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by The Democratic Island Federation of Frieden-und Freudenland. . 18 reads.

Our Athletes at the 2017 Oatland Regional Summer Games

Swimming

• Lucas Fitzpatrick

(b. 2 September 1998) is a Frieden-und Freudenlandian swimmer from Thymetown, Northern Territories, started his professional swimming career when he was 5, after the lifeguard at the beach where he spent his vacation with his family casually remarked that he swam very fast for his age and recommend his parents that he be enrolled in a swimming course. He got his first gold medal in competitive swimming in the Frieden-und Freudenlandian Child Olympics (FuFCO), a semi-official sports event for athletes under 16 where they can show their skills and get recognition for their performance. Since then, Lucas has been one of the star swimmers of Frieden-und Freudenland, and never failed to make his people proud.

Lucas Fitzpatrick still lives with his parents and his two cats in their home in Thymetown, but he will move out soon, as he will start studying animal medicine at Palm Springs University in Fernhill this fall.

• Felicity Fowler

(b. 30 March 2002) is the youngest Frieden-und Freudenlandian athlete to participate in Oatland 2017 Summer Games. She is from Civitas Pacis, the capital of Frieden-und Freudenland. She has a very interesting story to tell if you ask her about how she started her swimming career. When she was 7, she went on a fishing trip with her father and their boat capsized during an unexpected and fierce storm. She did not know how to swim. Her father was quick to help her put on a life jacket and he had the presence of mind to alert the coast guard with his walkie-talkie, but unfortunately he could not save himself and drowned in the churning sea. Felicity, who was tossed around in the ocean for about 15 minutes until the coast guard came survived the tragedy unscathed – but only physically. ''I survived only thanks to that life jacket that kept me afloat,'' she says. But she was traumatized and extremely afraid of water, and she refused to go to the beach for 5 years. ''But things have changed when I turned 12,'' she says. ''My classmates and I were on a summer camp and my friends started to play around the pond there. As usual, I avoided the water, I tried to stay away, but then I heard a scream. There was great commotion and I realized that one of my friends had fallen into the water… Thankfully our teacher saw this too, and he jumped into the pond and saved my friend's life. But this event showed me how vital it was to know how to swim. When you swim, you can avoid drowning in case such a misfortune happens, or if someone is about to drown, you can help them.'' After that summer camp, Felicity enrolled in a swimming course. Her swimming coach noticed that she was very gifted and could go into competitive swimming, even though she was a bit old for a beginner. ''But I was a quick learner,'' she says and smiles. And we agree.

Diving

• Priscilla Butler

(b. 1 January 1994) used to be a professional sponge diver in Fernhill. ''My family had been diving for sponges for generations,'' she says. But she was not satisfied with diving for sponges and she wanted to do something that was more in line with her competitive spirit. That is how she started her career as a professional diver. Since the beginning of her professional career in 2008 she has won 15 gold, 16 silver, and 21 bronze medals in national and international sports events, she has been the gold medalist in the Frieden-und Freudenlandian National Diving Championships (FuFNDC) for 5 consecutive years, including 2016. ''My biggest goals this year is to be successful at the Oatland Olympics and then to defend my title in the National Championship in October,'' she says.

• Marcel Crust

(b. 24 June 1995) became interested in diving after watching an underwater documentary when he was 6 years old. ''I was fascinated with the idea, so I decided to practise in our swimming pool,'' he says, laughing. ''I dived in and held my breath for as long as I could remember, but I must have passed out. Our maid saw me, she panicked and immediately alerted my parents and called an ambulance. I was saved, but you see, my passion for diving almost killed me.'' After this unfortunate event, Marcel had a hard time convincing his parents that he wanted to be a professional diver, but eventually they relented. Since then Marcel has been participating in numerous national and international diving competitions, and he got a gold medal in Men's Diving in the latest Frieden-und Freudenlandian National Diving Championships (FuFNDC) in 2016.

Gymnastics

• Crystal Fujita

(b. 22 December 2000) was the daughter of the famous Frieden-und Freudenlandian gymnast Usagi Fujita, so it is no surprise that she wanted to follow in the footsteps of her mother and become a gymnast. She is a very hard-working gymnast, exercising for at least 5 hours every day. At the same time she is very successful at school as well. Since she started her professional career in 2013, Crystal Fujita has won 3 gold, 3 silver, and 2 bronze medals in very prestigious championships. Her latest achievement, a silver medal, came at the National Gymnastics Championships in April 2017, held in Sereneville. But her success was overshadowed by an unhappy accident. After she performed the last somersault of her performance, she lost her balance and sprained her left ankle. Since then, she has been regularly going to a physical rehabilitation center. She says her injury has not fully recuperated yet, but hopes she will nevertheless do her best.

• Yukiko Honda

(b. 15 August 2000) has started her career after getting kicked out of a ballet class when she was 4. ''I loved the idea of becoming a ballerina, I thought they looked like princesses with their pink tutus. I cried so much that my mother finally agreed to sign me up for ballet lessons, and we went to a local ballet school. But the quotas for the ballet class had already been filled, and they said they could not admit me. I cried my eyes out, of course. Then my mother tried to persuade me into doing gymnastics, saying that it was very similar to ballet, and initially I hated the idea, but she somehow convinced me. And I really liked gymnastics after I started, I understood immediately that I was born to be a gymnast.'' Since the start of her professional career in 2015, Yukiko has won 2 gold medals and 1 bronze medal at national and international championships. Her latest achievement (a gold medal) came at the National Gymnastics Championships in April 2017.

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