"....his reactions were so slow it managed to make an escape."
-- match report Liechtenstein v Chad, Daily Prophet, 18 May 2014 (Pm)
Jacques Miskine played Seeker for the Chadian National Team at the Quidditch World Cup tournament in 2014 (Pm).
Miskine was a participant during the first round, where Chad played against Liechtenstein – a three-day marathon. Although the Snitch was visible at least three times during the first day, neither side’s Seeker was able to get to it. Miskine was so exhausted by the second day that he didn’t notice the Snitch hovering above his left eyebrow for five minutes. On the third day, the Snitch was inches away from Miskine’s outstretched hand when his Liechtenstein opposite finally caught it (Pm).
Other canon notes and references
Since Viktor Krum, born 1976, was the oldest player at the tournament (Pm), Miskine must have been born after 1976.
Commentary
Etymology
Jacques is a male French given name, deriving from the Latin Iacobus, the Greek Ιακωβος (Iakobos) and Hebrew יַעֲקֹב (Ya'aqov), which in the Bible means "holder of the heel" or "supplanter". It may also have come from a name like יַעֲקֹבְאֵל (Ya'aqov'el) meaning "may God protect" (Behind the Name). A famous Chadian with the same name is Jacques Doumro, who fought for France in World War II, and eventually became the General and Chief-of-Staff of Chadian Armed Forces in the 1960s.
Miskine comes from Arabic مسكين (miskīn) and is a French slang term used to mock someone as "pauvre, malheureux, triste (a poor, unhappy or sad one)", fitting considering this embarrassing Quidditch World Cup incident (Wiktionary Français). A famous Chadian with the same surname is Idriss Miskine, a Chadian diplomat and politician.
Notes
Lexicon list of Seekers
From the Web
Writing by J.K. Rowling on Pottermore:
- History of the Quidditch World Cup
- 2014 Quidditch World Cup reports
- 2014 Quidditch World Cup final
- The Daily Prophet
Pottermore enhanced reading experience: Quidditch World Cup
Screenshots of the original Daily Prophet coverage of the 2014 Quidditch World Cup on Pottermore: Imgur archive
Harry Potter Wiki: Jacques Miskine
Pensieve (Comments)
Tags: athletes competitions/competitors endurance exhausted international match sports teammates teams three tournaments