Author: Matt Nelsen

A reporter for Totallympics Media, and a the producer of Totallympics Weekly Update.

It’s the ladies’ turn

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup (A.K.A France 2019) is about to begin. This year’s Women’s World Cup will feature 24 national teams battling for the top prize. The United States Women’s National Team looks to defend their World Cup title from four years ago in Canada where they defeated Japan in the final. The defending Olympic champions, Germany, are also looking to make some waves this year. The World Cup will be held in France at 9 stadiums in the cities of Lyon, Paris, Nice, Montpellier, Rennes, Le Havre, Valenciennes, Reims, and Grenoble. In the United States, FOX and FOX Sports will provide coverage of the games. You can also follow The Global Olympian for it’s coverage of the games. Additional information is also available at https://www.fifa.com/womensworldcup/.

A Bright Dawn of May in Montenegro signals the beginning of the 2019 Games of the Small States of Europe

May 27, 2019

Today the 2019 Games of the Small States of Europe were officially opened in the city of Budva, Montenegro. This marks the first time Montenegro has hosted the historic games. The opening ceremony was presented on a small stage, but with the big heart of a small country. It began at 21:00 local time with a rendition of The Beetles “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, that was soon followed by an introduction into the Montenegrin poetry written by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš. The main stars of the show, the athletes, then made their way to the stage. First was Andorra, followed by Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Montenegro. The flag of Montenegro was then presented and the national anthem of Montenegro “Oh Bright Dawn of May” was sung. The pace of the opening ceremony was lighting fast as one of the team members from the 2012 woman’s olympic handball team made her way to the stage with a torch in hand and lit the games cauldron. After the formalities were taken care of, the artistic presentation began. It featured the story of the creation of Budva, and an almost complete history of Montenegro that featured stories about resistance to Ottoman and Nazi occupation, and stories about Montenegrin cultural heroes. It also featured many traditional performers and modern dancers. One of the last segments of the opening ceremony was the rising of the GSSE flag, which undertaken by the best athletes from each nation. After this was completed the athletes and judges oaths were taken by Marija Jokovic and Nikola Marić. The President of Montenegro, the President of the European Olympic Committee, and the President of Montenegrin Olympic Committee then officially opened the games. The games will go from May 27 until June 1. It features 10 sports and around 750 athletes. Livestreaming is available at RTCG, RTV, and AlfaSports. You can also follow Global Olympian for its written reporting of the games.

Montenegro2019 Photo Gallery

2019 Marblympics Begin In Grandiose Fashion!

One of this writer’s favorite finds on YouTube is a marble runs account known as Jelle’s Marble Runs. Every year they put on various marble racing (yes, that is thing) events. The pinnacle of the season is the Marblympics. It is Jelle’s take on the Olympics, but with marbles instead. This year is the 5th edition of the games. The games are hosted by the Oceanics team at the Seven Seas Stadium in Jelle’s workshop. The games began with an elaborate opening Ceremony that saw a rare appearance of King Triton, the ruler of the Oceanics team. Various members of the production team were also present (represented by a unique marble of course), and the teams processed in one by one. This year’s teams are Team Galatic, Savage Speeders, O’rangers, Chocolatiers, Raspberry Racers, Midnight Wisps, Jungle Jumpers, Pinkies, Mellow Yellow, Indigo Stars, Oceanics (the host team), Balls of Chaos, Hazers, Green Ducks, Thunderbolts, and Crazy Cat’s Eyes. The first event of the 2019 Marblympics, Underwater Race, was also held today at the Seven Seas Stadium. The event featured 4 marble heats, in an elimination format, that involved racing underwater and passing over various drops. The eventually winner of the event was the Savage Speeders (the most successful marblympics team). The next event will be held on April 23, 2019.

Trump Issues 2nd Veto

President Donald Trump issued only the second veto of his administration on Tuesday April, 16. He choose to veto a bill to withdraw US support for the Saudi-lead collation. The bill had received bipartisan support, but Trump claimed the bill was a “dangerous attempt to weaken my constitutional authorities.” The bill will now be returned to Congress, who will have the option to change it or try to override the veto.

A Sprint Finish!

In a rare scene, the finish of the 123rd Boston Marathon in the men’s elite division came down to a sprint. It was Kenya’s Lawrence Cherono who ended up winning the sprint, and better yet, the marathon in a time of 2:07.57. Cherono barely out sprinted Ethiopia’s Lelisa Desisa, who still managed an amazing effort to take second place in 2:07.59. The women’s race was a less eventful affair with Ethiopia’s Worknesh Degefa winning in a time of 2:23.31. Degefa finished 42 seconds ahead of her nearest competition Edna Kiplagat of Kenya who took second place. Conditions for both races were better than expected though with the sun managing to peak through the clouds.

Youth Movement

How young is too young to be an Olympic or elite athlete? Well, for Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Sky Brown that number is 10. Today she became the new British Champion in skateboard park. It is also more than likely that she will qualify for the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics. It is obviously odd to see a 10 year old on the same level as a 20, 25, or 30 year old, but in sports like skateboarding, figure skating, gymnastics, and snowboarding it has become a normality. It is an interesting trend that shows no sign of stopping. The biggest issue that the trend presents is athlete health. Are these athletes old enough to take criticism, abuse, and fame? Will it irreversibly change their lives for better or worse. There are obviously bad examples of what childhood fame can do to a person (i.e. Miley Cyrus, Olson Twins, etc.), but will the same happen sports? I think the only way to find out, is to let it happen. That’s not to say that we should expose these athletes to excessive abuse or pressure, but that we should ease them into it. Sky Brown said that she choose to skate for Great Britain over Japan because the British federation told her to just have fun. Having fun should be the goal for all athletes, but those in places of authority should make sure that youth athletes at an elite level are happy and healthy. I would say that for now, international sports fans and officials should allow these exceptional athletes to keep, but they must be vigilant of how their decisions affect young athletes. In the meantime, I can only sit back and enjoy Sky Brown’s march to Tokyo 2020.

Sky Brown’s Championship Instagram Post

Notre Dame Goes Up In Flames

A fire began Monday evening in Paris at the historic Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. The building has stood as a landmark in Paris since the 12th century. The cause of the fire is currently unknown, but it is known that renovations were currently being done. Some people have speculated the renovation crew may have started the fire, but that can not be confirmed at this time. French President Emmanuel Macron tweeted “Notre-Dame de Paris in flames. Emotion of a whole nation. [My] Thoughts for all Catholics and for all French. Like all our compatriots, I am sad tonight to see this part of us burn.” The city has deployed 400 firefighters to fight the flames. It is rumored some artwork may have been saved. The main spire has also fallen victim to fire and crumbled to the ground.

This is a developing story, it may be updated at a later time with further information.

Embed from Getty Images

Flash! Ah!

The second stop on the women’s IFSC Bouldering World Cup got under way today in Moscow, Russian Federation. It was a competition that saw 21 tops out of a possible 24 from the women. That scenario was very different from the semifinal which saw only 5 out of 20 climbers reach the top of any of the boulder problems. The difficult semifinal was won by Great Britain’s Shauna Coxsey with two tops, but it was Slovenia’s juggernaut, Janja Garnbret that managed to flash (top in one attempt) every boulder problem that she faced in the final in order to take her second world cup victory of the year. Shauna Coxsey, meanwhile, took two attempts on both the 3rd and 4th boulder problems that saw her claim second place on count back (a tiebreak based on previous results from the semifinal) over Fanny Gibert of France who also struggled on the 3rd boulder, but managed to top it in 3 attempts to claim 3rd place. Lucka Rakovec was the biggest surprise of the final. She missed the top on the 1st boulder, but managed to flash the last three boulder problems to take 4th place in only her second ever boulder world cup final. All in all, it was a pretty easy final for the women with most the routes being straight forward, with places being decided by the smallest margins. The next world cup stop for the women will take place in Chongqing, People’s Republic of China, where Janja Garnbret will look to continue her winning streak.

The New Logo

If you’ve been a reader since the beginning, then you may notice my new logo. The new logo is inline with the publications’ values as global, public, and modern. The new logo is just one of many more good things to come. Please continue to check this website weekly for new stories.