There were many big draws to the IAC's various events. It was certainly no secret that one of them were how good Animalians looked in their form-fitting uniforms. Of course, that got addressed after the pole vaulting event though it seemed unlikely that everyone was going to get new uniforms immediately. And of course, there were events were the Animalians showed off more of their bodies like the swimming competitions and the beach volleyball tournament. And that's not even bringing up the events that required Animalians to wear as little as possible such as the bodybuilding competition and the associated Beach Bod competition.
But there were plenty still who were fascinated by Animalians' athletic prowess considering larger Animalians have strength surpassing humans. Though there is one event that got more attention than any of the others, simply because it involved something humans were incapable of doing: the Flyer Games. It never ceased to amaze people to see the various flying Animalians soar overhead, being able to achieve what man has dreamed ever since looking up at the birds in the sky.
The races from the last IAC's event have returned from the long-distance flying races to the shorter ring races. And due to the Flyer Games being held at Mesozoic Enclave's Dino Dome and the increase in conversions since the last IAC, the pterosaurs have more representatives this year. Sophie and Roland were still highly-favored to win, considering how close Sophie came last time. Though it was still going to be very close competition.
Though there was one new addition to the Flyer Games to make them more than just aerial races: an obstacle course. Upon hearing about it, most of the fans wondered what the point of it would be if the competitors could literally fly over the obstacles. Firstly, that wasn't truly an option because the various obstacles were hanging directly from the ceiling. And secondly, the obstacle course was designed to the flyers' coordination, to see how well they can transition from flying to climbing as they took short flights between the various obstacles. Those obstacles climbing two separate nets, both in different directions, swinging from rings, climbing up a rope, and crossing a Jacob's ladder (which is a horizontal rope ladder that's more loosely attached, which can cause the climber to swing around). Of course, there was a lot of padding on the floor below so anyone who fell would have a soft landing. This would be a hard challenge for any acrobat and the distance between obstacles made wings necessary.
It wasn't much of a surprise that Mercy did the best at the obstacle course. As a cat burglar, she required an athletic and limber body to get into tight spaces, something her bat wings and more voluptuous figure now prevented. And as a bat, she was able to transition from flying to crawling easily. Though she didn't quite have a bat's immunity to vertigo considering she was so much more massive than a natural bat, she did have a bat's excellent grip. Mercy was quite thrilled to win gold at this event, especially with her mate, Zack, cheering her on.
Though another thing that the Flyer Games brought up is the possibility of another attempt at that "Around the World in 80 Days" flight. Previous attempts to make that happen were thwarted by bad weather, political strife, and the global pandemic. Now there was consideration for Gabriel the albatross to make that flight in early October so that he could home in time for Christmas. But the question remained as to who would fly with him since extensive testing has shown that Quetzal the Quetzalcoatlus is incapable of maintaining the long-distance flying required to cross the oceans. Though Gabriel's flying partner didn't necessarily have to be another albatross., they would require extended flying stamina in order to make it through the long flights over water. Perhaps the Flyer Games will provide an answer to that.