Thursday, August 28, 2008

Former classmate....


From the front page of the Columbus Dispatch sports section....

Ohio State fencer, sister caught in fighting in Georgia

Mikhail Momtselidze flew to the Republic of Georgia last month to visit his roots, to see the mountains and lakes of his childhood, and to feel the tender touch of an elderly grandmother.

The Ohio State fencer's homecoming took an unexpected and perilous turn, however.

Momtselidze, 24, a Whetstone graduate, and his sister, Sofiya, 17, were trapped in Russian-occupied Georgia, trying to return to the United States, after fighting broke out there earlier this month. Both are U.S citizens.

They spent several days sequestered in their grandmother's house without electricity or water after Russian forces bombed areas surrounding the small village of Agara. Brother and sister, armed with only a cell phone, managed to find safe passage to the capital, Tbilisi, to stay with an uncle and await flights to the United States.

Sofiya flew home yesterday, and Mikhail, a member of the Buckeyes' NCAA champion fencing team, has booked a flight for Friday, his father said. "If all goes well, he will be back home in Columbus by Friday night at 10," Igor said.

http://dispatch.com/live/content/sports/stories/2008/08/28/osu_fencer.ART_ART_08-28-08_C1_PAB5IME.html?sid=101

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