The Seven Seas were full of commotion. All the water creatures rushed to the Olympics in the colourful and moody Pacific Ocean. The big and small fish were arriving in large groups and shoals, each having some ambitious goals. There were seals and walruses from the distant Arctic, huge humpback whales and small penguins of the Antarctic. Colourful tiny fish from the Great Barrier Reef; jellyfish, monterays and sharks with very thin teeth… They were all crowding every inch of the ocean: octopuses, orcas, crabs and even tiny seahorses… What a commotion!
Curiosity skyrocketed as they all wanted to see who will win this year's trophies. A frogfish, a little crab and a shrimp started a lie that the goldfish would win all the competitions, not really knowing how and why. What a squib! It sure was an obvious fib! Who could win so many different games?! Not even magic could support those claims. The competition was fierce but fair, as they all loved peace. First, the Ocean Olympics had to be opened in style, for the location they'd chosen the Golden Mile. The lavish ceremony started to the sweet hypnotic tune, with singing mermaids, dancing dolphins and a moving underwater dune. Colourful seaweeds, corals and petals floated in place. Ocean volcanoes exploded with fireworks and confetti, adding pomp and grace. Finally, tigerfish came, the trumpeters from the Indian Ocean greatest, to announce the arrival of Poseidon, the god of the Seven Seas and tempest. Everyone got too excited to let them finish playing neatly, and so they clapped, shouted and cheered frantically. Then, Poseidon gave a short but powerful speech, raising his trident he opened the competitions to all and each.
And so the Games started with fast swimming, the first of the disciplines. Competing were sharks, sailfish, tunas, rays and black marlins. They raced furiously and with certain greed, a black marlin won, though, reaching an astonishing speed. Everyone cheered and kept their fins crossed for competitors surviving, since the next up was deep ocean diving. This dangerous sport can only be taken up by a select few who claim it to be an art, hence only a Mariane snailfish, a bony-eared assfish and a Cuvier’s beaked whale took part. The humble snailfish got to the depth of the Mount Everest reversed and was crowned a victor and by all embraced.
The following challenge was an obstacle swim in the mesmerising coral reef. Only small animals, of course, could compete in this sport but no one grieved. Starfish, butterflyfish, clownfish, jellyfish, queen conch and many more started in the challenging race, yet swift damselfish won the run with an easy grace. The next up was a project called Working Together and timed by a sand clock, to build a structure, a freestyle creation or just a sculptured block. Octopuses, parrotfish, cichlids and lampreys took up this opportunity and built their underwater constructions within each community. The first prize went to cichlids who created the most exquisite thing of all, a tiny palace made of seashells, sand, pearls, algae and corals small.
One before last was a sport of walking. An impossible task for a fish, I'm not joking! Yet, it found some intrigued amateurs ready to give it a go and try to win, among them: a snakehead, a climbing perch, a killifish and a wooly sculpin. A mudskipper beat them all without even trying hard, as to water it prefers mud. He indeed won triumphantly. Not only did it walk, but it danced to its victory! When everyone was getting wearisome and a little bored, the time came for the last, highly anticipated sport. Participants and spectators dreamt that the fish could fly or run, so they all travelled from the ocean floor to the top of the waves, the air and the glistening sun. Penguins, dolphins, seals and a few others took part. Yet none stood a chance to beat the flying fish, for whom flying is an art.
The Ocean Olympics came to an end at last. To some it seemed long and to others it passed too fast. A blue whale spouted a water fountain in the air, creating a rainbow to celebrate that the games were fair. Tigerfish blew their trumpets and towering Poseidon appeared once more, to close the competition, congratulate the winners and thank them all. He hit the water with his trident sending an enormous wave. Then, in complete silence, he invited them to a feast in his palace built in an underwater cave. A lavish feast of ocean delicacies started with a parade. The winners got medals and everyone was ready to celebrate. The palace was decorated with pearls, curious rocks and shiny sand.
They danced and laughed, ate and drank and listened to the mesmerising band. Mermaids sang, crabs recited poetry whilst turtles talked about liberty and solutions to the ocean's pollution. Poseidon said he will give humans one more chance, to clean the water of plastics and to take the correct stance. The overfishing had to stop, too! Poseidon said he would defend their ocean blue.