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Soon it will be goodbye to the British Indian Ocean Territory as they will become part of Mauritius. No permanent residents, but the descendants of expelled indigenous residents from the 70s have a “Chagos Islands” football team. Ironically, just a few months ago, they played their first match under the “BIOT” name, and their shirts had the flag which looks pretty amazing.

It’s a great redemption story, really. I normally don’t love when one athlete is put on a pedestal but Biles deserves the praise. Tbh we should celebrate how far we’ve come in women’s gymnastics. Back in 1988 the US commentator kept calling the East German teenagers “attractive” and it was super creepy https://www.tumblr.com/freifraufischer/734561603745447936/nbcs-dick-enberg-being-creepy-about-teenagers-for

Still somehow I thought polo was more likely than squash and cricket lol

Ironically the reporter's last name "Vražda" means "murder"... I wonder how this will impact the EU elections. If Fico doesn't survive, he would be the first European leader to be assassinated since Serbia's Zoran Đinđić in 2003.

Are winter sports allowed at the World Games? It would be interesting if they decide to include Ice Stock Sport or Synchronized Skating.

This is apparently a great result for Slovakia. They now get to avoid Sweden in the final Olympic qualification round, and get a weak qualifier team in their first round group instead of Latvia.

You think that’s bad wait until Olympic qualification when they have to play Mexico

I grew up there and I always thought I was eligible for Czech citizenship but due to a technicality I’m actually Slovak-American Ah.. hopefully she will make her debut in Olympic Qualification and score 5 goals against Iceland

I just received Slovak citizenship so they are my team now, not Czechs. But imagine my surprise when I looked at the roster and… no Lopusanova?

True, but nobody recognizes the Faroe Islands as independent. The UN (and USA) technically recognizes Niue. Re. Free association isn’t Niue basically the same like Palau/Marshall Islands/Micronesia except with no separate citizenship?

The United States has officially recognized Niue as a country. Could they join the 2028 Olympics? They are already a member of five federations (Judo, Rugby, Table Tennis, Weightlifting, Wrestling). Niue and the Cook Islands are uniquely classified by the UN as “non-member states”. But, all Niueans are New Zealand citizens.

I think these are all very exciting choices. With cricket and football, it’s the first time the top 10 most viewed global sports will all be at the Olympics (in some form). It’ll be unprecedented. And removing breakdancing was the right call. I can’t help but think about how confusing cricket will be to everyone in the Czech Republic 😋 I don’t even know the rules myself… I don’t like that we are getting even more discount spin-off versions of popular sports (lacrosse 6s, flag football). Hurts the prestige of the Games IMO especially since they are barely developed at a high level

This also means in the ranking Slovakia will fall to 16th and so will likely have to play two rounds of Olympic qualification. Because I think the IIHF is holding spots for Russia and Belarus. These are apparently the Round 1 groups for the men (confirmed in part here and here). The UAE, ranked 39th, is the highest seed in Round 1. The top 36 seeded teams get an automatic pass to Round 2 or higher. If you remove hosts Italy and Australia, who never enters, that works out to 36 teams above UAE, which must include Russia and Belarus.

A certain amount of points is only necessary for the Skiathlon and Mass Start. Top 10 is enough for the individual. Good luck!

I don't think I'll be watching these Games any more. Not that they aren't fun, but it's obvious from the Opening Ceremony and today's short track that they're all about making a genocidal regime look good + pulling whatever strings possible to get them medals. There are just better things to do with my time than supporting that. Especially since I'm a child of refugees from Communism, got to have some self-respect Bye for now.

Wonder what was on that clipboard the official was writing on. Probably "what's your bank account number?"

My God... wishing you a safe recovery @brunamoura, I'm so sorry this happened. Know that we are all rooting for you.

^^ (delete)

actually selected Josefin! No way. https://www.instagram.com/p/CY39IzBIhbY/ Apparently there is no age limit on the 'future criteria' as long as it's your first Olympics. https://sverigesradio.se/artikel/26-arig-konstakare-os-uttagen-som-framtidsnamn-inget-alderskrav

Of course they choose a picture of Bruna from the Engadin horror race Nah but seriously, congratulations @brunamoura! It was a long hard journey and you really deserve it. Hope the Olympics go safely (and you get some TV time).

Good for . Would have been embarrassing to not qualify a team.

athlete gets 150.16 FIS points in his first ever FIS race, *the day* before the qualifying deadline. He can only do one other race tomorrow, so I think he'd have needed an average of 100 points. https://www.fis-ski.com/DB/general/results.html?sectorcode=AL&raceid=111122#results

I remember reading a French NOC document and concluding that Bessard didn't meet the federation's requirements, so her spot would be reallocated. But now I can't find it.

Both Trusova and Scherbakova had beautiful programs... but I can't help but feel the PCS is way overscored. Especially with the mistakes.

Awesome! How did you get it sorted in the end? Did the federation come through?