Having won its first ever gold summer series World Games medal two years ago in Salaam, Polasciana’s national sporting executive has set its expectations high for the upcoming 2019 games in San Luis.
Aiming to collect three gold medals in Secadores, the Polascianan national team will have its funding increased and will send its biggest ever group of athletes to a World Games. The seventh games, set to get underway at the San Luis National Stadium on July 5, will be the first held in Secadores and Cardia since the series’ inception in 2007, where the games were first held in Malos, Talemantros.
Seen as an early favourite to host the games, the Secadorian capital saw off competition from Guangbei, Yujin, to be announced as the host city four years ago, significantly earlier than previous hosts in a bid to give cities more time to prepare for the event. Significant investment was pledged by city, regional and national governments to upgrade major infrastructure, but the city will largely rely on existing venues to host the games. Athletes have been promised ‘world class’ accommodation and facilitates, with an expected two billion Gallion budget.
Polasciana’s leading sports coaches believe medal expectations are ‘fair’ and ‘realistic’ – with former national soccer manager Egor Bartrev describing the challenge as ‘ambitious and credible.’ Having secured its first medal, a silver won by Marija Uyan at the 2009 games in Wallsend/Lightfoot, St Thomas, and its first gold in Salaam, hopes are buoyant for further successes in the summer. Targeting wins on the track as well as in the handball and soccer competitions, Polascianan supporters are being urged to fly to Secadores to fly the flag for their local and national heroes – but with flights and ticket packages coming with a heavy price tag, tourist numbers are expected to be down on two years ago when some 20,000 Polascianan fans visited the games in Salaam.
Marim Kyane, the Sporting Director of the Polascianan World Games Committee and former sprint competitor, will head up the Polascianan effort in San Luis, with the team expected to base itself at Jemez, slightly further south from the capital, for a two month preparation regime. It will be the first time the national team will train abroad, with most athletes having chosen to stay home to prepare prior to the 2017 games in Jurzan due to extremely hot temperatures.
The ‘lavish’ games of two years ago, where Salaam was completely transformed from a small historic port town into a thriving sports city specifically for the occasion, have set a high bar for San Luis and future games hosts – but Secadores have promised a ‘spectacular’ two weeks in its capital, with the games closing out at a ceremony on July 21.
It is expected President Artamova will fly to Secadores to attend the launch ceremony at the beginning of the games, in what will be one of his last international trips as Polasciana’s head of state.
