August 13, 2008 in Sports

Beach volleyball: Cristine Santanna and Andrezza Martins, Georgia

 
Associated Press photo

From left, Andrezza Martins and Cristine Santanna celebrate.
(Full-size photo)

Cristine Santanna and Andrezza Martins, native Brazilians playing for Georgia at the Olympics, rallied to a three-set victory over Russia, advancing to the medal round and sending a proud message to their adopted and war-torn homeland.

The Georgian team rallied Wednesday from a sloppy 21-10 loss in the first set to win the next two, 22-20 and 15-12, and beat Alexandra Shiryaeva and Natalia Uryadova.

Although they made just a few short visits to the country to obtain their new passports, Santanna and Martins took on the nicknames Saka and Rtvelo – “Georgia,” in Georgian – out of affection for the land that allowed them to qualify for the Olympics.

Associated Press

Recent stories in Sports
No comments on this story so far. Add yours!

    You must be logged in to post comments.
    Please create a profile or log in here.