are out, and in the women's park skating, Antoinette Messaline was the only qualifier. Tomisláva Víxtxa and Ánta Gripónçević were eliminated. In the tennis, Hámid Aligánić survived the third pre-qualifying round to make it to the Olympic tournament proper, and Elvíra Artemíçavić did the same on the women's side. No one was eliminated in the doubles with one qualifying round remaining."

"In the beach volleyball, Ósmeć and Léneć are leading their group with one game left, while Rádić and Dçulhiélmavić are third, one point back of the qualifying. Cápsić and Arabnia are leading their group, but are tied with two others on points, leading with the best set differential. Hadçihásnović and Munútavić are in the same situation."

----

"And not even a word of emotion of how close we could be to have all our athletes in the sport the nation cares most about out immediately. It'd be disastrous, and youre sitting there as if you're giving stock market updates... You didn't even mention when the women's indoor team made it last week!"

----

"In Liventia, the artistic swimming team failed to qualify, as did all divers for women's individual 10 meters and men's individual 3 meters. In the regular swimming, Qrésimir Colácović and Hádçibej Tóncačić qualified in the 200m Butterfly, though Elmíra Ratatúcović and Halihodça Court did not. Íxlam Jácupić, Aída Ántavić, Néna Varexánović and Dimítri Dçulhiélmević qualified in the 100m Freestyle, but the men's 4x200 meter freestyle relay team were slowest of all. Rádoslav Islámović qualified for the 200m backstroke, whereas Bečír Unislávavić was beaten. Alía Memmedpjánić qualified for the 200m breaststroke, though Clára Lagúndçija did not. In the 800m Freestyle, Vladimíra Raphíqavić qualified, Muslihiddínna Cózmić did not."

"The women's water polo team alleviated some disappointment from the men failing to qualify by edging a tight group."

"Lastly from Liventia, the women's basketball team are mathematically eliminated before their last game, but all other basket teams are still alive; Xéherzada Gánić qualified for the K-1 Kayak slalom. In the velodrome, Júnis Halihódçić qualified for the men's sprint, Corradína Mammudbájević failed in the women's sprint; both team sprint teams were eliminated, as was the men's team pursuit team. Alyssanne Bourgondier qualified in the 78kg Judo group, and Tammím Móstrić and Mútimira Bán scraped through in the Nacra."

"In other sporting news..."

----

"You're taking up the whole bath again, Tima."

"I can't believe you bother with that."

"Only 1 day to go with that, at least."

"I cannot believe they haven't adressed handball yet. Or that the hockey teams got blown out. I mean, we expected that, but still."

"Yeah... Handball and Beach Volley going awry would be terrible. Especially with the football teams failing last week. Haven't said that either. Our team sports are really not being mentioned at all, and they're mostly doing pretty badly. Or playing it too close."

"Hmph. Those two narrow losses to Valanora will haunt me. I don't care that it's funny how Valanora's girls won AND lost 27-25, so we just need to beat that to qualify. I don't care that the goal difference favours the men if they pull their head out their asses. We should've won both those games."

"Heh."

"What?"

"I like that you're getting upset. We channel that, Tima. We channel that."

"......You're weird, Zenzi."

by **Banija** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 2:30 pm

Fallou Sura 'stunned' as defending Olympic gold medalist doesn't even qualify for Hamilton in the men's discus throw

HAMILTON, ELECTRUM- Olympic Qualification is really beginning in earnest- we've got a two week sprint until the start of the XVIII Summer Olympiad, co-hosted in Hamilton, Electrum and Schimpol, Liventia. These games are using an extensive Olympic qualification system- in many sports, you have to go through a certain amount of qualifying, beyond the national level, to qualify to compete in the actual games- and, of course, to earn the title of 'Olympian'. Not all sports, of course- wrestling is an example of a sport where you do not have to go through Qualifying. But many sports it simply must be done, including Banija's bread and butter competitions in track & field.

Across the first few days of Qualifying, results were all over the place for team Banija. Some quality qualifications, some surprise non-qualifications, and mixed results in team sports- wins in water polo balanced out by a couple of close losses in (association) football. And some qualifications we took for granted- like Fallou Sura, in the men's discus throw. Before we get into what happened here, let's rewind the clock all the way to... The last summer olympiad. Yes, not that long ago. Picture the scene. In Quebec. XVII Summer Olympiad. Men's discus throw. Fallou Sura goes up- big freaking dude. It's the Final- he qualified for the final easily, of course.

12 people left in the Olympic competition. And he steps up and goes to throw it again- and again. And again. He has the longest throw- 67.08 meters. He set the standard, he was the bar- and he, very appropriately, earned himself a gold medal. Some of us remember his celebrations- particularly using the moment to propose to his now wife, and then girlfriend. Dude full of confidence, absolute top of the world. And he had announced that he was going to come back to the Olympics, to try and win yet another medal. Who knows how he'd do a few years later- but surely he'd at least be at the Games, right?

His gold medal last time allowed him to skip Banijan Qualifying. But, here came Olympic Qualifying in Electrum and... Things did not go well for Fallou Sura. He watched people throw all day long- he simply wanted to make the top 32, make sure he can advance to the next round. IT's all about peaking at the right point- not simply peaking at any point in time. And Sura, the defending gold medalist... Just completely botched everything. The pressure of being an Olympic athlete- at least he has his gold, right? But the pressure of being an Olympic athlete is high. Moreso than any other event, it is about stepping up in the moment- because you may never get it back.

And Sura's 39th place finish in Qualifiers meant he was going home. In tears, he addressed the media.

"There is no getting around it- this is probably the hardest moment of my own career as a men's discus thrower." He told reporters. "Obviously, the last Olympics were the crowning achivement- and this, not even earning the title of Olympian- well, it is the harshest moment I have ever experienced as an athlete. But, that is sport- the results are brutal, unfeeling, and unforgiving- and yet, they are fair." He paused before speaking again. "And yet, I must give full credit to my competitors. This year, there will be a new gold medalist in the men's discus throw. As for me- that is a wrap on my career. I cannot do this again- clearly, I had too much complacency from the last Olympiad. I've got to let the next generation of Banijan track & field athletes take the stage."

Other Noteworthy Qualifying Results - Football

- Both Banija soccer teams flopped out of Olympic qualifying without earning a single point to their names, getting nowhere near the Olympics. The sample size was small, just two games each- but the RBSA has faced harsh crticism for 'insufficiently preparing' the talent. The RBSA Executive Chair, Baku Simbwa, said that on the men's side, it was a severely disappointing result. "There is definitely talent on the team, despite it only being U23. We needed to get them more matches- maybe some friendly matches, or warmup matches, before the intesnity of a 2 game Qualification campaign. Going 2 losses from 2 on that side is simply inexcusable."
- On the women's side, there was a lot of criticism as well. There is overall a lot of concern about women within the Banijan footballing system- there seem to be fewer and fewer women signing up for football at the youth level, which is trickling up to there be relatively low numbers of footballers in the S-FPL- which leads to even fewer for the national team. "Now, it is clear that the RBSA needs to work harder to get more young girls playing association football from a younger age." He told reporters. "This is not a quick fix, but this is something that can be fixed. Many of Banija's great footballers, great World Cup winners, were women- Namakuka Kawesa and Idai Uster come to mind. As well as Wanda Kouyate- the multiverse's first three-level world champion. But the RBSA is going to be sure to invest in the youth levels of getting our girls to play this sport- and naturally, they will be able to rise up through the professional ranks."

Other Noteworthy Qualifying Results - Basketball

- The one medal, above all else, that Banijans rue that they do not have, is the Olympic gold in men's basketball. "We've won everything else the sport has to offer- why not an Olympic gold?" Said one fan succintly. The closest Banija has ever gotten was on home soil, when Amadou Secka drove us all the way to the gold medal game, in Istria- only for the team to suffer a tough, 2 point loss behind the backs of a rabid crowd to earn silver. That was the XIV Summer Olympiad- they have not been back to the gold medal game in this sport. But after an opening day win during Qualifying, they suffered a surprise upset loss to Ralsalin on MD2- an 85-75 loss that puts them back into second place, and on the brink of not even reaching Liventia. For a team trying to climb back to the top, it is a 'severe disappointment'. "It is a tall order to reach the actual Games at this point- but I promise, we will take care of business on MD3. Hopefully, we can get the help we need to reach the Olympic Games." The team's HC said.
- For years, the Olympic Committee of Banija has been accused of radical underinvestment in the women's game. At the last Games, they seemed to have finally escaped those allegations, earning a bronze medal for the women's basketball team. But here, on the women's side, neither the 3x3 team, nor the traditional team, are anywhere close to Qualifying. At this point, they both sit in dead last place in their groups, functionally already eliminated from Qualifying for the Olympics. OCB Executive Chairman Patrick Zervos said that the results were 'extremely disappointing', and the basketball division would go back to the drawing board to ensure that there is no such failure of this size at the next games.
- The pride and joy of Banijan basketball, right now, are the Peerless Princes. They are going for what would be an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic gold medal in men's 3x3 hoops- which would firmly put them on the Olympic pantheon. They are well on their way there, currently being the only undefeated team in their Qualification group with a game remaining. Despite having to replace half the team(2 players), Omugabes Ssemanda and Kato, the two veterans, are continuing their usually dominant level of play. Qualification is harsh- only group winners advance- but for now, it seems as if they will be the only one of four Banijan basketball teams to meet that standard. Can they ride that to another Olympic gold?

by **Banija** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 2:30 pm

Fallou Sura 'stunned' as defending Olympic gold medalist doesn't even qualify for Hamilton in the men's discus throw

HAMILTON, ELECTRUM- Olympic Qualification is really beginning in earnest- we've got a two week sprint until the start of the XVIII Summer Olympiad, co-hosted in Hamilton, Electrum and Schimpol, Liventia. These games are using an extensive Olympic qualification system- in many sports, you have to go through a certain amount of qualifying, beyond the national level, to qualify to compete in the actual games- and, of course, to earn the title of 'Olympian'. Not all sports, of course- wrestling is an example of a sport where you do not have to go through Qualifying. But many sports it simply must be done, including Banija's bread and butter competitions in track & field.

Across the first few days of Qualifying, results were all over the place for team Banija. Some quality qualifications, some surprise non-qualifications, and mixed results in team sports- wins in water polo balanced out by a couple of close losses in (association) football. And some qualifications we took for granted- like Fallou Sura, in the men's discus throw. Before we get into what happened here, let's rewind the clock all the way to... The last summer olympiad. Yes, not that long ago. Picture the scene. In Quebec. XVII Summer Olympiad. Men's discus throw. Fallou Sura goes up- big freaking dude. It's the Final- he qualified for the final easily, of course.

12 people left in the Olympic competition. And he steps up and goes to throw it again- and again. And again. He has the longest throw- 67.08 meters. He set the standard, he was the bar- and he, very appropriately, earned himself a gold medal. Some of us remember his celebrations- particularly using the moment to propose to his now wife, and then girlfriend. Dude full of confidence, absolute top of the world. And he had announced that he was going to come back to the Olympics, to try and win yet another medal. Who knows how he'd do a few years later- but surely he'd at least be at the Games, right?

His gold medal last time allowed him to skip Banijan Qualifying. But, here came Olympic Qualifying in Electrum and... Things did not go well for Fallou Sura. He watched people throw all day long- he simply wanted to make the top 32, make sure he can advance to the next round. IT's all about peaking at the right point- not simply peaking at any point in time. And Sura, the defending gold medalist... Just completely botched everything. The pressure of being an Olympic athlete- at least he has his gold, right? But the pressure of being an Olympic athlete is high. Moreso than any other event, it is about stepping up in the moment- because you may never get it back.

And Sura's 39th place finish in Qualifiers meant he was going home. In tears, he addressed the media.

"There is no getting around it- this is probably the hardest moment of my own career as a men's discus thrower." He told reporters. "Obviously, the last Olympics were the crowning achivement- and this, not even earning the title of Olympian- well, it is the harshest moment I have ever experienced as an athlete. But, that is sport- the results are brutal, unfeeling, and unforgiving- and yet, they are fair." He paused before speaking again. "And yet, I must give full credit to my competitors. This year, there will be a new gold medalist in the men's discus throw. As for me- that is a wrap on my career. I cannot do this again- clearly, I had too much complacency from the last Olympiad. I've got to let the next generation of Banijan track & field athletes take the stage."

Other Noteworthy Qualifying Results - Football

- Both Banija soccer teams flopped out of Olympic qualifying without earning a single point to their names, getting nowhere near the Olympics. The sample size was small, just two games each- but the RBSA has faced harsh crticism for 'insufficiently preparing' the talent. The RBSA Executive Chair, Baku Simbwa, said that on the men's side, it was a severely disappointing result. "There is definitely talent on the team, despite it only being U23. We needed to get them more matches- maybe some friendly matches, or warmup matches, before the intesnity of a 2 game Qualification campaign. Going 2 losses from 2 on that side is simply inexcusable."
- On the women's side, there was a lot of criticism as well. There is overall a lot of concern about women within the Banijan footballing system- there seem to be fewer and fewer women signing up for football at the youth level, which is trickling up to there be relatively low numbers of footballers in the S-FPL- which leads to even fewer for the national team. "Now, it is clear that the RBSA needs to work harder to get more young girls playing association football from a younger age." He told reporters. "This is not a quick fix, but this is something that can be fixed. Many of Banija's great footballers, great World Cup winners, were women- Namakuka Kawesa and Idai Uster come to mind. As well as Wanda Kouyate- the multiverse's first three-level world champion. But the RBSA is going to be sure to invest in the youth levels of getting our girls to play this sport- and naturally, they will be able to rise up through the professional ranks."

Other Noteworthy Qualifying Results - Basketball

- The one medal, above all else, that Banijans rue that they do not have, is the Olympic gold in men's basketball. "We've won everything else the sport has to offer- why not an Olympic gold?" Said one fan succintly. The closest Banija has ever gotten was on home soil, when Amadou Secka drove us all the way to the gold medal game, in Istria- only for the team to suffer a tough, 2 point loss behind the backs of a rabid crowd to earn silver. That was the XIV Summer Olympiad- they have not been back to the gold medal game in this sport. But after an opening day win during Qualifying, they suffered a surprise upset loss to Ralsalin on MD2- an 85-75 loss that puts them back into second place, and on the brink of not even reaching Liventia. For a team trying to climb back to the top, it is a 'severe disappointment'. "It is a tall order to reach the actual Games at this point- but I promise, we will take care of business on MD3. Hopefully, we can get the help we need to reach the Olympic Games." The team's HC said.
- For years, the Olympic Committee of Banija has been accused of radical underinvestment in the women's game. At the last Games, they seemed to have finally escaped those allegations, earning a bronze medal for the women's basketball team. But here, on the women's side, neither the 3x3 team, nor the traditional team, are anywhere close to Qualifying. At this point, they both sit in dead last place in their groups, functionally already eliminated from Qualifying for the Olympics. OCB Executive Chairman Patrick Zervos said that the results were 'extremely disappointing', and the basketball division would go back to the drawing board to ensure that there is no such failure of this size at the next games.
- The pride and joy of Banijan basketball, right now, are the Peerless Princes. They are going for what would be an unprecedented third consecutive Olympic gold medal in men's 3x3 hoops- which would firmly put them on the Olympic pantheon. They are well on their way there, currently being the only undefeated team in their Qualification group with a game remaining. Despite having to replace half the team(2 players), Omugabes Ssemanda and Kato, the two veterans, are continuing their usually dominant level of play. Qualification is harsh- only group winners advance- but for now, it seems as if they will be the only one of four Banijan basketball teams to meet that standard. Can they ride that to another Olympic gold?

by **Reginalida** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 2:39 pm

Hey folks! Welcome to today's RBNSD broadcast, where we're bringing you all the juiciest details from the running up to the Olympics! Preliminary games and events have been going on since about two weeks ago and the Opening Ceremony will soon be upon us, so let's talk qualifications. We're wonderfully proud to announce that Reginalida has qualified for a total of 57 sports out of 67 entered events with preliminary rounds that have happened so far, and would like to give a rundown of that for you now.

Let's start with the fan-favourite, football! The RIFT men have been off to a flying start, the first matchday beating out The Da Cunha Islands 5-3, then 2-0 to Tero al Disco, and finally 3-1 to Liventia. Yes, you heard me right, Liventia! Not only have our boys won every single preliminary match, but we also did so against one of the hosts of the Olympics themselves! This gives us a total of 9 points, and thus the leaders of and therefore the only ones to qualify from Group N. The RIFT women have been less lucky, sadly, first losing 0-1 to Mytanija and later 0-3 Slaveška. Placing at the bottom of Group P with 0 points, our women's team will not be advancing to the major Olympic events, unfortunately, and so have yet to make their grand debut on the world stage just yet. Don't worry, ladies - it will come one day.

Athletics time - starting off strong, Giorgio Taurco qualified after placing first in his heat at a fantastic 45.01 seconds for the men's 400m. Sadly, Corrado Phato did not make the cut, nor did Stefani Rurushanni, but that's no big deal for the latter because he did qualify for the men's decathlon! For the men's 5,000m, Chun Barco and Xun Magda come one right after the other in their heats, both qualifying with times of 13:37.71 and 13:37.78 respectively. Magda has also qualified for the decathlon. 110m hurdles, Tullio Leryx comes first in his heat, much further ahead than Zhen Wuzhou, and Nino Mushiun also comes first in his! The fantastic Nino also qualified for the men's pole vault, coming 21st in the preliminaries, but even better Luca Thonnesora came 14th! Giorgio Taurco placed for men's discus throw. It's been an unfortunate time for Rong Ligerbo, who entered several events, and was gearing up to be a favourite among Reginalidans, but failed to place for the men's 5,000m or discus throw. His shining moment was clearly waiting for him in the heats of the 200m, as he placed first there with a stunning time of 20.54 seconds, with Gabriele Rinch just .01 seconds behind, also placing first in his own heat. Ligerbo also placed for the hammer throw, and Rinch also entered for the men's 3,000m steeplechase, and came 4th in his heat there, qualifying for that too, along with Fortunato Proro. Peng Yongzhou gets into the men's 800m as one of the nine fastest outside of the placements for each heat. Our 4 x 400m relay team, consisting of Nino Mushiun, Tiamo Telbanoro, Marco Suchu and Paolo Cerra, will appear after coming 4th in their heat. Nino's name comes up yet again as he qualifies for the long jump alongside Hong Torramagos. At just 17 years old, Nino will certainly be coming home to much love and gratitude from the entirety of his country, having wormed his way into their hearts as quickly as he can run - which apparently is pretty f-*buzzing at the broadcast cuts*... Sorry about that folks, getting a little over-excited there. Let's try that again, shall we?

Time for the ladies! Donatella Strut came third in her heat with a time of 51.07, qualifying her for the women's 400m. She also places for the women's 5,000m, as does Adriana Phacilia. Jiao Shaleo launches herself into the spotlight for the women's pole vault, and Benedetta Nothenona shows off her skills as she qualifies 13th for the discus throw. Rosalia Yantoro qualifies for the women's 200m, with Yanjie Yongzhou just .01 second behind, also securing her place. Shu Barkaro will represent our country in the 3,000m steeplechase, both Malina Dinara and Silvia Shanilica for the high jump, and Wenting Urrao for the long jump. Wenyan Angamo comes in 4th for the preliminaries to the heptathlon.

The image, as depicted on the RBNSD website

Okay, now a short break for some quick news - still about the Olympics, don't you worry - but there is a shocking twist, mere days before the Opening Ceremony of the games, President Giovanna Eudano of the Reginalidan Olympic Committee has announced a new logo for the R.O.C. and the XVIII Olympiad. This change comes with the official announcement from Sport Reginalida - that's our beloved country's overall sporting 'government', one might say - that a new standardised logo will be rolled out for all sections of it within the next month. The timing of this is certainly questionable, with many wondering if this would not have been better to wait until after the games, after all, the deadline for the change set by Sport Reginalida isn't until November, but Giovanna Eudano has deemed the change appropriate now. We have contacted her to see if she would be open to an interview about this, but given we interviewed her just a few days ago and she is very busy implementing this change as well as making final preparations for the games, we haven't yet heard a reply. Regardless, if you're interested in seeing the new logo, head on over to the RBNSD section of our website, as the design will surely be plastered all over our articles by now.

As for skateboarding, the 12-year-old Meiling Chaoro has wowed the world placing third in her street-style preliminaries, but don't forget that 19-year-old Shu Topteryx has also qualified! We loved seeing the sister-like relationship between those two over these few weeks, and we hope it's not going to devolve if they find themselves competing for places in the future! Especially since Meiling sadly did not qualify for the park-style which she also entered, so if her hope of achieving a medal at her young age stands any chance of coming true, it will need to be in the street event. Similarly, Emilio Colcata and Cosimo Pantanax both placed for men's street-style.

Heading over to Liventian events now, the fantastic team of Clara Ngandelero and Xiumei Ginon placed third in the women's 3m synchronised springboard prelim, and Manuela Pteja has also placed 25th and 26th in her events, qualifying her for the women's 400m freestyle and 100m breaststroke. Three sure seems to be the lucky number for us this year, as Pina Guarvo also places 3rd in the women's 100m butterfly prelim - let's hope this trend can net us some lovely bronze medals in the finals! Chuntao Belca and Noemi Parrano just squeak into placing for the 200m freestyle, and the 100m backstroke event will feature Lifena Muito. Alessandra Bele had a wonderful performance during the qualifiers for the 1,500m freestyle - she sure has some endurance!

Vittorio Carteno and Wei Yongs both managed to qualify for the men's 100m backstroke, as well as Bruno Calera for the 400m individual medley and Ji Mading for the 800m freestyle. Ottavio Changto and Antonio Saltre place 4th and 10th respectively for the 100m freestyle on the men's side, while Pina Guarvo and Floriana Belu place 6th and 57th for the women's! Women's 800m will feature both Ahuica Rocaco and Ru Eopto.

That's all we have for you today, as a quick reminder we are on Day -2 of the XVIII Olympiad, tomorrow is Day -1, and the day after is the Opening Ceremony! Today we've covered the qualifiers from every event as a little recap, and there's been little to no mention of those who did not qualify, so we'll add a quick note here just in case you are one of those people - you've done a fantastic job of representing out country, and we're all very grateful for you regardless. And hey, there's always next year. But that'll be us, signing out now, we'll be back tomorrow with another, hopefully just as fantastic, update on the state of the Reginalidan delegation. We'll see you all then, aure!*

*Note: Aure, pronounced or-ay, means 'goodbye' in Reginalidan language

by **Valanora** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 7:45 pm

Welcome to this edition of the Summer Olympiad and to what will be the biggest delegation the Vanorian Sporting Council will have ever sent to one of the Games. This increased delegation is in large part to a string of successful delegation in the prior Summer and Winter Olympiads where Vanorians had a higher amount of medals won, including a handful of golds included, following a small increase in funding in various difference sporting disciplines. That rise in success was the sort of measure that the powers who be among the VSC need to see to vindicate those decisions to allocate more funding to tertiary programs as well as the establishment of a few different athletic centers across the Empire to help curate a more talented and prepared set of individuals to send to the Games. That investment is now bearing fruit, as over four hundred individual athletes as well as several teams representing the nation have descended upon their locations in Electrum and Liventia to participate in the upcoming Olympiad.

These Games have a bit of a topsy turvy history with the Empire, where the most success has often been found in the team sports such as football and basketball, along with (ice) hockey during the Winter Games, mostly as a result of Vanorian sporting culture emphasizing the team over the individual. The culture of sport within the Empire has been studied at length and discussed for similar amount of times in the past, particularly with the success or lack therof when it comes to the Olympic Games. Traditional Vanorian hobbies and skills such as fencing and archery have enabled some success outside those regular norms, but success in things like athletics, swimming, or the other events have oft escaped from Vanorian participants. It is a particularly meaningful hit to the pride of the nation and her sporting prowess, especially in the athletics field where in sports like football, basketball, and hockey a noted advantage of Vanorian athletes has traditionally been their slightly better pace and endurance. Yet at the elite levels, such which is the case here at the Games, that better than average showing gets put to the sword and the athletes involved are forced to swallow a serving of humble pie.

That might yet be the case even in this edition of the event, despite the increased funding and the larger delegation sent as a result, as preliminary rounds for the competitions have been enacted and many Vanorian athletes will not even be involved in the proper running of their events after the opening ceremony. It is not clear yet, but that might also included the aforementioned football and basketball teams, who both on the men's and women's sides have failed to find triumph and may well be eliminated before the competition has well and truly began. While the Olympic Games have always had a bit of a surprise element to them in the team sports, with many nations who do not participate in the formalized and organized running of those sports mainline tournaments taking part, such an early elimination for four of the best chances that those back at home believed the delegation had for making the podium and in team disciplines would be hard to stomach. While the star players of each of these national teams were not involved due to recent tournaments in the IBC and World Cup, the depth and talent selected was supposed to be seen as quality enough to still have medal contention about it.

Regardless of if these teams are eliminated or not, the Games themselves are still a celebration of the mixing of cultures and peoples as much as they are competition. The rest of the delegation will have to carry on regardless and attempt to make good on their own promise while enjoying their surroundings and taking in what for many will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent their nation and participate in an Olympiad. There was rumors of the VSC aiming for twenty medals and eight golds for this Olympiad, but if all of the teams for the Empire are actually already eliminated, that target for both will have to be scaled back considerably, especially considering what it to be hyper competitive fields of fencing and archery once more. This is not likely to merely be a three nation fight for the medals between ourselves, Krytenia, and Quebec as it was during the last event, with other delegations like Chromatika and Lisander also having strong competitors in those fields. Yet as a celebration of sport and its ability to bring people together, Vanorians are as happy as any to mingle and share, though they will be happier still with a medal, particularly if it is gold.

by **Tero al Disco** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 8:25 pm

(now in English, yay!)

WORLD* RECORD FOR TERO AL DISCO! NADIA JARA GETS THE BEST TIME IN SWIMMING QUALIFIERS

MORE ARTICLES → OLYMPIC GAMES

It's all coming full circle in Liventia: many swimmers in the Olympics proper

Men's volleyball: Tero al Disco defeats Valanora and wins the qualifier

Men's football: heavy dissapointment as loss to Reginalida knocks Teros out of Olympics contention

Women's football: Teros defeat Qasden with a solid 4-2; can they hope for a miracle?

With ten days left until the opening ceremony of the 18th Hamilton & Schimpol Olympics, so far there have been one really bad news, and one of the opposite. For one, the football team are mathematically out of topping their group (which would be the only path to qualification in these qualifiers), with a 1-1 draw to Liventia and a 0-2 defeat to Reginalida...something which hasn't been received well by the Terense press and the fans, especially with a team that, although it was only the B team, had plenty of starpower nonetheless. On the other hand, with the swimmers entered into the Olympics for Tero al Disco looking very promising, magic happened: in the 100m backstroke category, Nadia Jara broke the Olympic record with a time of 58,16 seconds, getting first place in the qualifiers.

After finishing with all the honours, she told to ABCD Deportes journalists reporting in Schimpol: "I'm sorry but I didn't expect that, and I think I couldn't have expected that in a million years. I was prepared for the worst there, because maybe I was going to finish out of the Olympics. But no, the opposite happened here, and I am feeling just ecstatic right now (...) I'm afraid, because here I put my every last gasp of energy, so I don't know and I don't want to come to the scenario my energy would be drained out of me already, in the future races."

At least in swimming, the Olympics has seen plenty of records be broken, with three so far: Jara at the 100m backstroke, Quebec's Soulaine Smither-Bordeleau in 100m butterfly, and the Mandaran team of Samsibala, Oktaviani, Pancawati and Nehupadan in the freestyle relay race; all women. It looks like many more records will be broken in the future in the pools of Schimpol, and this has been addressed by Jara: "Look, I don't necessarily try to break a record; we're all newbies here, and this feels more like a minor achievement, because we're all looking to go far, to see just how far we'll go in these first Olympics."

*The redaction at La Cruel Verdad know that a world record is the same as an Olympic record because there are no other competitions where athletes can get wlympic records...but one only needs to brag here nonetheless.

THE FIRST HEAVY DISSAPOINTMENT OF THE OLYMPICS: TERO AL DISCO OUT WITH A 0-2 LOSS

Redacted by Amanda Touriño.

September 10th, 2024.

It's so over...with the start of the qualifying phase of the Olympics, Tero al Disco were drawn in a 4-team group with Liventia, Reginalida and Da Cunha, where only the top team at the end of the group stage would qualify for the Olympics proper, meaning that 16 football teams would compete in the "Finals" of the Games. With the Teros' group having all its games played in the island of Kale, in the Kale Memorial Park, the national team would kick off against Liventia, one of the co-hosts of the Games as a whole.

...That first match would end in a one-all draw, which saw Tero al Disco's somewhat ambitious B team struggle with their opponents. Although the first ten minutes were a closely-fought contest, a series of defensive errors by the Terense defenders were capitalised off by the Liventians, who proceeded to play the rest of the first half almost exclusively in Tero al Disco's half of the pitch. However, finishing would be poor and no goals could be scored, until 5 minutes from time when Robert Danvers scored off an impressive volley. By the second half the Terenses had somewhat recomposed, but the forward line wasn't fully turned on. Benjamín Insfrán, the striker, who wasn't having a good time at all, was subbed off for Lautaro Araujo, who proceeded to spearhead many of the counters, with Matías Lemieux's team now forced to counter-attack if they wanted to score. By the end, Liventia would allow the Teros some breathing space, and Araujo scored with a diving header in the 78th minute for an equaliser, but the second goal wouldn't come.

The next match would come against Reginalida, who were leading the group after defeating Da Cunha by an eight-goal thriller: 5-3, despite Raul Tunnus' normally defensive style of football. In the same style as the Liventia fixture, Reginalida started off taking control of the match, and they would take advantage of that with quick hit-and-run plays. That would be how the first goal came, with a long kick forward from the team's captain, Camilo Galinoba, connecting with Eloy Perales who dribbled past Gaspar Bustos for the first goal, 20 minutes in. In the 33rd minute the match got even worse, when Bustos himself made weak contact with Perales on a corner kick, which the referee deemed a penalty. Alberto Methus stepped up and scored the second. Tunnus' team would defend until the match ended, with most of his team being concentrated around the area.

Group N                            Pld   W  D  L   GF  GA  GD  Pts 
1 Reginalida                           2   2  0  0    7   3  +4    6 Qualifying spot
2 The Da Cunha Islands                 2   1  0  1    4   5  −1    3
3 Liventia                             2   0  1  1    1   2  −1    1 Eliminated from contention
4 Tero al Disco                        2   0  1  1    1   3  −2    1 Eliminated from contention

All smooth sailing for the Teros in men's basketball: can they clinch the qualification spot?

Unlike what the football team's performance after the World Cup might suggest, the basketball team's qualifiers after the IBC seem to be going great. In a five-team group with Da Cunha, Nova Calania, Kriegersien and Estogium, Tero al Disco are currently on two wins after two matches after beating the two latter ones.

Coming to the first round, the Teros were clear favourites for the match against Estogium, and they perfectly demonstrated that on the court: after being up by a massive 20 points by the end of the first half, the Teros relaxed a bit but ended up winning by 89-65 (24 point margin), which included a superb partnership between Isidro Messore and Aníbal Franco, with the two scoring 30 points between them. The next round, against Kriegersien, would be much more harder: Kriegersien ended up taking the lead in the first quarter, being up by 2 points after exploiting the Terense errors in defending. In the latter stages, though, the Terenses would gradually turn the match around. They had accomplished this by the start of the fourth quarter, with Aníbal Franco having scored some 12 points beforehand, but they had to deal with a scare from the Kriegiersien team, in which they counter-attacked their way back into the game. In the end, Tero al Disco would win by six points, 85-79.

With Tero al Disco being the only unbeaten team in their group, they'll go up against Nova Calania first, before the ending the group stages against leaders Da Cunha.

by **Acastanha** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 8:28 pm

Recap of Olympics Part 1

We are approaching the opening night of the Summer Olympics. While some of the events have started far before the opening day. To wait for the opening ceremony, we will provide the recap of our athlete results leading to Day 0 of the competition especially the one who qualify to the main competition.

Day -13

Group D of the men's football event showed Acastanha against Chromatika. The match was highly controlled by Chromatika however, Acastanha managed to win the match by 2 goals scored by Bruno Sagarkan (54') and Joao Millenkar (90+1').

Day -12

Three swimming athletes are qualifying to the main competition. They are Emilio Derga and Davi Bargata in men's 100m backstroke and Ana Radchai qualify in women's 100m breaststroke event. Both Bargata and Radchai are lucky enough to qualify as they finished at the 40th position. Bargata was only 0.02 seconds faster than the 41st position. While Radchai was 0.09 seconds faster.

In basketball, Acastanha men's team was defeated by Krytenia in the opening match of Group 8. Cezar Irundagh scored the most points for the team, 27 out of 77 points.

Day -10

Another Acastanhada swimmer qualify to the main event. They are Thalita Yathar and Isis Birka who compete in women's 100m backstroke event. Both athletes' success to finished in the top 20 of the extra heat.

Day -9

Losing 1-3 against Crpostran in the third match day of men's football event, Acastanha failed to qualify to the main event. Their only goal in the match was scored by Joao Millenkar. In the end, the team finished second which was based on the goal difference as all 3 teams received the same points from 1 win and 1 lose.

In the swimming, Acastanha add another 2 athletes. Amalia Rukinde qualifies in the women's 100m freestyle event. She finished 28th and tie with Violeta Bosevska from Mytanija after finished the course in 53.86 second. The second swimmer is Thiago Noghod who qualifies in men's 100m freestyle event. He finished the course in 51.61 second, tie with Adam Scarlett from Krytenia.

Day -8

Swimming contingents add 3 other swimmers to the main Olympic event. All of them are female. Eva Gobroda and Iris Bistul success to qualify in women's 800m freestyle event. While Emilia Miri qualifies from the women's 200m breaststroke event. Unfortunately, Ana Radchai failed to qualify in the 200m breaststroke event after only finished 54th in the overall timetable. Radchai already qualifies in the 100m breaststroke event.

In this first part, we saw many swimmers qualify to the main event of the Olympics. A total of 10 athletes, 3 men and 7 women. The number is more than half of the whole swimming contingent which consist of 18 athletes. Almost all women athletes are qualified. Rebbeca Naghkhla is the only one has yet to qualify. Her last hope is in the 50m freestyle event. While the other 2 women's athletes are competing in the marathon swimming who doesn't hold an extra preliminary round.

by **Drawkland** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 9:45 pm

A selection of stories about Drawkian athletes grinding to become true Olympians ...

HAMILTON TENNIS PARK
It was time for Erica Julius to shut the door. Not on her own Olympic chances, but those of Avdotya Nosova. The second set of their Olympic qualifier match had gone 6-6, and it was time for the tiebreak. A win would send Erica onward, a loss would send the match to a third set.

This was the first tiebreak that Erica had to face in this Olympic pre-tournament. Her opening match against Bailee Thule of Cannaland Islands was pretty easy to start out. Erica won in straight sets without even breaking serve, which was huge for both confidence and energy-saving reasons. Her second match against Franziska Hegering of Trimaris was a little more interesting, as it went to the rubber set and nearly went to the tiebreak. Erica narrowly avoided this, though, by breaking Hegering's serve in the final game to capture the set 7-5 and take the match.

Now she faced Avdotya Nosova of Doubeia, the last thing separating Erica from the actual Olympic tournament. See, Erica was unfortunately the third-best Drawkian woman to make the Drawkian delegation. She was pretty good, but she didn't have the graceful agility of Linzi Reed or the raw power swing of Kelsey Kairo. Linzi and Kelsey qualified directly for the Olympic tournament, and had spent the few days prior to the opening ceremonies enjoying the Olympic Village and getting themselves gently acclimated to Hamilton in general. Erica, meanwhile, was fighting for her life just to play in the real deal.

Well, "fighting for her life" was a bit of an overstatement, but like most athletes stuck going through qualifying, Erica wasn't thrilled. At least she'd ridden through the first two matches without faltering, though that match against Hegering was a little too close for comfort. Her fellow Drawkian stuck in women's tennis qualifying, Alexandra Fuller, had won her match earlier in the day. Now the pressure was really on Erica to ensure the full complement of Drawkian racket girls made it to the tournament. At the very least, they'd be showing up the boys. Both Dion Ware and Zach Leblanc hadn't even made it to the third day of qualifying, and would be spectating for the actual Olympics.

So, here we are, on a side court at Hamilton Tennis Park. Erica Julius facing off against Avdotya Nosova, the best female tennis player submitted by Doubeia (though that's not exactly a grand distinction - she did have to play through qualifiers after all). Erica won the coin toss prior to the match and deferred - Nosova decided to serve first, and Erica promptly broke her to start the game. Then Erica won her serve, and broke Nosova again, and won her serve again to go up 4-0 in the set. It wasn't until Nosova's third game serving that she actually got on the board, running the score 40-15 before earning her first game. By then, Erica was in the driver's seat, winning her next serve and breaking Nosova a third time to take the opening set 6-1.

The break between sets did Nosova a lot of good. After a very brief conversation with her coach, Nosova came on with a renewed vigor and a more solid serve. Erica wasn't expecting the additional resistance - though she held her own, she only broke Nosova once mid-set, and Nosova returned the favor right after to keep the set level. Not only was Nosova keeping pace, but the games themselves were getting tougher. Erica had won a few games in the first set with Nosova only getting love or 15 on the board. In the second set, Nosova was scoring twice in about every game, as well as Erica. The final serving game for both ladies went to deuce, with the serving coming out triumphant after six points played at deuce both times.

Now we're back up to speed with this tiebreak. Erica had the first serve, and she was going to make it count. Her first serve was a nasty one, tailing to the outside with good speed, forcing Nosova to take a defensive swat at it. The return fell in, but it was weak enough that Erica had enough time to send a powerful backhand winner to the opposite corner before Nosova could get there. Nosova would tie it with her next serve, getting a nice winner past Erica within a couple volleys, but proceed to hook a shot out on her second serve. The unforced error put Erica up 2-1 in the tiebreak, and now the Drawkian had two serves coming up.

Erica cashed in both her serves, getting one ace past Nosova on the inside, then easily controlling the next volley before finishing it off with a nice drop shot to go up 4-1. Nosova crawled back by winning both her serves, but Erica made up with it by winning her serves in return, bringing the score to 6-3. Erica tried her best to put thoughts of the stakes out of her mind. Yeah, she was one point away from the Olympics, but if she wasn't careful, she'd have to battle for a whole other set. It was time to finish things. Match point, after all.

Nosova was clearly feeling the pressure. Her first serve deflected off the top of the net, forcing her to serve again. Because of that, her next serve was lighter, just aiming to avoid fault. It was soft enough for Erica to thump a commanding return on it, forcing Nosova to retreat a bit. From there, Erica had the edge. She sent the ball spinning to the other side of the court with her forehand, and Nosova had to chase after it. Erica sent her to the opposite corner with her next shot. She could feel the winner coming, she just had to execute. Nosova's return was barely in time, a tall looping shot that hung in the air for Erica to swat at. She took a couple steps, waited back, and fired the ball dead center a few inches in front of the baseline. That was the tiebreak, the set, and the match.

Erica hugged and congratulated Nosova as graciously as she could considering the circumstances, but she couldn't keep herself from grinning widely when she shook hands with the umpire. She was going to the Olympics, like actually going. Whether she would actually make it more than a round of two deep remained to be seen, but she'd made it into the dance. What more could you ask for?

NORTHCOTE OVAL
After missing qualification in the largest World Cup format ever, and proceeding to go on yet another mediocre Cup of Harmony run, the Kick Corps were in a weird spot. Their previous manager Ellzidan had just been fired, but she was also a member of the roster as a backup midfielder. Due to the quick turnaround between the CoH and the Olympics, former Kick Corps assistant manager (and domestic manager of the Gelia Nets) Katrina Brinley was thrust in as interim manager.

The team was reeling, but there is one advantage the Corps had, and that was their status as a regular national team. Most squads in the women's Olympic football tournament were the secondary teams for their nations, afterthoughts for many and surprising powerhouses that didn't get much attention for others. Fewer still were headed by those that started or played roles on a co-ed national team, as is vogue around these parts. Not many have the distinction of Drawkland's Kick Corps.

In Drawkland, soccer is considered a fully women's sport. Men (with the exception of Eleven weird guys) don't play the sport past grade school or gym class. So, the women's team for Drawkland is just their regular national team. It plays in the favor of the Kick Corps, a seasoned if not unlucky outfit that has experience navigating the hells of the World Cup cycle. Most of their opponents have never had to deal with that level of competition.

This was evident enough with Drawkland's comfortable 2-0 win over Ko-oren on the second matchday. If you'd told a Drawkian that the Kick Corps had defeated Ko-oren 2-0 in a soccer match devoid of additional context, they'd think you're insane. Instead, it was a pretty reasonable result riding on the backs of goals from Cam Cross and Cece Benbow, plus an excellent performance in goal by McKenna Reed.

The Olympic qualifying format is quite unforgivable, of course. With only 12 teams making the true tournament in Hamilton, the only teams advancing from qualifiers are those that top their group. There is no room for error. And when the Corps were faced up against United Mandaran States, the assignment was obvious. Win or go home. The Corps had done plenty of "going home" lately, so the pressure was definitely on for this match.

The Kick Corps ladies had a pretty churned roster for their finale in Prescott, featuring none other than Ellzidan holding down center midfield from the opening whistle. She hadn't played a full match for Drawkland in her tenure as manager. She was always on the reserve roster, but only entered games a few times as a late emergency substitute when times were truly dire. Katrina Brinley, whether by her own volition or by aggressive suggestion by the Elf herself, decided to have Ellzidan in the starting lineup.

It turned out to be a good decision. Ellzidan was very active defensively, thwarting several Mandaran sequences near midfield and keeping Drawkian possession going through most of the match. She couldn't do it all, obviously. Liviana Syamsuri of UMS had a very nice shot from the edge of the box that snuck past Alyssa Hull for the first goal of the match around the 40th minute. At that point things seemed a little dire, but the Corps convened at halftime and put together a more solid offensive plan.

The two youngsters in the Corps forward line, Cece Benbow and Cherry Octavia, were both putting a lot of pressure on the Mandaran defense. Coming out of the half, they finally got home. Octavia got a solid crosser from Cece, and knocked a shot past Kadek Suratmini to level the score in just the 51st minute. Things came to a head a little later. During a long Mandaran possession, Ellzidan managed to suddenly dash in and intercept a slightly slow pass, turning momentum around and forcing everybody back on the counterattack. Things escalated quickly. Ellzidan got the ball to Praxis Collingwood, who found Cece Benbow streaking towards the box, barely staying onsides. Cece got the pass from Cece, skirted past Farida Hamid, and shot a missile just out of the reach of Suratmini to put Drawkland ahead.

The defense did their job to hold the score, and twenty minutes later, Drawkland had officially notched the win. 2-0-0 is all they needed in the three-team group. Drawkland football was officially going to the Olympics. We're sure Ellzidan is thrilled for her team to actually qualify for something, but her schedule for the first week of the Olympics just got a lot more annoying.

WALKERS STADIUM
While the normal Kick Corps has the inside track for the matters of women's football, the Elite Eleven face the opposite problem. The Kick Corps have been playing pro-level ball for the last several cycles, mostly facing competition that hasn't been doing that. Meanwhile, the Elite have been out of international soccer since IAC-18. And make no mistake, most of these men's teams in the Olympics are made up of elite U23 or even senior national teams that are quite used to tough competition. The road to the Olympics for the Elite Eleven would not be so simple.

This was quite the case in the Elite's opening match against Qasden. The team looked real rusty. Their chemistry is on point, as one can come to expect from the Elite, but their shots were errant and Qasden's keeper really had nothing to fear all match. Thankfully, the Elite's defense was also on point. Late in the match it was apparent that a Drawkian score was unlikely, so the Elite decided to play defense and punt, killing time and deciding to pick things up next game. As Qasden had played to a scoreless draw against Libesia in the first matchday, it was clear that the final match between Drawkland and Libesia would determine the fate of the group. Qasden couldn't get into the goal in the final minutes, and Drawkland took the draw.

With that result, Qasden was surely eliminated, having scored 0 goals in 180 minutes. If either team in the Drawkland vs Libesia match scored, Qasden would be eliminated for good. Thus, the Elite had to focus on scoring, if anything to prevent a three-way drawing of lots.

"We'd prefer to win, of course," Roger Apollo (the Elite's designated captain when playing soccer) said to the team prior to the match. "But really, we just gotta score and not lose. That'll keep us alive."

"Alive for what? Getting screwed over by dumb luck?" Mike Rodney shook his head. "I don't think that's the move."

"Of course we're gonna go for the win," Jaxon clarified. He was well aware that Mike had occasional moments of prescience, but he wasn't infallible. "But if it comes down to the wire, we'll go into brick wall mode like we did against Qasden."

"Quick question!" Jack Hoy piped up from the back of the room. He looked pretty ridiculous in his soccer kit, mostly because it was bizarre to see him in a uniform that didn't have (gridiron) football pads bulging underneath. "What is a 'draw?' I keep hearing you guys use that word, but I got no clue. Do we need to bring markers to the field or something?"

"For shit's sake-" somebody in the Elite said, before Leo Cross smacked Jack on the back of his head with a hand the size of a dinner plate.

These events came to pass. Libesia was playing a much tougher game than Qasden, threatening the Drawkian box often and keeping Septimus Xander busy in the net. They broke through first, with Muhammad Kaba finding Gaston Rouanet in a soft spot of the Elite defense. Rouanet had a gap between Craig Bakker and Dominic Southers, and he fired it the opposite direction of Septimus's dive for the go-ahead goal in the first half.

The Elite weren't done fighting either. They put plenty of pressure on Libesia's end, eventually getting a shot blocked by Ubaid Safar to go over the back line for a corner. Safar had been flawless thus far, thwarting several Elite attempts at equalizing. Now they had a corner kick, though, and the pressure was really on. Mike Rodney took the kick, sending a booming, arcing shot to the clusterfuck of players around the goal. The ball bounced off somebody's noggin away from the goal, floating above the mess ... and Ross Hunter's head jumped out above the rest. Ross yanked his head across at the perfect time, bouncing the ball into the corner of the goal before Safar could get to it. Game tied.

It was pretty late in the game at that point, and it was clear that none of the Elite's set pieces had been working out. They decided to fall back, as decided earlier. Either they'd get a magical counterattack for a quick goal at the end, or they'd kill the clock and survive to draw lots. It wasn't the best decision, but it was avoiding an outright death. The first part of the plan worked. Despite a few solid shots on goal by Libesia, Septimus remained solid in the net to keep the score level.

After 90 minutes and stoppage time, the score was level at 1-1. As both teams scored, Qasden was eliminated. As both teams were still tied, it would come to a drawing of lots, rather than extra time or a shootout or anything. The captains convened with the referee at the center of the pitch, with the randomly-selected sticks held and and masked in the referee's hands. Somehow, Drawkland's qualification was coming down to whoever got dumbly lucky in their selection.

"What do you think, Mike?" Roger Apollo asked as the Elite clumped on one end of the center circle. As the captain of the soccer squad, Roger was going to be responsible for picking the straw.

"Uh ..." Mike squinted a bit, giving quick glances to Jaxon, Septimus, and Elias in the clump. After a moment, he shook his head. "Couldn't tell ya man. You know how probability is."

"Yeah. Yeah, that's what I figured." Roger grimaced. He was hoping for the easy out, but Mike wasn't willing to offer any predictive insight for the draw. That's probably for the best, Roger thought to himself. Integrity of the game, and all that.

Roger approached the referee. Drawkland had to draw first. The referee held the five sticks of varying length in his hand, whose true size was hidden in his grasp. With a deep breath, Roger stepped forward, and resolutely picked the straw furthest to the right. When he revealed its length, relief filled his body. It was long, sturdy, robust. A straw so long it was honestly surprising that it fit in the ref's hand without protruding out any further and revealing itself. It would be nearly impossible for Libesia's selection to beat that.

Busar Hamidi, Libesia's soccer captain, anxiously approached the referee himself. Somehow, it was all coming down to this. Which lot would Hamidi draw? After an agonizing moment of keeping everyone in Agri waiting, Hamidi snatched a straw from the referee's hand ... and it was short. Far too short. A direct comparison wouldn't even be necessary. Roger held the longer straw in his hand, and Drawkland won the lot. All the Elite Eleven were going to the Olympics, even if the ones having to manage qualifying matches in their individual disciplines didn't make it through.

by **Chromatika** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 9:48 pm

KEY FIGURES FROM THE XVIII OLYMPIAD

JERICHO COLTS
Day -2

As he arrived at Hamilton, a full eighteen days before he would be competing in the Marathon for Chromatika, Jericho Colts had his nose buried on his phone to watch Nils Skoglund win the Men's 100M Freestyle in the extra preliminary rounds to qualify for the Olympics. Every time that he watched his fellow athletes compete, he felt immense pride in both what they were doing and in knowing that he would be doing the same in the last day of the Olympics; the twenty-seven year old raised a fist in celebration, drawing looks from other athletes that had arrived with him in the team shuttle bus as they made their way toward Athlete's Village.

A self-proclaimed sports nut, Colts was notoriously famous for going to dozens of events during the days leading up to the Marathon. Chromatiks made a game of trying to find him every day in the footage of other sports in the host city that hosted the Marathon, viewing him as an unofficial mascot of sorts. Otherwise, he could be found in the many viewing areas available, watching the results of the other half of the Olympics being held in the other host city.

"Did our boy make it?" Asked Manuel Girand, his fellow Marathon teammate. As someone who trained with Jericho regularly, both Manuel and Grégory Lefebvre liked to tag along. Manuel preferred the aquatic sports while Grégory was more of a fencing/archery guy; to Jericho, they were the perfect wing-mates for the sports binge that he liked to go on every Olympics.

"Yep! That's another one for Nils!" exclaimed Jericho excitedly, "We're actually doing a lot better in the pool than anyone thought we would. Sure, it'll be a different story once the actual competition starts, but for someone like him, just getting the experience is worth so much."

Grégory chuckled as the three Marathon athletes made their way off of the shuttle bus. They had all asked to be sent to Electrum with plenty of time to spare, and it wasn't just so they could get over jetlag or get used to the climate; they intended to be at many of the events as possible (while keeping themselves ready for the race to come). Besides, they were only two days early for the Opening Ceremony, where very athlete should be at anyway - nobody in Chromia surely minded that?

"Where are we headed today?" asked Manuel pointedly at Jericho, "Do we need to head over immediately, or do we have time to put away our things?"

"We can head to the track leisurely after dropping our stuff off," answered Colts, "The events there don't start for another two hours. Time to see if many of our runners can make it in, especially the distance ones."

"You mean you want to see Filippa race," Grégory teased. The romance between Filippa Bogdanov and Jericho Colts was a well-known fact in the Chromatik Athletics Athletes, and the two of them liked to poke at Jericho for it all the time.

Ignoring the two's jabs, Jericho led the pack toward where the Chromatik athletes would be staying.

Two hours later, he watched as his girlfriend qualified for the Olympics in the Women's 10,000M - her second qualification these Olympics.

Things were off to a great start.

by **Haruhata** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 10:05 pm

GOING SWIMMINGLY? - THE STORY OF TWO SWIMMERS Pt.1

Article by Saamgan Tuwon (taken from Day -9)

Over the past five days, the aquatic preliminary rounds have been taking place at the Schimpol International Aquatics Centre in Schimpol, Liventia. With hundreds of swimmers fighting for their place at the upcoming Olympiad, the venue has been filled to the brim with tension, heartbreak and happiness as races have been taking place here every other day. This no different for the two Haruhati swimmers who hoped to claim a spot at the Olympiad, the first for Haruhata. In the freestyle category for 100m and 200m is 26-year-old Ginheterhun Alhaar from Alhaanfuutar, and in the butterfly for 100m and 200m is 21-year-old Ageheisen Huuwali from the Halaarsuursu Province. Though two have different stories to tell, both want to represent Haruhata to the best of their abilities, in the sport they love.

For Ginheterhun Alhaar, the Olympiad is perhaps his last chance to prove himself. At age 26, he is nearing the end of his competitive career, after paving the way for swimmers in Haruhata. Specialising in freestyle swimming, he holds the current national record for front crawl in 50m, 100m and 200m, an achievement he accomplished 3 years ago at the National Haruhati Swimming Championships. Despite his potential displayed from 2017 - 2021, Ginheterhun was unable to break through the crowded international competitions, consistently showing poor results, even his fastest times unable to prove successful. Eventually, these international setbacks followed him to his home turf, losing the freestyle title in 2022, failing to reach the top 3 ever since. His age beginning to catch up on him, his times decreased year by year, opening up the market for a new, younger swimmer to take his place. As a result, ever since the announcement of Haruhata's participation in the Olympiad, Ginheterhun made it his personal goal to compete, one last push to top off his imperfect career. The event was more than the medals, but to push himself even further. This new fire inside of him was immediately noticed, seen in his streak of 1st places in freestyle races on the run up to the Haruhati Olympics selection, where he won the chance to represent Haruhata at the Olympiad much to the surprise of fans. Despite his recent successes however, his chances of actually making it past the preliminary rounds were seen as slim.

11 Days prior to the official start of the XVIII Olympiad, the first heats of the 200m freestyle took place, amongst a multitude of other swimming events. Whilst a few events had already taken place, this day would mark the first appearance of a Haruhati athlete at any Olympiad competition. Historically, Ginheterhun had found the 200m to be his strong suit, though up against 89 of the world's best swimmers and only 32 spots available, things were looking unlikely for the veteran. Prior to the race, Ginheterhun was described as stoic, meditating throughout the run up to the race. In fact, this had become the norm for the usually charming and confident swimmer days before the race. In interviews, his smile had grown weak, and his words few. Though he did not give much away through words, one thing was for certain: this event meant everything for him. Having failed to qualify to previous international swimming competitions, to take part at the Olympiad would be the cherry on top of his career, or perhaps even motivate him to push further for another few or more years.

The freestyle 200m was raced in heats, with the top 32 overall qualifying for the Olympics. Ginheterhun had been placed in the 2nd heat, fairly early on in the day. He seemed eerily composed as he took his place on the stands. Swimming his usual front crawl, he placed an impressive 3rd in his heat, with a time of 1:46.60, his fastest time in recent years. His reaction following the race told it all however, standing in quiet shock as he finally snapped back to reality. However, past the initial shock, the realisation of sitting through the rest of the heats, waiting to see if he would be knocked down from the top 32. And race after race, he saw himself get knocked lower and lower and lower. The tension could be seen upon his face. Though his time was impressive, other's were more impressive. That only made the relief more impressive when the final result was revealed. Ginheterhun had only just made it in the top 32, placing 32nd. Though he would have to swim a lot faster to even reach the finals, let alone a medal, it was the personal victory that effected him the most. Despite years of failure he was able to prove to himself and the world that he could swim amongst the best of the best, even if he was not likely to reach the final or win a medal. Finally, the flame inside once doused by loss after loss was reignited, a torch he would carry with him throughout the rest of the competition...

To be continued....

by **Quebec and Shingoryeo** » Tue Sep 10, 2024 11:28 pm

OOC: Follow-up from a previous RP piece I wrote back in Twin Cities-Prescott.

Tricolour Taegeuk: Days of Future Past

Future - Part 1: Juliette Oleksiak-Collinson [Athletics]
Future - Part 2: Abdullah Ibn Salam [Association Football]
Future - Part 3: Taras Sen [Rhythmic Gymnastics]

Past - Part 1: Hannah James-Yim

'Not a great start, that's for sure,' Hannah James-Yim said as they slowly stirred their drink in a Schimpol cafe about several blocks away from Schimpol International Aquatics Centre. The Team Quebec coach, who was once a legend herself with two gold and five overall medals won in last two Summer Olympics, ordered an overpriced cup of cappuccino while her colleague, emerging auteur director Emerson Hahm, had opted for a chamomile tea that's intended to calm his stomach a bit. 'Soulaine [Smithers-Bordeleau] and Anne [Lamouche-Carr] never seem to cycle together in butterfly, which is very frustrating for everybody, and we'll have to see Catherine [Sooleawa] and Juliette [Krief-Elsevier] do on the 200 medley tomorrow. 400 certainly went well but with how things have been looking like for everybody, always good to aim for the most optimal situation possible.'

'Sounds like a lot to worry about, especially with how the swimmers haven't been performing as expected so far in preliminaries, and you have your swimmers to worry on top of the national team. The news haven't exactly been promising,' answered Emerson, as the young, balding director were trying his best to provide her his honest answers. Unfortunately, despite his best intentions, it was clear that he didn't have the depth to really give her a convincing answer, and he was just trying his best to give a positive note to wrap up the answer. 'I'm sure there will be second chances coming sooner than later though, so let's keep a positive mind to it.'

They both knew that, perhaps because despite Emerson's best attempts to keep up with the results, and their regular texts, he had struggled to adjust to the reality where the national team didn't feature guys like Hong Woo-Rahm - nevermind the fact that he's been retired for over a decade, after Prescott-Twin Cities XVI - or Hannah, and that Souleiman Kaya, at age 33, aged too quickly to the point where his crash out of the men's 400m individual medley, the event he won silver in Afanc Strait just six years earlier, surprised nobody.

The look on Hannah's eyes certainly suggested that she's not exactly in the mood to point that out of her partner of several years now. 'Hard to say, the team's feeling off-sync right now, and with Tungortok already out of preliminaries for both backstrokes, certainly people are feeling the pressure to not disappoint now,' Hannah answered, as she firmly squinted her eyes twice in an attempt to restore concentration into her eyes, before giving him a light smile. 'You know I'm just happy to see you again though. Didn't expect you to make it all the way to Schimpol if anything.'

'What is there to say?' said Emerson, as he nervously tried to continue before realising that he was feeling lost too. Emerson Hahm, if anything, barely recognised Hannah James-Yim as he remembered, and would have felt a great deal of shame if not for the fact that they, who were just two of hundreds of thousands of foreigners present in Liventia for the Olympics.

Not that he could blame himself though, considering that they had only seen each other twice in last six months until just an hour ago, when he had surprised her in the stands of the Schimpol International Aquatics Centre. Dressed in a very comfortable Team Quebec tracksuit, pink sunglasses and both golden earrings on, with her blonde hair untied to the shoulder's height, Hannah James-Yim looked very different from her usual self that Emerson always remembered, which was the Schottic-Quebecois wearing tee-shirts, jeans and kept her hair tidied up in a bun inside a green Twin Cities Celtics cap.

Even as someone working on a visual dimension like film and television whose precision with the mis-en-scene was well known already, Emerson was still having issues processing the image since he arrived in Schimpol just few hours earlier on an overnight flight from Joongyeong to Schimpol, and it all but showed in the public setting that added to his nerves. 'I...I....' he was trying to say, though without a right word coming up. Hannah was noticing that too, perhaps too aware that Emerson, with the way his pupils were shaking, was stuck halfway between incognito and adoration. She didn't mind that though, as that aspect in him, where occasional joy and gaze of a child would slip out of someone so serious and thoughtful in his literary approach to the visual mediums he employed, was what caused Hannah to reciprocate his love in the first place five years ago when they had first met at a friend's wedding in Attawapiskat.

'It's fine, I know what you are thinking baby,' Hannah stopped him as she lightly raised both her hands to slow down. Emerson, running out of breath, let go immediately to both their relief. 'If this isn't love, to cancel and skip plans just to be with one another, what is it for?' She said, trying to remind him of what happened last Autumn when she flew and drove for thirty hours to be there for his birthday in middle of a Delaclav desert, where he was filming his directorial debut 'Map of the Problematique'. He, finding himself lost in middle of what would turn out to be a slightly tempestuous filming process, had gotten forgotten about his own birthday, causing then-28 year old to cry endlessly on set.

'You are right,' Emerson smiled back, as he stared briefly into Hannah's green eyes. 'It's love.' In many ways Emerson was slightly relieved that his girlfriend, who was just two years older than him at 31, was a more daring person than anytime he ever was. Committment issue, after all, was something that Emerson found to be a personal weakness, especially after suffering half-dosen breakups before Hannah over it. And it's not like they ever had a choice either, or to let it a deterrent, considering how similar and different they were at the same time. Emerson's career as a film director and before that in television had meant that overnights, flights and months of shooting were common, meaning that he would miss birthdays and celebrations more often than not, instead accompanied by wreaths and wedding gifts in absentia. This commitment-based issue, something that would often run in counter with his family's heavy social calendar, was that caused Emerson to disagree majorly in his twenties with his parents, third-generation Kingston Board of Education educators, and would only go ahead thanks to his grandfather, Hall of fame goaltender and coach Sir. Alexandre Browne-Hahm, endorsing his education at St. Croix and then its affiliated Institut des cinématographiques [IDC].

Coincidentally this was Hannah, who had become a coach at Mipojoseon multi-sports club in her hometown of Twin Cities post-retirement, was no better either. Being the second-generation Olympian, whose 70-year old mother Rebecca James, was a Schottic legend before moving to coach for Team Quebec and with the IRSEA swim team at their former campus in Saclay, she was used to very regular, regimented schedule that came with neverending practices, though she, like Emerson, would spend weeks if not months away on domestic meets, international competitions and of course training camps abroad in warmer, more year-round options with Olympic-sized outdoor pools in Acadiana, Banija or West Aotearoa. While Hannah didn't mind the routine, mostly thanks to Rebecca and her sister Mara's best efforts, decades of being on the grind had meant that when it was time for her to transition into coaching, she drew a light sigh of relief.

'How's Becca doing?' He then turned to ask his girlfriend how Rebecca James, his future mother in law, was doing. The Schottic-Quebecois, who had coached for almost forty years with IRSEA-Saclay, Yongma College and Team Quebec, had retired from coaching after the 2062 Afanc Strait-Jolbonopolis Olympics six years ago. Now aged 70 and with two grandsons Isidore and Laurent Fitzgibbon from their elder daughter Mara, she was happy to be away, quietly on the stands, for what would be her ninth olympic in attendance [IX-X as player, XI-XII and XIV-XVII as coach]. 'Must be a weird experience, I'm sure we'd feel the same if either of us retire and just have no bones to pick in the race so we just watch as true bystanders.'

'Mum? Well she's still there, a bit more frustrated than not like me, but you know why she's more frustrated than me over it,' Hannah grinned as she answered. 'Shorts will always be the dearest to her heart as it was in Centralis or Kytler Bay City.' For every mild temper and goodwill Rebecca James had carried on the pool, which had made her such a beloved figure in her four decades with the Tricolour Taegeuk, she always carried in her that minor disappointment that she's unable to sustain a group of short-distance prospects in freestyle. Rebecca James, while a behemoth on multiple strokes, was really a short-distance freestyle specialist on international level.

This, coincidentally enough, was the weakest spot for Quebecois swim team whose strengths had primarily been on more technical races in backstroke, butterfly and individual medley. Furthermore, even when she'd have strong freestyle swimmers they were all long-distance swimmers like Baek Tae-Ho or Glenda Sochan, both 800m guys who had medalled in last two Olympics. She had one exception to it, that being Hannah's older sister Mara, but she was unable to recover from the yips that had occurred to her in her collegiate years. 'But I'm sure that her and Mara only have good things to say, and best to wish for me. That's all they could really do at this point,' Hannah continued.

'Don't worry too much about them, baby,' said Emerson, as he felt his left hand twitch a bit. He, being a lifelong smoker who would smoke a packet a day, had felt the urge, but with Liventia and Electrum's strict anti-smoking laws, and his wife's employment on a sport where smoking is considered taboo, he knew he had to ignore. Already his coat, full of cigarette smell from the packet he had burned at the Joongyeong Bobigny International Airport, carried plenty of that. 'the in-laws know it as much as I do, even though I may be a blind man, that you know your shit.' he then coughed, perhaps thinking about giving her a light kiss, but decided to wait as he resumed. 'You know we are rooting for you.'

by **StrayaRoos** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 12:10 am

Pale Herald
Olympics Day -2: What happened when you were sleeping
25/7/32

Canoe Slalom: Whatever demons an awful finish in the C-1 time trial gave Sienna Rtil, she’s banished by now. She came back with a vengeance in the K-1 time trial, managing her third-best time ever, 95.74, only behind her gold-medal-winning run in Prescott and Twin Cities, and her 2nd run in the qualifying of the same event. Maybe this is a sign she’ll be back on that top step of the podium in Schimpol? Hopefully, it is.

Athletics: What a difference four years makes. The Roosian athletics team has had a rollercoaster of success and failure since entering international competition 12 years ago when Jeff Kal entered the global athletics tour. In the XVI games, a brief high was Kal’s bronze in the flagship 100m event, while then in the XVII games, the only thing close to a high was Rachel Pytr’s performance in the Heptathlon, which included an OHB in the High Jump. But this time around, well, everyone seems to be qualifying. Only four athletes haven’t qualified out of the ones that’ve already competed, and this could be a team capable of bringing home a large medal haul from the games.

Water Polo: The Dolphins have made it through to the last 12 on their first attempt, thanks to a stunning last-minute team play ending with a goal from Kaitlyn Laoala that broke the 10-10 tie with the St Kristofian side, coming straight off a saved shot from the opposing Centre Forward, which landed in the hands of Alana Zlaka, who swam with it up to the halfway point of the pool, before passing it to Abby Rexal, who passed it on to Laoala, who converted it with ease, and the Roosian fans in the crowd, and the remaining players on the bench immediately started celebrating. No matter the sport, there’s something in a last-minute winner. This is hopefully the first of many for Roosian sides at these games.

Rugby Sevens: Today's final day of Rugby Sevens qualifying will be decisive for both the men’s and women’s teams. Both sides are stuck in a three-way tie with 7 points each and have to win to advance. First, in the men’s draw, the Emus beat Ko-oren after Victor Yea scored three tries in the second half to take the score from 12-7 to 26-12, and after results went and created a free-for-all for the top of the group. To win, the Emus need to win or draw with Quebec and Shingoryeo, and hope the Panay Islands and Guimaras side doesn’t beat Kanmer by the margin of the STR-QUE game +31, or win if the Emus and Quebec play out a draw. Meanwhile, the Women’s side has to play Estogium for their spot, while Crpostran, who’s ahead by 28 PD, play Kanmer. The Emus need a Kanmer upset and to win themselves, with no other option to advance. The Emus could’ve led the group unbeaten had they won their Round four game, but lost 24-12 to Crpostran, as pacy winger Mika Maylis scored two tries in quick succession late, breaking the 12-12 deadlock and making it 24-12 for the Crpostrani side.

3x3 Basketball: The Kangaroos have their fate in their own hands coming into Round 5 of the qualifying stage of the men’s 3x3. They sit 3-0, undefeated in second, although leaders Krytenia are 3-1 and above the ‘Roos on Points Difference. But the Roos are all but guaranteed advancement, having won yesterday against the Krytenians, thanks to a spectacular game from Ali Viyal, where he scored 12 points and got 8 rebounds, 5 offensive and 3 defensive. It was pretty much Viyal against Krytenia, considering how anonymous the rest of the team was. The Kangaroos will play 5th place Valanora for their final game of the round-robin.

Today: The last day of qualification, minus the few Track Cycling and Sailing events taking place tomorrow, is where all the excitement is going to happen. The aforementioned team sports qualifiers are coming down to the wire, while the women’s basketball side has a decisive match against Electrum, Rachel Pytr will hope to rescue her qualification hopes in the Heptathlon after a disastrous first day that put her in 64th, 145 points off the top 32, and Louis Yetr will return for his third games in skateboarding in the Men’s Park event again, hoping to build on his qualification to the final last time.

Watch the Games of the XVIII Olympiad live and free on Channel 8 and 8extra from July 22

by **Malta Comino Gozo** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 1:30 am

Malta Comino Gozo at the XVIII Olympiad

Malta Comino Gozo. vs Alezian Union

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]

Malta Comino Gozo (MCG), determined to advance in the XVIII Olympiad, faced off against the Alezian Union (ALE) in a must-win match. After their 1-1 draw with Polkopia, MCG needed a 2-0 victory to top Group F. Playing an unchanged side from their previous match, MCG looked confident from the start.

The first half saw MCG dominating possession, with their attack led by captain and striker Lucas Calleja. MCG created a flurry of chances, putting ALE’s defense under constant pressure. Despite Alezia managing 8 shots on goal, MCG’s 15 attempts told the story of the game. The breakthrough came just before halftime in the 41st minute when Calleja, showing his class, slotted the ball past the Aleziangoalkeeper to give MCG a 1-0 lead.

However, despite numerous chances, MCG could not find the second goal they desperately needed. Striker Glen Mifsed and midfielder Blake Bruffa both had promising opportunities in the second half, but ALE’s goalkeeper was up to the challenge, making several key saves.

Defensively, MCG was solid, with goalkeeper Marky Arenas pulling off important saves to keep a clean sheet, but the frustration grew as the clock ticked down. As the final whistle blew, MCG's hopes of advancing to the knockout stages were dashed. Despite the 1-0 win, they fell just short meaning Polkopia advanced from Group F.

In the post-match interview, MCG's new manager Michele Cammileri didn’t hide his disappointment. "I’m annoyed," he told MCG Sports. "To be fair, I am disappointed; being drawn in a group with only three teams and only playing two matches doesn’t sit well with me at all. That format is all wrong!"

With this result, both Malta Comino Gozo and Alezian Union bow out of the Olympiad, while Polkopia moves forward.

by **A Kea** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 2:07 am

Olympic Countdown

by KTV

Tonight's the 3rd episode of Olympic Countdown, our hosts Athanasia Karvela and Ioannis Hatzinasios are joined by two more Olympians. This time we're thrilled to welcome swimmer Johnny Kontostavlos and taekwondoin and flagbearer Vicky Karpouza.

A: Vicky I'm interested to learn why you started with taekwondo. It's not a popular sport in our country now, despite you bringing it to the spotlight for two consecutive Olympics already. It certaintly was unheard of back when you started it. Can you give us some insight?
V: Well, let me clarify that I didn't start from taekwondo. At first my parents enrolled me in ballet classes. Can you imagine me being a ballerina? Yeah, it obviously didn't go well. I was more of a tomboy growing up and couldn't stand doing something so girly. I wanted to do a martial art, cause you know they told me that "Girls can't fight" and all that stereotypical bullshit and I had to prove them wrong. I started at karate but at some point my childhood friend Kostas told me he started taekwondo and thought it'd fit me more. I was around 12 I think when I switched and I haven't regretted it one bit. Now we're both part of the Kean Olympic team, us two were the first to represent our country in taekwondo two years ago, and I'd like to think that we played a small part in the increase of the delegation in our sport.
I: Johnny, first of all congratulations on your success in the qualification. You've qualified in all your individual events, including one relay and have already made us proud by being the first and only Kean swimmer to win a medal two years ago. What are your hopes for your third Olympiad?
J: Well, getting straight to the point, I want another medal. Qualifying with the fastest time in 200m breaststroke is a good indicator of my shape and preparedness for these games. I've moved abroad in these last months to train with some world class trainers and athletes and unlock my full potential. Results are already showing. Last year I was in two Olympic finals but sadly couldn't repeat my success from two years ago, that's when I got determined to do everything in my power now. Being a naturally good swimmer helps but not to the extent of winning medals, I was just lucky in my first attempt but didn't realize it in time to prepare properly for last Olympics. So now, I hope to make up for the "wasted" year and return to the podium.
I: Vicky, you didn't tell us about your own Olympic experience, also how does it feel to be the first Kean flagbearer coming from a martial art?
V: Well, the Olympics have been an amazing but slightly disappointing experience for me. Both times I ended up in the bronze medal final, both times I lost leaving me with a bitter taste. It hurt more the second time. I went into my first Olympics with no medal hopes, just to go as far as I could, when I saw that the "as far as I could" is actually a 5th place I realized that I can do even better, and sadly that even better is yet to come. Which is why I'm surprised I actually was selected as a flagbearer, I thought our committee prioritizes medalists which is why I'm extremely honoured to be one of the 4 flagbearers this year. I hope to finally make you proud by raising our flag all the way to an Olympic podium.
A: You have already made us and your sport proud, you put taekwondo on the map in A Kea and put A Kea on the world taekwondo map, that's a huge achievement with or without a medal.

I: Let's now connect to Kristie in Hamilton and see what our athletes achieved in today's qualification day.

Well, today is a historic day for Kean tennis as Niki Refa becomes the first Kean player to qualify for the Olympics through the qualification event in our first participation in this sport.

Oh God, I can't believe it actually happened. With all my teammates already eliminated, excluding John and Maro obviously that are directly through to the games, I thought my chances of advancing were also small. Kean tennis is far behind the rest of the world because of the internal issues within our federation, they didn't let us compete in international tournaments, they didn't let us compete at the Olympics, we've missed out on so much experience and practice. It's insane how easily I won today. Beating Donna Tsaryova, a player with some tournament experience, with her winning just one set? And we also won our doubles game with Elisavet, one more win and we're through. Keeping my fingers crossed for that and for many other tennis successes.

We also had athletics successes, with the most notable one being last year's silver medalist, Miltiades Tangeou qualifying in long jump.

I qualified as 8th, not what I came here for but I got the job done. 8,25 on my first jump is good, I knew it'd be more than enough to qualify so I didn't really bother wasting more energy on it. Now it's time to focus on the actual show, I have to defend my medal and I know I'm capable of it. Non stop training time until the games.

We might have lost some athletes, including big medal hopes like our water polo team that got all the way to the final last year, but the games are looking very promising for our island regardless.

A: Once again thank you all for tuning in, and can't wait to see you all for our last show tomorrow.
I: And also thanks to John and Vicky for finding time in their tight schedule to join us.

by **Britonisea** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 2:25 am

Sports News
Brityunik Vefecosoin Cairkovoin
http://www.bvc.com/news
Day -2

OUT: Water Polo reigning Olympic Champions knocked out after dismal display in the pool...

The Britonish women's water polo team failed to qualify for the Olympics despite winning gold last year and at the Doportedas Water Polo Grand Prix, with the likes of Katzeburg and Kalosia beating them...

For some reason, the Britonish women's water polo team have not been playing as well as the men. The men, who qualified without losing a single game - with arguably the best record out of all competing nations - found it much easier to qualify, mirroring the dominance they displayed at both the Doportedas Water Polo Grand Prix and at the last Olympic Games. The same could not be said for the women who were unable to win a match at these qualifiers without a penalty shootout. It all started with the match against Kalosia. Kalosia finished fifth in their group stage at the Doportedas Water Polo Grand Prix with Crpostran, Empire of Kanmer and Darkmania finishing ahead of them (none of those nations qualified to the Olympics proper either). It was expected to be a relatively easy match for the Britonish women, but while Britonisea had the edge in the first two quarters of the match, Kalosia came roaring back with a burst of energy. After the third quarter, the match was level - much to the surprise of the Britonish women. The Brits struggled to ball past a defensive Kalosia, while leaving gaps to allow Kalosia to get ahead - something that cost the Britons the match. It all ended in defeat - they knew that winning the next two matches is crucial to qualify for the Olympics and the team had to quickly get over their sadness and prepare for the next match.

Cannaland Islands and Jrok'k, the eventual qualifiers from this group, were up next. An unknown nation in the sporting world, the Britons were going into this pretty blindly. To the Brits, the match was the same as the one before it. They were able to get a good start going, they knew they needed to. But Cannaland Islands and Jrok'k kept very close behind with the match ending in 8-8. It was time for Chelsea Hodges, the goalie for the women's team, to step up. These are intense moments where it's only the goalie and the shooter. The goal is to block the ball from going in. Britonisea's women were doing a good job getting the ball in the Cannaland Islands and Jrok'k goal. It was 2-2 - Hodges needed to take the pressure off the rest of the Britonish team. As the unnamed Cannaland Islands and Jrok'k shooter launched a fierce attack on Hodges, she lept in the air with all of her might - whacking the ball with mighty strength to the applause of her teammates watching in delight. The pressure turned to Cannaland Islands and Jrok'k - but that pressure got to them. The unnamed Cannaland Islands and Jrok'k goalie dived in the opposite direction to Diana Eland's ball. Britonisea won - but not by a lot. That made things harder.

Katzeburg won the final match Britonisea played. With Cannaland Islands and Jrok'k's win against Kalosia, it was certain that Britonisea wouldn't qualify for the main Olympics in what could only be described as an embarrassment for the women, but losing to Katzeburg was rubbing salt in the wound. After not qualifying, Myra Motley said: "I am disappointed not to make the Olympics. There are things we need to work on - I think the communication has broken down since the Water Polo Grand Prix, we became complacent, and there have been some changes that we should've really ironed out...yeah, not great at all really. Anyway, we are wishing the best of luck to the men."

Today is the final day before the highly-awaited Opening Ceremonies. At the end of the day tomorrow, the official flagbearers will be announced - a male and female bearer for Electrum and one for Liventia!

by **Kanmer** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 2:51 am

RANMIR DIDITAGAIN.

He did it again. What did he done? He scored. His team won. And got closer to the Olympics.

The second hockey matchday in a group 4 was played. Before the game, there were some worryings, but at the end, Empire of Kanmer defeated the hockey team of Electrum, 4-0. The first Kanmerin goal of that tournament was scored by Prakop Kirloka, the man who scored the most goals in the last Olympic Games for Kanmer, with 7 goals scored. And now, Kirloka is probably wishing to repeat that result or even to surpass it, as later he scored the second goal.
That victory was a crucial one, as in the first matchday, Electrum defeated the Kytler Peninsulae, so the game between Kanmer and Electrum could be considered as a match for the first place and Olympic qualification. After this victory, Imperial team's chances to obtain the qualification spot, were increased. Now, the game against the Kytler Peninsulae is awaiting. The Pure Empire could qualify even in the case of a draw. Or even in the case of defeat, if they will lose less then by the 4 goals. But, of course, no one is thinking about the rest and everyone in the team is motivated to get another victory.

Men's hockey, matchday 2.
KANMER 4-0 Electrum
Kanmer goals:
18' — Prakop Kirloka
22' — Alexander Andisyu
46' — Ranmir Dantagain
59' — Prakop Kirloka

Earlier, some sports fans started to think that, seeing the results in a team sports, no Kanmerin team would qualify to the main stage of the Olympic games. But those thoughts quickly were scattered, as men's water polo team became the first Imperial team who successfully passed the hard qualification. Waterpolists won all three games, defeating Magnus Phoenicia, Darkmania and Quebec and Shingoryeo. The best goalscorer was Ryhor Dwalamin, who scored 9 goals. Both handball teams have good chances to qualify. In their first matches, they achieved victories. Men's team defeated Lisander 29-27, and women's team recorded a victory over Kellsek with the same score.

Sadly, football teams are not the ones who brought good emotions to the Empire. After women's team failure, the man's team also failed to qualify. In addition to the draw against Sjovenia, they drew against Ko-oren, 2-2, even despite scoring first. The quarterfinalists of the last Games now will go back home after an Opening ceremony. At least, they finished second, and not dead last.

The fast goal from the promising Kiril Nereylik (number 36) gave a hope to the Empire...

But at the end, the emotions were the same again.

Swimming again gave the Pure Empire much better emptions then football. In the women's 200m butterfly, Swetlana Koreiden showed the best result among the 75 swimmers. Suddenly, a team consisted of Cheslau Rath (47th place individually), Aleh Dwalin (23rd place individually), Konstantsin Hrin (47th place individually) and Symon Suttarmin (22nd place individually) managed to secure the second place among the 34 nations. Among other qualifiers Ritsport could notice Mihal Kurt, Karina Antrin and Antanina Darder. And, of course, the Meme Four: Marina Kirsen, Palina Wedin, Terentiy Yus and Hardzey Kerasin. Last year, all four failed to qualify to the semifinals and the popular meme was made about them. Now they all qualified for the Olympics. Will someone made another meme?

And again, the plenty of good results came from the niche sports, like cycling. In the women's sprint of the track cycling, Inha Gutafon, who was never considered a meadal contender, suddenly broke the old world record! But at the end, she got the second best result overall, as Brandy Hendrick from Drawkland was the one who outperformed Gutafon and became a holder of a world record. Several teams also secured a qualification spot, in a competition where only 4-5 countries are advancing out of 18.

The commentaries from the Ritsport users are finally returned, and look, there is actually a meme about the Meme Four.

note: the avatar of the user "hadȟѣ" was generated with the help of the website "This Person Does Not Exist"

by **Alezian Union** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 2:53 am

Of course, the fact that the Alezian Union lost to Malta Comino Gozo in men's football and failing to move to the next stage in that sport is important. However, Alezians felt like football isn't really its' best sport. Heck, 59% of people surveyed are indifferent to it here which is a massive anomaly in the international stage. What is more sought after by Alezian Olympic enthusiasts this time, is field hockey. The sport didn't really gain popularity even in the colonial times when the sports was brought to Alezia for the very first time just before World War II. However, that sport immediately gained overnight traction due to the success of the Alezian team last Olympics.

After the team returned home, they suddenly gained a lot more investment from the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Alezian Heritage (MINCSAH). New facilities, new hockey leagues, new everything, the country got into hockey. However, there are still skeptics. Is Alezia REALLY a hidden gem in the field hockey scene, or is it just lucky last olympics? That is why both the men's coach (Khadid Damarusayn) and women's coach (Andi Rozali Yasmanuddin Aftan) both said the same thing after both teams defeated Valanora and Mytanija respectively: "Don't be too complacent, we're testing if we are indeed growing as a hockey team or if we got lucky last edition". Of course, Alezian social media and both coaches are very happy at how the national field hockey team has developed over the past few years especially lately, but everyone is waiting carefully on how that kind of support will translate in the Olympic field.

Outside of field hockey, there are also some expectations to be held for the Alezian Union's badminton team. Will it be able to repeat its success last edition? Hopefully it will because most Alezians who attended the extravaganza in Electrum and Liventia wanted to see yet another Alezian badminton success, or maybe even, repeat Amirawanti vs. Fromm again, which nowadays became a part of Alezian sporting cult classic and part of the nation's collective memory. Or EVEN IF, Amirawanti vs. Fromm couldn't be repeated, other sports can make yet another collective memory for this new country. Remember, at this point, the country is only reunified for THREE YEARS now.

by **Electrum** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 3:19 am

DAY -1 CUTOFF

There will be a cutoff that only applies to Liventia events tomorrow (Day 0) at the usual time. The next Electrum cutoff will be in 48 hours.

Roleplays posted within the next 24 hours will count to Liventia Day 0 and Electrum Day 1. Roleplays posted after the next cutoff will count to Liventia Day 1 and Electrum Day 1. If there are multiple roleplays submitted, I will mark them as a whole.

by **Ko-oren** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 6:36 am

A decade down the line for the twelve Olympic academies - how's the experiment going?

With that title concludes the research question. For a little more context: the Ko-orenite government opened twelve state-of-the-art facilities so that all Olympic hopefuls would have a proper place where they could train and prepare. Where housing and nutrition are taken care of, where trainers and equipment are present. For some sports - the big team sports, aquatics, gymnastics, athletics - every one of these facilities has something to offer. Some sports are only covered in some facilities: winter sports in northern Salamanti Academy and Aerellen Academy, for instance.

The idea was that athletes wouldn't have to rely on far more decentralised places, but that knowledge, experience, materials, and people would all be available to everyone's betterment.

That said, a nation of 28 million can't be good at everything. And that's where the first minor crack in the programme shows: twelve different facilities might still be too many for effective centralisation, or too few to protect a natural patchwork of one-sport clubs that lie in the perfect place for their specific activities. To stay with our example: Salamanti Academy might still be too far away from the slopes to set up a skiing network.

And so the plan's scope narrowed considerably just a few years in. In the first Olympics under the system - XVII - the plan was to develop a few key sports that fit the existing landscape, which is very team sport oriented. Football, hockey, cricket, baseball, a nascent basketball scene, and so on. So any individual sport that wants some of the attention will have to find a niche - or claim to have something to do with a national pastime. Orienteering, mainly. With an outdoors as grand as Ko-oren's, it would be a shame not to explore it. From there it's a short distance to our favourite individual sports: anything that covers distance to a beautiful backdrop.

Long-distance running
The ten K and the marathon obviously fit well into this. In fact, a very early attempt of the ministry that, at the time, oversaw sport, tried to draw in the multiverse with a marathon passing through the four capitals. As you would like to run these events without a lot of height differences, courses through cities along the coast are a great fit. The 10000 metre event is usually still held at Olympic academies, but marathons are usually staged as a bigger media event. The big four would be Matali Marathon through the capitals along roughly the same course as before; the Amahne Marathon with the finish along the brilliant boulevard; the Edhen Marathon along coastal cliffs, starting and finishing in the Tanques AOE stadium, and finally the Garihnkatar Marathon, which loops around the tiered bridges over the Ganthewi and Argahr that intersect the CBD. There are more events, but at a much smaller scale.

Aquatics: Open Water Swimming
It's the Marathon But Wet. And as an island nation we're not exactly short on places where you can organise a race. The Dahntiloh bight race, near Kolunedin Olympic Academy, is an important one held in the warm waters of the Ocean of Ayes. The southwest also has several big events held soon after one another: Azahnsaudh, Ohkhurshi, Maruhnudu, and Abindon, all in the vague direction of the city of Garihnkatar. There have been a lot of attempts to move the scene towards the bay with fewer waves, a less aggressive current, and generally more marketable background views, but that hasn't caught on. Still, the Gehenohn race has made its way to the calendar.

Canoeing
A bit closer to the unpredictable surfaces of Orienteering, it's the wild water events. Like Orienteering, Canoeing is huge in the city of Edihlbahl, from which it has captured the rest of the country. In between the hills near the origin of the Obadha and Eidikuna rivers there are a lot of streams and basins perfectly suited for it, and nearly all domestic events are held there instead of near academies, even if the Poninoren Olympic Academy might have some vaguely suitable places.

Cycling
Slowly but surely, Ko-oren is starting to have an immense domsetic calendar of road cycling. Starting with the Lejana Spring Classic in early spring and finishing with the late autumn Katahshi Eight, there are about 50 days of racing throughout the year, including three big multi-day events: the 8-day Amahjarau Horseshoe, going all around the bay (but not exactly known for its spectacular climbs, it's very much a sprinters' idea of a perfect tour); the 7-stage Garadaur in the southwest, which starts out calm and coastal but has some brutal climbs towards the middle stages before dashing west into quick-changing weather across the mountains. If the climbs don't harm your resolve, in some years the worst moments have come during the descent and final flat stage. Finally, there's the 6-stage Tarrashalli Arc, along the west coast, with each day featuring huge ascents and quick descents, and the final day's finish taking place uphill atop one of the harshest climbs of the country. The nations of the Constellation have also sent a few teams to add to the competition. All in all, there's 21 events, across 54 days, with every part of the archipelago featured in some way.

Sailing
Again, as an island nation, how could you not, by default, be somewhat decent at sailing? There are the easier races in the bay, but also a multi-day event chaining together the eastern islands. And yes, there's maritime orienteering as well, but that's not exactly an Olympic topic.

Sport Climbing
A recent addition to the Olympic calendar and barely a thing in Ko-oren before then: climbing. It has since become a very space-efficient pastime in cities, and as a rare sport to get its big break after the foundation of the twelve Academies, the scene is more urban than academy.

by **Doubeia** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 7:16 am

Premier Korotya cheers Doubeinese athletes on as Olympic craze blazes across the nation

QUEENSLAND, DOUBEIA — The upcoming Summer Olympics will be the perfect opportunity for Doubeinese athletes to prove themselves on the world stage, said Premier Galilea Korotya on social media earlier this morning.

Doubeinese athletes are currently preparing for the upcoming Summer Olympics in Hamilton, Electrum and Schimpol, Liventia. A newcomer to the Olympics, many Doubeinese have expressed their excitement and suspense on social media, with #Olympics711 trending on many major social media sites in Doubeia. Many users have sent their encouragements to the competing athletes, and Premier Korotya joined in with a video she posted onto her cica.da account.

"I know this might be a nerve-wracking moment for all of you, but all of Doubeia's got your back," she said, "You are already making history by going out there and competing, and never forget that all of us back home are supporting you. This Olympics will be one to remember for us, so get out there and do your best!"

Several Doubeinese athletes have responded to Premier Korotya's video, with cyclist Furio Klebleyev thanking her in a post he made on cica.da.

definitely appreciate prem korotya's words. will be gathering everyone's energy here and channel it into getting that gold medal! so thankful for everyone's support! he wrote.

Meanwhile, flights to Liventia and Electrum have been booked out after national airline Queens' Air Doubeia announced special flights to the two host nations. Queen's Air Doubeia announced yesterday that more flights would be scheduled, and passengers are advised to plan their itineraries in advance.

The Opening Ceremony will be broadcast live on ChannelMacia on 30 June at 5 pm.

by **Magnus Phoenicia** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 7:45 am

MP||VIBRGOLD

Chatrooms || Consumer and Business Portal || Fan Pages|| Gossip & News|| Groups || Live Streaming || Message Boards || Movies & Television World || Music|| Polls||Vibr Gold Encyclopaedia

Posted by: Anonymous User

It's time to pack up the hoops, balls, clubs, and ribbons.

In a stunning horrific twist, rhythmic gymnastics favorite Hathor Greene-Ngyuen faced heartbreak in the women's individual all-around preliminary round.
Despite being a top contender for the finals, she fell short of the top 24, missing her chance to advance by finishing an embarrassing 44th.

Hathor Greene-Ngyuen made her stunning debut on the international Olympic stage at just 17 years old during the XVII Olympic Games, hosted by New Oxford-Whitehaven, Afanc Strait, and Jolbonopolis in Quebec and Shingoryeo. Competing in her first finals, she held her own against seasoned athletes and secured an impressive 7th place finish, after a breathtaking performance in the qualification round. That saw her master all apparatus especially the clubs, which has been an apparatus many of her teammates back home fail to deliver stunning performances with.

That saw her overshadow team mate and nation hopeful Rabab Khan.
This was the moment fans pointed to as her stardom starting to rise. And it looks as if history has performed a similar repeat by knocking out the national favourite.

Fans are reeling and in tears as the competition moves forward without one of its brightest stars, Hathor Greene-Ngyuen, whose unexpected scores shockwaves through Magnus Phoenician fans and coaches.
Hope and prayers now shift to her teammate, Danica Davies, who narrowly scraped into the top 24, placing 22nd.
Though her initial performance lacked the spark of a top contender, Danica now carries the weight of the countries hopes as she steps into the spotlight.

After the preliminary round ended. A mad flurry of Rhythmic gymnastics fans headed to social media site VibrGold to check out the fan and bio page of Danica Davies.

Danica Davies was born in the Magnus Phoenician state of Debney Bay in the Peppercorn Beach, an upper middle class area.

Her father is a merchant and her mother a former temple prostitutie. A proud Gemini, the zodiac sign is known for its precision and technique. So what better than to pursue the sport of Rhythmic gymnastics.

Danica attends the University of Debney Bay where she is studying a Bachelor of Science with a major in Geology. Her goal is to one day become a geologist.

When she is not studying or training she lists online gaming, gardening and learning sign language as her hobbies.

Magnus Phoenicia has a solid history in the sport of Rhythmic Gymnastics, the tally sits at 10 medals and counting at an Olympic level for both men and women. When it comes to the women's discipline, it is definitely seen as more competitive. And with only two spots open in the individual all round, it can get quite cutthroat on the circuit.

Many see Rhythmic gymnastics parents on par in degrees of melodrama and toxicity as dance mums and stage mums. In a nation where football, hockey and basketball fail to bring home medals, those sports that do offer hope are quickly filled with athletes looking to do anything to obtain a place in an Olympic delegation.

Over the years Magnus Phoenicia has seen many shining Rhythmic gymnastic starlets, the three most popular are;

Sun-Hi Malvern-2 Silver medals -Ball & Hoop
Lady Jezebel Baroda- 1 Bronze
Aphrodite Del Costa- 1 Silver

Sun-Hi Malvern was contacted for comments after the qualifications, seeking her view on what happened with Hathor Greene-Ngyuen. Sun-Hi is never one to hold back her feelings, and she made no apology for her critique of Greene-Ngyuen.

“Hathor Greene-Ngyuen is known for her poise and precision in rhythmic gymnastics, so it was quite a shock to watch her today. Mediocrity comes to mind

She faced an uncharacteristic stumble during her hoop routine, the hoop slipped through her fingers early on, clattering to the floor.

She struggled to regain her rhythm, Hathor’s movements became rushed and tense.
The audience saw it, and the judging panel clearly didn't miss it
Towards the end of the hoop routine a mistimed toss saw the hoop spiral out of reach, leaving her visibly shaken.
My heart went out, I've been in her shoes. I praise her for finishing the routine with grace.

Her makeup, outfit and hair was stunning. There was nothing wrong with her exterior, but that poor Hoop performance really set her up to fail for clubs and ribbons. The confidence fled like a thief in the night.”

What are your thoughts?

Don't forget to show Danica Davies the love over in her VibrGold fan page. Our hopes for a medal in this event weights heavy on her shoulders.

by **Waisnor** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 10:56 am

Rounding up the qualifiers

As the last day of qualifiers at the Olympics came to a close, it was a complete turnaround for Waisnor - completely recovering from the disastrous first day of qualifying rounds, almost all who were expected to qualify to the Olympics did so, along with some interesting options:

Firstly, we go to gymnastics on trampoline, where we have Alisa Mikhailova representing Waisnor in women's discipline. Even though trampoline is considered the frontrunner discipline in Waisnorian gymnastics which yielded them some medals in RL Olympics, there wasn't a lot of luck on a trampoline in these Olympics: Anton Yakushev in males qualification, who was considered as a bigger favourite for qualification, placed only 47th and was eliminated. And so, Mikhailova had a lot to prove. Thankfully, she was known for her seemingly tough demeanor, which helped her a lot in tournaments to not bow to pressure and execute her routine perfectly. Her first go at the trampoline proved this: her execution of the elements was spot on and landing efficiency was incredible with almost all jumps landing on or near the cross. And so, she earned 56.310 points for her first routine, 3rd best result after the first round. Such good scores almost guaranteed her a spot at the proper Olympics, if only all other athletes would miraculously perform almost flawlessly. And so, Alisa seemed to let go of some of her intensity, which actually damaged her scores to a degree - her execution took a hit and the movements seemed more stilted. But even then, her score of 54.830 points didn't dampen the situation, because she only went down to 5th place in final results, which now meant that Alisa got herself a place at the Olympics and some hoped for Waisnorian trampoline enthusiasts.

Going to handball to once again see how women's handball team played their last match of qualifying round against Loch Dearg. This match would carry on the biggest attention of all 3 in this group stage since the outcome of this match would decide to would qualify to the Olympics proper: both Waisnor and Loch Dearg got themselves 4 points from 2 victories in previous matches, and so, in the last match, the place at the Olympics from this group would be decided between them. That meant that both teams needed to put on their best games to date to get themselves further. That also meant that Waisnorian girls had a lot more attention on their shoulders than usually. But in the beginning Waisnorians showed that they could handle this situation with aplomb - they already got themselves a 5-point leap from Loch Dearg to make a great start of a match. But it seemed too good to be true for such a team to lose their match so badly, and so, those who had this worrysome feeling, were proven right: Loch Dearg in the middle of the game began taking advantage of the mistakes Waisnorian girls began to make, and so, soon enough the gap was drawn to 2 points. That meant that tactical changed would be done from the team manager to hold off Loch Dearg. And they would work, the gap would practically stay the same with Waisnorian defence putting on performance of their lives to stop balls from Loch Dearg. In the very end, Waisnorian team managed to get another goal in their gap, making the final score of 32-29, and with that, Waisnorian handball team unexpectedly put on a perfect record which got them into Olympics.

Other Waisnorian results:
In men's 1500m in athletics, Alexey Volodko placed 4th in his heat, qualifying further
In men's 400m hurdles, Anton Govorov qualified in another one of his competitions, placing 3rd in his heat
Andrey Chirikov placed 70th in men's triple jump qualification
Oleg Bakeev qualified to the next round in men's javelin throw, placing 32nd in qualification
In women's 400m hurdles, Ludmila Komarovskaya qualified further, placing 2nd in her heat, while Marina Mazepa couldn't do so, finishing 7th in her one
Olga Mikhnyuk is eliminated from women's triple jump competitions, placing 58th in qualification
In women's javelin throw, Daria Zhuravleva qualifies further, placing 12th in qualification
In golf competitions, Ilya Komissarov finishes 121st
Ignatiy Demidovich finished 45th in men's park in skateboarding
Emma Pinchuk placed 13th in diving women's 3m springboard qualification
Vladimir Kutsiy qualifies further in his another tournament, that being men's 50m freestyle, placing 16th
In women's 200m backstroke, Alena Ustimovich placed 69th
In men's 200m individual medley, Evgeny Tsudilo finished 60th
Alexey Suchkov placed 5th in heats of men's 100m butterfly, qualifying further
In women's 200m individual medley, Anna Golovnitskaya qualifies to the next round, placing 15th, while Anna Neverova is knocked out, finishing 43rd
Lyudmila Korzun qualifies to the next round in women's 50m freestyle, finishing 10th
Waisnorian 3x3 basketball team wins their match against United Mandaran States with the score of 20-19
Men's team in regular basketball defeats Polkopia with the score of 85-75
Artyom Strizhkov places 20th in men's K-1 qualification in canoe slalom
In cycling women's keirin Evgenia Plyut placed 3rd in her heat
Vitaly Nagorny places 11th in men's omnium

Random Waisnorian tweets about Olympics:

by **Da Cunha** » Wed Sep 11, 2024 11:42 am

Near the stadium area, two women in their early 20's are walking around in some distinct, oddly long windbreaker jackets and some flashy sunglasses. One looks relaxed, taking in the environs, while the other looks quite annoyed.

"Why are we here, Zenzi? We should be preparing for the opening ceremony. I thought you'd be watching that sleepy walrus on NRDU-1 right now."

"Phátima, this IS preparation, I thought I explained this already."

"You said we were going to where we were doing the live cast of the opening ceremony."

"Yes, and..?"

"Look, I am not complaining that we're actually IN Hamilton and closer to the action. Miss the private beach house down in Newton, but this makes it easier to get athletes, I guess. But why're we walking around the stadium complex."

"Just having a look around until our contact arrives."

"Our conta-?! Innozénza, for the love of everything!"

The shorter of the two women sighs and thrusts her phone at the other.

"Read this. No, I'll explain after. Just... Read it."

-----

NRDU DISMISSES CRITICISM OF OLYMPIC COVERAGE

Executives at the NRDU today said that it believed its coverage of the Olympics so far was 'adequate' and promised to stay on course with what it called "sober and objective reporting".

NRDU's coverage has been widely panned amid controversy over the main channel deciding to only air highlights of the opening ceremony. Secretary General of the NRDU, Mrs. Elmíra Músñacq, said earlier this week that the decision had been made due to the "Crass and naked greed of the rights holders", repeating questionable claims that the price for airing the Olympics on TV has been set too high. NRDU, which covers pre-qualifying on radio, mainly, has defended its course through harsher and harsher criticism.

-----

"Oh cool, a newsflash telling me what I already now," Phátima says, handing back the phone to her sister.

"Well," says Innozénza. "I read that a bit closer than you. You see how it says they're only gonna show the highlights from in there?" She gestures at the Olympic stadium, looming into view.

"Yeah, so?"

"Well, I dug a little deeper. You know how we have press credentials?"

"Uh-huh. At like, the lowest tier possible."

"Yeah, but the stadium reserves spots for every participating nation. Well, I thought to myself: 'What will NRDU do with their broadcasting booth if they only show highlights?'"

"And..?"

"Well, turns out, they're not even gonna be there. Like... At all. I don't even know anymore. It's ridiculous."

"Wait, nothing?"

"Nothing. So I looked into it. Turns out, if the main broadcaster doesn't want it, it's just empty and open."

"...Zenzi..?"

"And none of the newspapers want it, what use do they have for broadcasting booths and space for pieces to camera?"

"Wait, you don't... You're not serious!"

"Well, guess who's gotten the Da Cunha broadcasting booth for the opening ceremony and is waiting for someone to come show us where it is."

"You're JOKING!"

"Am not, Phatíma. Am so not."

"Oh, wipe that smug grin off your face."

"Can't help it. Imagine, they're just... They've left it open. That's the one good thing about only having state TV; no commercial channels to take up the void with higher level credentials."

"They're SO gonna come and claim that booth the moment they learn we're there."

"Oh for sure! But who cares by then? I've booked a penthouse suite with an outdoor pool, and we'll do the rest from there."

"So this is just to stick it to them?"

"Not entirely," Innozénza says, waving at a man in a loose shirt at the entrance as they move closer. "We also get the publicity and that means we'll definitely get the buzz from the athletes. Definitely. Trust me, sis."

"We'll, can't be any more hair-raising than waiting for all the results to come in from the Beach Volley at the airport. Or not getting to see that guy... What's his name, Muhámmed Níhadić lose the playoff for the golf."

"Yeah... That was a rough one... Not as rough as the women's rugby going out on point differential, especially when they lost the ball at the goal line like... 5 times in the last game, but I feel for him. But you know... Sometimes, the only guy to beat you makes an eagle putt from 120 meters. ANd there's just nothing you can do about it."

"Feels like the qualifiers have had a lot of 120 meter eagle putts going against us. And not a lot of chances to win over Mytanija."

"Cheer up, Phátima. It's over today, and the real fun begins. Let's agree to focus on the positives. And not just do In Memoriam stuff like at the winter games."

"You know that was Olívija's idea and she was just too harebrained to follow through."

"Well you didn't turn down the screentime."

"Well, can't rob our audience of the prettiest one, can I?"

"Dream on, Tima...." She raises her voice slightly, turning her head towards the shirt-clad man they are now getting close to. Hey, are you Mr. Lockwood? Innozénza Golñučávca. This is my sister Phátima. We are here for the passes and a tour to our booth."

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