Haesan at the Olympics

Haesan at the IDU Olympiad
IOC code	HAE
NOC	Olympic Committee of Haesan
Website	olympicshaesan.hn
Medals	Gold 8 Silver 7 Bronze 1 Total 16
IDU Olympiad appearances
2023

The Commonwealth of Haesan first participated in the Olympics at Hanshui '23.

2023 Hanshui Olympics

241 Haesanite athletes competed in Hanshui, in all 113 events across 25 disciplines. Haesan's flag bearers for the Opening Ceremony on May 22nd were Jang Su-mi (women's archery & team archery) and Jacques Tessier (men's curling & mixed doubles curling). Their highest medal earners were fencer Oh Da-yeon and TBD with two golds, given the honor of being flagbearer for the closing ceremony on June 8th.

On May 22, 2023, Jang Su-mi won a gold medal in Women's Archery, Haesan's first ever medal at an IDU Olympiad, and the nation's first gold.

Boycott Threat

After the announcement on March 23, 2023 that Hanshui would be the host of the 2023 IDU Olympiad, the van Deventer government threatened a boycott of the Olympic Games. While Laeral and Haesan have maintained a historical rivalry dating back centuries, tensions have been especially high since the 1963 annexation of Soeyan Province by Laeralite forces during the Great War. As such, the Chamber of Deputies threatened to withhold funding from the Olympic team and boycott the Hanshui games unless concessions were made regarding the return of the province into Haesanite custody. Despite the expected boycott, throughout the month of April, Olympic trials were held for Haesan's allotted spots in Munseong, Namhae and Altina, Southern Maritimes, with trials for winter events being held in Sanri, Maehwa and surrounding resort cities. On April 20th, ahead of a key budget vote, the Liberty! led government dissolved, and a caretaker Chamber of the Commonwealth government was established. As a result, President Kim I-seul became de facto head of government, and as a proponent of Plum Blossom Diplomacy who seeks to ameliorate Haesan-Laeral relations, over the following days she entered into a dialogue with the Laeralian government about Haesan's participation in the games. On May 1st, Haesan officially accepted the Olympic Committee's invitation to compete in the 2023 Olympiad. Despite small protests across the western portions of the country, the move was widely applauded.

Expectations

Haesan had registered one of the largest team rosters to compete in Hanshui, with many teams expected to be particularly strong, especially in the national sports of archery and curling, as well as in table tennis, sailing, and baseball. Domestic media largely focused on the geopolitical implications of the games, as well as the possibility of possible Haesan-Laeral bilateral talks emerging as a result of the games. Suyang based media company Hesperida Sports Network predicted Haesan to win the overall medal count, albeit losing the gold medal tally and points race, coming as a shock to many sports commentators. Exemplifying this is the comments of Alexandra Yoo of SBS Sports' morning show "Today's Sports Briefing" who stated that "This projection was beyond our wildest expectations. While of course I hope we will perform to this standard, a handful of golds is all we really can hope for." The projection turbocharged interest in the Olympics, with searches for "Haesan Olympics" on search engine Chatgi increasing over ten-fold from the day prior.

Opening Ceremony Controversy

During the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, Laeral presented a historical presentation which was poorly regarded in Haesan due to its depictions of René Gramont and Laeral's involvement in the Great War. President Kim I-seul was in attendance and after the event cancelled intended meetings the next day and returned to Hwagang early. Later, the Office of the President of Haesan issued a formal condemnation of the display. The incident led to the cancellation of a number of bilateral talks between Haesan and Laeral about trade, science and technology collaboration, and quelling violent guerrilla groups in Soeyan Province.

2023 Hanshui Olympic Medalists

Medals by sport
Sport				Total
Archery	1	0	0	1
Bobsleigh	1	1	0	2
Curling	2	1	0	3
Equestrian	1	1	0	2
Fencing	2	3	0	5
Handball	0	0	1	1
Sailing	1	1	0	2

Medal	Athlete	Sport	Event	Date	Score/Time
Gold	Jang Su-mi	Archery	Women's Individual	May 22	824 (OR)
Gold	Colette Moulin, Jeon Ha-yeon, Veronique Giraud, Yoon Ju-ha	Bobsleigh	Women's 4 Person	May 28	53.15 (OR)
Gold	Rebecca Adera	Sailing	Women's Windsurfing	May 28	5-1-1 (7)
Gold	Kim Yeon-ji on Force Majeure	Equestrian	Individual Dressage	May 29	84.12 (OR)
Gold	Oh Da-yeon	Fencing	Women's Individual Sabre	May 31	1st
Gold	Baek Jeong-hu, Adam Marshall, Oh Da-yeon, Heo Se-in	Fencing	Team Sabre	May 31	1st
Gold	Madeleine Collet, Sonia Lefort, Lee Seo-hui, Park Ga-ram	Curling	Women's Team	June 1	1st
Gold	Elodie Fontaine, Jacques Tessier	Curling	Mixed Doubles	June 1	1st
Silver	Olivier Le Roux, Jean-Pierre Royer, Xavier Maillard, Mohammed Khan	Bobsleigh	Men's 4 Person	May 28	51.53
Silver	Allan Lefebvre	Sailing	Men's Windsurfing	May 28	3-4-1 (8)
Silver	Choi Ye-sol on Interstate Commerce	Equestrian	Individual Jumping	May 29	80.54
Silver	Maxime Lagrange	Fencing	Men's Individual Foil	May 31	2nd
Silver	Maxime Lagrange, Marcel Perrin, Kim Yu-jin, Park Eun-byeol	Fencing	Team Foil	May 31	2nd
Silver	Baek Jeong-hu	Fencing	Men's Individual Sabre	May 31	2nd
Silver	Jacques Tessier, Yann Depuis, Gerard Brun, Kim Su-ho	Curling	Men's Team	June 1	2nd
Bronze	Haesan Comets	Handball	Women's Handball	May 30	3rd

List of Competitors

Sport	Men	Women	Total
Alpine Skiing & Ski Jump	2	2	4
Archery	2	1	3
Athletics	3	2	5
Baseball & Softball	24	15	39
Basketball	12	12	24
Biathlon	2	2	4
Bobsleigh	4	4	8
Curling	4	5	9
Cycling	2	2	4
Diving	1	1	2
Equestrian	0	2	2
Fencing	6	6	12
Figure Skating	2	1	3
Gymnastics	2	2	4
Handball	15	15	30
Ice Hockey	25	23	48
Luge	2	2	4
Sailing	3	3	6
Speed Skating	4	4	8
Surfing	1	1	2
Swimming	5	3	8
Table Tennis	3	3	6
Tennis	2	2	4
Triathlon	1	1	2
Water Polo	12	12	24
Total	127	114	241