2023 Beer Olympics Summary

Check out our video recap at https://bit.ly/2023BeerOlympicsRecap

A spring Tucson Beer Olympics saw the competition heat up as a record-breaking 14 teams competed in this year’s contest. After his longtime partner defected to Thailand (not the team, the actual country), Elrey scrambled to find a replacement partner and came up with the perfect pairing, as he and Underwood walked away with the overall Gold. Newcomers Yugoslavia held the overnight lead and needed only one point on Saturday to claim overall Silver while Tevik made a second straight trip to the podium along with his rookie partner Berroteran, securing the overall Bronze medal.

Here is how the weekend looked like from the perspective of each team:

Wales (Elrey/Underwood) – GOLD – 12 points (4G)

What Went Right

A clear victory in the pitcher chug and a very close victory in the straw chug set the foundation for their championship run. They strung together three straight event golds on Saturday afternoon, going 6-0 in both Snappa and Beer Run.

What Went Wrong

Wales could have completed the chugging trifecta but let Beer Ball slip away in a loss to Thailand. They were also upset in the quarterfinals of Beer Pong by Djibouti.

Yugoslavia (King/Walton) – SILVER – 9 points (2G, 1S, 1B)

What Went Right

An outstanding Friday evening with golds in both Beer Pong and Bounce Run and a silver in Pitcher Chug had them right where they wanted with an impressive lead.

What Went Wrong

Saturday was not as kind, only tallying a bronze in the Obstacle Course. A fourth-place finish in Snappa is a spot they would have like to capitalize.

Kiribati (Berroteran/Tevik) – BRONZE – 8 points (2G, 2B)

What Went Right

A new record in the Obstacle Course vaulted Kiribati two spots up the table to the overall Bronze. A nice bookend with their gold in flip cup, the first event. They also won the runoff in Quarters for a bronze followed by the same in Snappa.

What Went Wrong

Kiribati surprised in Beer Ball but ended up with no points after a fourthplace finish. The real missed opportunity was Beer Run, again losing twice to finish fourth.

Jamaica (Dragoslovich/Williams) – 4th – 8 points (4S) –

What Went Right

The event order stacks Jamaica’s best events early on, but they came through in Flip Cup, Beer Pong, and Bounce Run with silvers on Friday night. A fourth silver in Beer Run temporarily had them in podium position.

What Went Wrong

Jamaica was tantalizing close. If any of those silvers had turned gold, they would have walked away with an overall medal. A flip of either of the two championships vs Yugoslavia would have landed the Jamaicans an overall Silver even.

Lithuania (Steffes/Winkis) – 5th – 7 points (1G, 1S, 2B)

What Went Right

Kicking off Saturday with a gold in Beer Ball gave some hope after Friday bronzes in Beer Pong and Bounce Run. A final point in the Obstacle Course pushed them to seven total points.

What Went Wrong

Lithuania was above average in almost every event but not elite in enough. Their stretch from Quarters to Beer Run on Saturday left them wanting more.

Thailand (Austin/Roemer) – 6th – 5 points (2S, 1B)

What Went Right

Silvers in Beer Ball and Quarters sparked a little hope but only a Straw Chug bronze to follow left them just a little short.

What Went Wrong

A goose egg on Friday, highlighted by a fourth-place finish in Bounce Run after earning a bye, along with a bubble spot in Pitcher Chug, dug a big hole.

Fiji (Aaberg/Naber) – 7th – 4 points (1G, 1B)

What Went Right

An Olympic record tying 19 in Quarters highlighted by Naber’s side-arm style, earned them their lone event gold to pair with their point from Pitcher Chug.

What Went Wrong

They never got anything going in any of the bracketed events, falling in the first round of all but one of the seven.

Lesotho (Bryant/LePage) – 8th – 3 points (1S, 1B)

Summary

Lesotho grabbed a surprise bronze in Beer Ball and barely ended up with a silver in Straw Chug, trailing by less than a second.

Cuba (Mato/Volk) – 9th – 3 points (1S, 1B)

Summary

Cuba came around late with a silver in Snappa and a bronze in Flip Cup after not having much to show through the first six events.

St. Lucia (Grijalva/Wolf) – 10th – 1 point (1B)

Summary

St. Lucia started things off right with a bronze in Flip Cup but didn’t come close to threatening again.

Barbados (Ritter/Zenner) – 11th – 0 points

Summary

Barbados was the 1-seed in both Beer Pong and Beer Ball and qualified for the Quarters shoot-off but didn’t quite make the leaderboard.

Colombia (Grant/Mora) – 11th – 0 points

Summary

Colombia came closest in Straw Chug, where they finished fifth.

Djibouti (Glauber/Menoche) – 11th – 0 points

Summary

A semifinal run in Beer Pong highlighted the weekend for Djibouti.

Iraq (Miller/Smith) – 11th – 0 points

Summary

Miller had the individual best effort in Quarters, making twelve of his team’s thirteen, and qualifying for the runoff. They also barely bubbled the Straw Chug.

2023 Beer Olympics Event Results

  • GOLD - Wales
  • SILVER - Yugoslavia
  • BRONZE - Kiribati

Participating Countries

  • Barbados - Ritter, Zenner
  • Colombia - Grant, Mora
  • Cuba - Mato, Volk
  • Djibouti - Glauber, Menoche
  • Fiji - Aaberg, Naber
  • Iraq - Miller, Smith
  • Jamaica - Dragoslovich, Williams
  • Kiribati - Berroteran, Tevik
  • Lesotho - Bryant, LePage
  • Lithuania - Steffes, Winkis
  • St. Lucia - Grijalva, Wolf
  • Thailand - Austin, Roemer
  • Wales - Elrey, Underwood
  • Yugoslavia - King, Walton

Events

Flip Cup

  • GOLD - Kiribati
  • SILVER - Jamaica
  • BRONZE - St. Lucia

Pitcher Chug

  • GOLD - Wales - 14.32 (7.99, 6.33)
  • SILVER - Yugoslavia - 24.14 (9.47, 14.67)
  • BRONZE - Fiji - 28.39 (13.58, 14.81)

Beer Pong

  • GOLD - Yugoslavia
  • SILVER - Jamaica
  • BRONZE - Lithuania

Bounce Run

  • GOLD - Yugoslavia
  • SILVER - Jamaica
  • BRONZE - Lithuania

Beer Ball

  • GOLD - Lithuania
  • SILVER - Thailand
  • BRONZE - Lesotho

Quarters

  • GOLD - Fiji - 19 (8, 11)
  • SILVER - Thailand - 18 (9, 9)
  • BRONZE - Kiribati - 13.1 (9.1, 4)

Snappa

  • GOLD - Wales
  • SILVER - Cuba
  • BRONZE - Kiribati

Straw Chug

  • GOLD - Wales - 45.99 (20.29, 25.7)
  • SILVER - Lesotho - 46.61 (16.08, 30.53)
  • BRONZE - Thailand - 48.04 (24.21, 23.83)

Beer Run

  • GOLD - Wales
  • SILVER - Jamaica
  • BRONZE - Cuba

Obstacle Course

  • GOLD - Kiribati
  • SILVER - Lithuania
  • BRONZE - Yugoslavia