When Georgian bobsleigh player Saba Kumaritashvili accelerated on the icy track of the Snow Dragon and successfully completed all the races, he clenched his fists, looked up to the sky and was relieved, even though he finished 31st.
In Georgia, the surname Kumaritashvili is synonymous with sledding.
Saba's great-grandfather brought bobsleigh to Georgia and became the country's first bobsleigh instructor, while Saba's father, who was once president of the Georgian Bobsleigh Federation, is now succeeded by another of his cousins.
At the Winter Olympics, the surname is a sad story. During his last training session before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, the 21-year-old Nordal died of accidentally hitting a steel pole on the side of the track, just hours before the opening of the Winter Olympics.
This is the first time in 35 years of bobsleigh that a death tragedy has occurred on the track, and this tragedy has shaken the entire world of bobsleigh sports.
Saba, who was only 9 years old at the time, was already obsessed with sledding, and his cousin's tragedy did not shake him from starting his bobsleigh career – he had only one goal, to complete Nordal's dream and become the first athlete of the Kumari Tashvili family to participate in the Winter Olympic bobsleigh competition.
Today, the Georgian athlete is also 21 years old, the same age as his cousin when he played for the Vancouver Winter Olympics. Saba stood on the field of the Beijing Winter Olympics, fulfilled his cousin's wish, and realized his dream.
(Editor: Jing Jing)