BEIJING — The morning mourning turned into sudden celebration.
The hero walked out of the stadium, still beaded with sweat and sand, and two men deliriously hopped toward her and screamed “Wooooo!” like a train whistle, waving the Georgian flag.
“In our country, people are dying,” said Giorgi Tchanishvili, one of the two men. “We needed this.”
The little nation of Georgia is in war with powerful Russia, a conflict that started when these Olympic Games began last weekend. But on Wednesday, at the unlikely forum of an Olympic beach volleyball stadium, there was a dose of relief from the headlines back home. Georgia’s women’s team defeated Russia.
“Little successes are very important for us,” Tchanishvili said, after celebrating with Georgia player Martins das Chagas Andrezza. “It influences the people. They feel a little better.”
Wednesday morning was a smoggy day in China, but the atmosphere at the beach volleyball court felt like a sunny day in Chino. Poppy music was played after each point, be it KC & the Sunshine Band, Vengaboys or Wham! The crowd danced after vicious spikes, hollered after victorious sets. And between sets, 12 young women in bright blue bikinis bounced onto the court and did dances more suited to a LoDo Saturday night.
The international implications of the match, the first time in these Games that Russia faced Georgia, were buried in the sand.
But when it was over — Georgia won in three sets — it became clear that the victory transcended sports.
Hoards of international journalists packed the news conference like a Beijing subway car. Let’s just say that three weeks ago, the majority of those folks didn’t plan on covering Russia-Georgia beach volleyball.
The four players sat side by side at the main press table, two from Russia on the left, two from Georgia on the right. The Georgians were giddy. As for the Russians, you could feel their piercing eyes.
What complicated Georgia’s accomplishment was the simple fact that the Georgian players are actually Brazilian. The Georgian duo became citizens after they couldn’t make the Brazilian team; this “country shopping” is a common occurrence among Olympic athletes.
Nevertheless, Russian player Natalya Uryadova snapped at the news conference: “If they are Georgian, it certainly would be an influence for us. But the fact is, they’re not. We lost the game, and it’s something we regret. But, we’re not actually playing against Georgia.”
(The Russian Olympic basketball team, of course, features American born-and-bred Becky Hammon, the former Colorado State star.)
The Georgian athletes, however, seized the opportunity to chalk up a victory for their adopted homeland.
“I have double citizenships, I feel like I’m a Georgian,” Cristine Santanna said. “And we fought the past two years to be here. I am very proud today, not only because it was against Russia.”
Santanna and Andrezza were there three days ago, at the Olympic Village, when uncertainty hovered like smog.
The Georgian delegation discussed leaving the Games with its nation at war, just as the Russian delegation did. Both teams voted to stay.
And, on the same day the volleyball players spiked Russia, a Georgian Greco-Roman wrestler won gold. “I proved the existence of Georgia in the world with my gold,” Manuchar Kvirkvelia said.
As for the volleyball match, Russian Alexandra Shiryaeva spoke softly about those she knows in the military, but sounded bitter at the developments here.
“Russia is really big and Georgia is small and of course, for me, it’s really stupid for Georgia to start a war against Russia,” she said.
Standing outside the stadium, with the red and white Georgian flag draped over his shoulders, Tchanishvili stood in the vacuum of the Olympics where, at that moment, all was safe and right for Georgia.
“They fought with heart, energy and passion,” he said of the players. “Yes, they are both Brazilians. But they are part of our team.”
Benjamin Hochman: 303-954-1294 or bhochman@denverpost.com
