Two time Olympian Peter Varellas is one of the USA men's water polo team's top scorers. So far at the Olympic games in London, the team's undefeated. One of the leftie's top fans lives in fresno- his grandfather, Peter Nicholas Varellas. The Olympian is actually named after him.
“I feel thrilled! I'm glad to be alive and to see this happen, I'm very grateful. I wish I was over there,” said Varellas.
Varellas has been keeping up with all of his grandson's games online. And he never minds watching the matches for a second time on TV. Varellas of course already knows this game's outcome- a win for team USA, and his grandson scored three goals. Varellas said, “He's not a guy that takes shots that easily. He's very cautious and he's careful when he takes his shots. But he's becoming a little more loose about that.”
He says his grandson has always been athletic.
“Peter was involved in baseball, basketball, and other sports and he did swimming too,” explained Varellas.
Varellas says his grandson became really good at baseball. But at 12 years old, his grandson suffered a severe injury and had to stop playing sports for an entire year. Varellas says he then gave water polo a shot. He explained, “He got into water polo, tried it but didn't like it at first. But after a week, he said I think it's pretty good. I think I kind of like this.”
And of course, the rest is history. Varellas is a proud grandfather. He expressed, “This is kind of a great thing to be doing. What else is better than this?
Team hasn't won olympic gold in men's water polo since 1904. The team fell short four years ago in beijing, where they took silver. This year's team is believed to be a strong contender for the gold.
The olympic water polo tournament will run until august 12th, when the medals are handed out.
TXT 24
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