Day 16: Ring the Bell!

One of the coolest parts of the track and field finals was that each champion got to ring a giant bell that sent the crowd into a frenzy, and provided one more opportunity to celebrate their monumental achievement. The bell is going to be hung in the carillion at the Notre Dame cathedral, as they are rebuilding after the fire.

So for us, in the Fantasy Olympiad, it's time to RING THAT BELL.

CLANGA CLANGA CLANGA CLANGA CLANGA

Hunchback of the Swimming Lane entered his 7th Fantasy Olympiad, never claiming the crown. However, in Paris, Quasimodo went WIRE TO WIRE by claiming 27 gold medals and finshing with 374 points. He claims the Golden Eiffel Tower statue.

Eiffel Power started slow, but powered up the standings day after day, to finish on the podium once again - her gold medal total was second at 22 wins. She will wear the Silver Sequined Beret.

Team de Triomphe remained a contender throughout, but fell upon some bad luck, ending with the highest Bronze total at 12. A couple of those convert higher, and she's in second place. Nevertheless, she claims the coveted Bronze prize - the Snoopa Lisa. Hang it in the Louvre!

If you are interested in more stats, I'll post some breakdown below with the top performers and worst performers.  Interestingly, looking back to the estimated standings at the end of the draft, the same three teams were projected to win, just not in the same order. If you recall, Team de Triomphe did have the #1 overall pick, but Hunchback was relegated to the #10 pick.  

Hunchback's team ends within 3 points of the projected total - I don't think anything like that has ever happened before!  It does not mean that each projection came true - far from it - but I ended up with many overperformers that ended up being good value picks in the end. 

Don't Ledecky by far has the worst luck, with a -162 underperformance.  Athletic Avengers not far behind at -143. Time to invest in a national performance enhancement program.

AU REVOIR FROM PARIS 2024!

SEE YOU IN TORINO 2026 and LA 2028!

CUE THE RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS

Final Medals awarded:

HANDBALL

• GOLD - Denmark Men - Team de Triomphe
• SILVER - Germany Men - Eiffel Power
• BRONZE - Spain Men - Athletic Avengers

; Ir

WATER POLO

• GOLD - Serbia Men - Hunchback of the Swimming Lane
• SILVER - Croatia Men - Seine Superstars

BASKETBALL

• GOLD - USA Women - Don't Ledecky Us Get Hot
• BRONZE - Australia Women - Golden Beret

VOLLEYBALL

• GOLD - Italy Women - Synchronized Race Walkers
• SILVER - USA Women - Macronian Cheese

WEIGHTLIFTING

• GOLD - China Women - Synchronied Race Walkers

WRESTLING

• GOLD - Japan Women, Seine Superstars
• SILVER - Iran Men, Eiffel Power
• BRONZE - Azerbaijan Men, Athletic Avengers; Iran Men, Eiffel Power

CYCLING

• GOLD - Harrie Lavreysen, Netherlands - Hunchback of the Swimming Lane (TRIPLE GOLD in the games!)
• BRONZE - Emma Finucane, Great Britain - Team de Triomphe
• SILVER - Lea Friedrich, Germany - Golden Beret

TOP PERFORMERS

These are all the 31 selections that scored higher than 20 points - team sports max at 20 for gold, and some have a relative max of 20 if someone is in 2 events, or wins in singles and doubles/team. 

My Uzbek boxing team proved to be an elite wildcard pick, but they didn't even start compeition until the last few days. I ended with great value from 7 of the 31 selections on this list, when an average would have been 3 per team.

OUT-PERFORMERS

These competitors all secured MORE points than they were projected - led by none other than the Finned Frenchman himself, Leon Marchand.  Synchronized Race Walkers clearly displayed their prowess in eyeing talent, having the top 3 on the board.

AGONY OF DEFEAT

Here's who to blame the most for your team finishing off the podium.  Unfortunately, the Synchronized Race Walkers didn't need to be on the top of this list, as well. The Japan women's Judo team did not live up to the billing, falling just short in too many matches. Japan also takes the second spot, with the disappointing showing from Gymnast Daiki Hasimoto.  Whichever gymnast is chosen by Macronian Cheese in the next games, look out - this is twice in a row they have terrible luck in selecting a "sure thing" gymnast that doesn't deliver.

Despite the performances that didn't pan out, these games proved to be filled with all the drama, unpredictability, and epic performances that truly did wow us all.  Once again the Olympics have captivated us all.  These memories mark the time in our lives.  My age is now older than the number of Summer Olympics that have ever occurred.  We only get so many opportunities to witness this spectacle, and I am thankful once again to get to journey along with you all. 

Until next time...CITIUS, ALTIUS, FORTIUS