Vatican City wins Wageningen Olympics

The teams put their best foot forward throughout the entire evening in sports such as long jump, javelin throwing, table tennis, knotsbal, tjoekbal and basketball. The most eye-catching events were sumo wrestling and the highly politically correct paralympic relay race. The latter required two participants to tie their legs to each other’s and complete an obstacle course. This was the first Olympics organized by Thymos sports club, specially to get foreign students to take part in sports. ‘Relatively few international students participate in our events,’ says Thymos chair Aafke Nijhuis. ‘So we thought this up and joined forces with ISOW and IxESN to reach as many people as possible.’ In this respect, the Olympics has been a tremendous success, adds Nijhuis. ‘There were more than one hundred participants, and seldom do I see so much enthusiasm during a prize-giving ceremony. Everyone jumped with joy and raised the roof.’ There were enough real Olympic elements to boot. Following a joint warming up, the Olympic fire was lighted after Bongerd head Henri ten Klooster ran round with a torch. The teams were attired in national costumes and many of the countries had a flag. National anthems were played during the prize-giving. Finland was the best dressed team, while ‘Vatican City’ – an all-Italian team – won in the sports category.