Posted Sunday, August 8, 2004; 11.13BST
Austria's Helmut and Violetta Oblinger won't be the only Olympians making Athens a family affair. Even this year's mascots, phevos and athena, are siblings. Slovakia's medal hopes ride on whitewater canoeists Peter and Pavol Hochschorner, 24, the twins who won the country's only gold four years ago.
Husband and wife Vago and Mary Beth Iagorashvili will compete in the modern pentathlon for the U.S., the third country Vago, 40, has represented. He won bronze for the U.S.S.R. in 1988, then represented his native Georgia in 1996. Mary Beth, 30, placed fourth in Sydney.
Siblings Robert Korzeniowski and Silwia Korzeniowska will racewalk for Poland. Robert, 36, is the two-time defending champ in the men's 50 km; Silwia, 24, would be happy with a top-15 finish in the women's 20 km.
On the tennis court Zimbabwean siblings Cara and Wayne Black, who won the mixed doubles at Wimbledon in July, will be aiming for podium places. Mixed doubles isn't on the Olympic program, so Cara will play singles, where the favorites are Venus and Serena Williams; Wayne will partner Kevin Ullyett in men's doubles. The world's No. 6 pair, they're Zimbabwe's best hope for its first medal since 1980. To grab gold, though, they'll have to get past twins Bob and Mike Bryan of the U.S., ranked No. 2 in the world.
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