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Beach volleyball: Cristine Santanna and Andrezza Martins, Georgia

From left, Andrezza Martins and Cristine Santanna celebrate. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)
From left, Andrezza Martins and Cristine Santanna celebrate. (Associated Press / The Spokesman-Review)

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