BEIJING - Georgian hurdler David Ilariani anxiously calls home to his war-battered country every day, afraid to hear his wife's response to his simple question: How is everything going?
The 27-year-old Ilariani is trying to concentrate on the 110-metre hurdles at the Beijing Olympics, but given his country's current conflict with Russia, he's becoming increasingly fearful for his pregnant wife and two-year-old son.
He feels like he should go home. She reassures him to stay and compete.
"It's too hard," Ilariani said. "Every day, every night you're thinking about it, scared that something will happen to your family."
Ilariani said the Georgian athletes talked about possibly going home, but decided to stay. He is Georgia's lone representative in track and field.
He got through the first round of the 110 hurdles Monday despite a sixth-place finish in his heat. It was the same competition that will be remembered for the race-that-never was by China's Liu Xiang.
When Ilariani departed for the Olympics, Georgia and Russia were not exactly friends -- but the two countries weren't at war.
Then Georgia hit the Russia-backed separatist region of South Ossetia with an attack on Aug. 7, and Russian troops rolled in, raising concerns over a long-term occupation of a country pivotal in a power struggle between resurgent Russia and the West.
"It's hard not to worry," Ilariani said. "I hope when I go home everything will be quiet and (there will be) peace."
If not, he's ready to join the fight.
"I'll go for sure," he said. "I love my country so I will do anything for my country's peace."
For now, he just needs to find a way to concentrate, something that's been a struggle for him since the conflict broke out.
"It's too hard to focus on the competition when you have war in your home," he said. "I called them and they said, 'We're good, don't worry about us.' But it's hard not to worry, you can't see, you just hear."
So far, the reports from his wife have been encouraging. But he would rather see for himself.
"We are calling and they say it's getting quiet," said Ilariani, who lives in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi. "But Russian military is in Georgia, walking on the streets. People are scared."
Being around the track, he's constantly bumping into Russian athletes, such as fellow hurdler Igor Peremota. He understands it's not their fault for this conflict.
"We are friends," said Ilariani, who taught himself English just so he could communicate better at track meets. "They are also disappointed, they are also shocked. Sport is not about hate (for) each other, sport is for friendship. It's about peace and friendship."
