Alternative History
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The Geneva Games or Olympiad (8th - 21st August 2016) was a multi-sport event designed as part of the ongoing World's Fair. It attacted an international participation and was widely heralded as a success.

As the plans for the Worlds Fair took shape in early 2015 it was thought that ticket sales would begin to falter by late summer so further attractions would be needed to boost attendance. Hence the Genevan Sports Committee were tasked with organising a sporting event. (In the eventuality ticket sales would remain very robust throughout the fair's opening). Rather than simply show off the Duchy's own modest sporting achievements the sports committee believed a general competition would be much more popular with a paying audience, as well as helping to promote peaceful competition between nations. Invitations were sent out to numerous sporting bodies advertising the games and inviting official entries. Although there were several participants from Leifia and Australia, and a handful from Africa, there were no attendees from Asia or Tawantinland, a fact which disappointed those who wished it to be a truly global event.

Most of the sports already held their own competitions attracting a wide field of participation and some leagues were initially skeptical but the Genevan organisers won most around with the argument that by holding all these events during the same two-week period the games would act as a showcase leading to wider audiences and greater competition. Motor-Racing federations rejected this argument however, one of their rare moments of solidarity, and no automobile races would take place under the Games' banner.

The games were opened officially in a ceremony on 8th August at the newly finished athletics track just outside the World's Fair grounds, culminating in a parade of competing athletes and a speech by Duchess Adelais. Winners of each event were awarded with a Gold Mark specially minted in commemoration of the games. In addition, the winner of the final event, the Marathon, was awarded with a laurel wreath. Anthems for the winning countries were played in most cases (hastily rehearshed by the Ducal Symphony Orchestra), though the Imperial Anthem or d'Arien's Ode to Europa, would be played for some of the smaller nations as the respective sheet music was not available. Fears that some nations would dominate the games proven unfounded; despite early signs the various Imperial nations did not compete as one, or collude with each other. Furthermore the UKN entered teams based on its member states rather than as a whole entity.

Tug-o-war, wrestling and gymnastics were held in the vast Great Hall, seating having been installed in a broad semi-circle at its northern end. Initially it was conceived that the cycling track events would be held on the roof of the Great Hall however this was abandoned for cost reasons and worries that the roof would not be able to hold the crowds expected. Both skating and ice hockey competitions were held at the Ice-House. Swimming events and the Water Polo were held in the Boating Pool. Rowing was held on Lake Geneva. The three sailing events, though planned to be held in the Lake, had to be abandoned due to calm conditions.

List of Events and Winners[]

Athletics
Event Winner Nation
100 metres Luigi Zanolini Flag of Venice (The Kalmar Union).svg Venice
200 metres Francisco Correia Flag Portugal (1830) Portugal
400 metres Iraklis Sakellaropoulos Flag of Byzantium (The Kalmar Union).svg Byzantine Empire
800 metres Wilhelm Goeldel Flag of Bayreuth (The Kalmar Union).svg Bayreuth
Mile William Thorpe Flag of Man (The Kalmar Union).svg Man
5,000 metres Otto Cvetko Flag of Austria (The Kalmar Union).svg Austria-Bohemia
10,000 metres Boughéra Ghermati Flag of Granada (The Kalmar Union).svg Granada
110 metre hurdles Serafino Braglia Flag of Milan (The Kalmar Union).svg Milan
4 x 100 metres relay - Flag of Venice (The Kalmar Union).svg Venice
4 x 400 metres relay - Flag of Byzantium (The Kalmar Union).svg Byzantine Empire
Marathon Pierre Masson Flag of Auvergne (The Kalmar Union).svg Auvergne
Cross Country, individual Olesah Mainesson Flag of Abernakriga (The Kalmar Union).svg Abernakriga
Cross Country, team - Flag of Abernakriga (The Kalmar Union).svg Abernakriga
Long Jump Karl Holmér Flag of Svealand (The Kalmar Union).svg Svealand
Standing Long Jump Pietro Tunesi Flag of Naples (The Kalmar Union) Naples
Triple Jump Paul Pelletier Flag of Luxembourg-Nassau (The Kalmar Union) Luxembourg-Nassau
High Jump Kurt Neubauer Flag of Mark (The Kalmar Union).svg Mark
Pole Vault Sigvard Tvedt Flag of Denmark Denmark
Shot Put Väinö Taipale Flag of Finland (The Kalmar Union).svg Finland
Discus Sigismund Köring Flag of Electoral Saxony Electoral Saxony
Hammer Thomas Mcgrath Flag of Munster (The Kalmar Union).svg Munster
Javelin Adolf Jäger Flag of Passau (The Kalmar Union) Passau
Equestrian
Event Winner Nation
Eventing Emile Wehrer Flag of New Brabant (Kalmar Union).svg New Brabant
Archery
Event Winner Nation
Mens' Archery Felix Gobert Flag of Aragon (The Kalmar Union).svg Aragon
Womens' Archery Halina Gorny Flag of Poland (The Kalmar Union).svg Poland
Shooting
Event Winner Nation
50m rifle, prone Olaf Stokstad Flag of Lade (The Kalmar Union).svg Lade
Team rifle - Flag of Castile (The Kalmar Union) Castile
300m rifle Joaquin Izaguirre Flag of Aragon (The Kalmar Union).svg Aragon
300m military rifle Joaquin Izaguirre Flag of Aragon (The Kalmar Union).svg Aragon
25m small-bore rifle Miguel Ordóñez Flag of Castile (The Kalmar Union) Castile
50m small-bore rifle Adolfo Frigerio Flag of Tuscany (The Kalmar Union).svg Tuscany
100m deer rifle, single Mikkel Hjortursson Flag of Vinland (Kalmar Union).svg Vinland
100m deer rifle, double Charles MacGregor Flag of Scotland (The Kalmar Union).svg Scotland
100m deer rifle, double team - Flag of Scotland (The Kalmar Union).svg Scotland
50m pistol Alexander Kühnel Flag of Erfurt (The Kalmar Union) Erfurt
30m military pistol Gérard Caby Flag of Geneva (The Kalmar Union).svg Geneva
Trap Alfred Benedicks Flag of Svealand (The Kalmar Union).svg Svealand
Team clay pigeons - Flag of Arles (The Kalmar Union).svg Arles
Fencing
Event Winner Nation
Foil, individual Ervin Gerde Flag of Hungary (The Kalmar Union).svg Hungary
Épée, individual Leonard van Blijenburgh Flag of Luxembourg-Nassau (The Kalmar Union) Luxembourg-Nassau
Épée, team - Flag of Anglia (The Kalmar Union).svg Anglia
Sabre, individual Jan Holt Flag of Anglia (The Kalmar Union).svg Anglia
Sabre, team - Flag of Hungary (The Kalmar Union).svg Hungary
Diving
Event Winner Nation
3 metre Paul Goeldel Flag of Swiss Confederation (The Kalmar Union).svg Swiss Confederation
10 metre Angus Pimm Flag of Scotland (The Kalmar Union).svg Scotland
Pentathlon
Event Winner Nation
Individual Gösta Stranne Flag of Gothenland (The Kalmar Union).svg Gothenland
Team - Flag of Denmark Denmark
Swimming
Event Winner Nation
100m freestyle Walter Stindt Flag of Austria (The Kalmar Union).svg Austria-Bohemia
400m freestyle Wilhelm Milch Flag of Magdeburg (The Kalmar Union).svg Magdeburg
1500 freestyle Per Henning Flag of Svealandic Australische (Kalmar Union).svg Svealandic Australia
100m backstroke George Fletcher Flag of Anglia (The Kalmar Union).svg Anglia
100m breaststroke Raymond Lausseigh Pavillon royal de la France France
400m breaststroke Thyge Larsen Flag of Denmark Denmark
4x100m freestyle relay - Flag of Lux Flanders (The Kalmar Union) Flanders
Water Polo
Event Nation
Water Polo Flag of Geneva (The Kalmar Union).svg Geneva
Rowing
Event Winner Nation
Single Sculls Ejler Pedersen Flag of Denmark Denmark
Coxed Fours - Flag of Venice (The Kalmar Union).svg Venice
Eights - Flag of Saaremaa.svg Saaremaa

Sailing - not held

Cycling
Event Winner Nation
5000 metres William Payne Flag of Wessex (The Kalmar Union).svg Wessex
20 km Benjamin Kingsbury Flag of Wessex (The Kalmar Union).svg Wessex
Sprint Charles Bartlett Flag of Wessex (The Kalmar Union).svg Wessex
Tandem Octave Auffray, Maurice Lapize Pavillon royal de la France France
Team Pursuit - Flag of Electoral Saxony Electoral Saxony
Football
Event Nation
Football Flag of Brandenburg (The Kalmar Union).svg Brandenburg
Assendelft
Event Nation
Assendelft Flag of Lux Flanders (The Kalmar Union) Flanders
Gymnastics
Event Winner Nation
Individual Wilhelm Reuschle Flag of Hohenzollern (The Kalmar Union).svg Hohenzollern
Team - Flag of Luxembourg-Nassau (The Kalmar Union) Luxembourg-Nassau
Figure Skating
Event Winner Nation
Individual Nikolai Petrov Flag of Novgorod (The Kalmar Union).svg Novgorod
Ice Hockey
Event Nation
Ice Hockey Flag of Denmark Denmark
Tug-o-War
Event Nation
Tug-o-War Flag of Hungary (The Kalmar Union).svg Hungary
Weighlifting
Event Winner Nation
Featherweighy Jüri Villemson Estonian alternative flag proposal Estonia
Lightweight Haakon Christensen Flag of Hordaland (The Kalmar Union).svg Hordaland
Middleweight Sverre Nilsen Flag of Hordaland (The Kalmar Union).svg Hordaland
Light-Heavyweight Janis Jekals United Baltic Duchy flag Livonia
Heavyweight Lyuben Karabatis Flag of Byzantium (The Kalmar Union).svg Byzantine Empire
Wrestling
Event Winner Nation
Featherweight - no medal awarded
Lightweight Jón Sigurjónsson Flag of Vinland (Kalmar Union).svg Vinland
Middleweight Georgy Avksentyev Flag of Vladimir (The Kalmar Union).svg Vladimir
Light Heavyweight Halldór Magnusson Flag of Iceland (The Kalmar Union).svg Iceland
Heavyweight Richard Bogen Flag of Austria (The Kalmar Union).svg Austria-Bohemia
Háflaeykir
Event Nation
Háflaeykir Flag of Alengiamark.svg Álengiamark
Tennis
Event Winner Nation
Mens' Singles Tennis Louis Bouin Pavillon royal de la France France
Mens' Doubles Tennis Hans Fahr, Hans Gerstäcker Flag of H Darmstadt (The Kalmar Union) Hesse-Darmstadt
Womens' Singles Tennis Dorothea Rosenberg Flag of Dortmund (The Kalmar Union).svg Dortmund
Womens' Doubles Tennis Otylia Maryanski, Anna Rekawek Flag of Poland (The Kalmar Union).svg Poland
Pärk - Flag of Gothenland (The Kalmar Union).svg Gothenland

Nyon Games - Womens' Olympiad[]

Whilst women were allowed to compete in the archery and tennis events in Geneva, many countries complained they were not allowed to compete in other sports where womens' leagues were well established, such as in swimming, diving, skating and various athletic disciplines. Taking advantage of the issue the nearby town of Nyon in the Swiss Confederation hastily organised a Womens' Games. Whilst the number of countries sending participants was not very wide (owing to the short-notice of its announcement and organisation) the actual events were well attended by visitors. The event however would be critised by many newpapers and journals, partially for trying to direct attention away from Geneva, which had been heralded as a great success, but also for 'lowering standards'. The Nyon games' success would prompt the organisers of the Geneva Olympiad to publicly apologise for not scheduling more womens' events.

Reaction[]

Most publications, and indeed, sporting leagues, were generous in their praise for the way the games had been organised and run, complaining only that finding accommodation for the competitors was difficult in the already overstretched city. Praise too went to the chief organiser, Albert Wagner, who was lauded for his attention to detail and problem solving attitude. Crowds thrilled to the competitions and were generally bipartisan, clapping and cheering competitors wherever they hailed from. A repeat of the Games in Geneva, perhaps every four years like the original ancient Greek Olympiad seems a likely possibility.

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