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Khatuna Lorig was proud to shoot her first Olympic arrow for the United States, but the Georgia native's thoughts soon returned to her troubled homeland.

Lorig was granted US citizenship in 2005 but her parents still live in Georgia, where Russian forces have been battling Georgian troops in the breakaway enclave of South Ossetia.

"It was a little shocking this morning, when I turned on the TV and saw the situation in Georgia," Lorig said.

"My parents are over there, very close to that area where the situation is happening. But I got to talk to my mum on the telephone this morning and she's fine.

"She was happy to hear from me and just told me to get my mind back into the Olympics."

Lorig, who competed for the Unified team of former Soviet states in 1992 and for Georgia in Atlanta and Sydney, finished a disappointing 26th in the women's Olympic archery ranking round.

South Korea dominated the day, sweeping the first three places and breaking the team Olympic record.

"I was just very proud to shoot that first arrow today," said Lorig, who missed the 2004 Games because her US citizenship did not come through in time.

"It was a little rough, the wind was so hard and it was very humid. I really wanted to do better but it just didn't happen."

Watch live coverage of the Olympics 24/7 on your PC via the Eurosport player - click on the link under the picture to subscribe. Or watch the action on British Eurosport - available in the UK on Sky channel 410 and Virgin Media channel 521.

Reuters