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Zhu Jie: My family is truly an "Olympic family"

As my father passes the flame to me, it is as if the Olympic spirit is relayed from generation to generation.

My name is Jiang Zhongyuan, I'm 55-years-old.

Since I was very young, I was influenced by my parents love for sports. Ever since 2001, when Beijing's successful bid was announced, my entire family has devoted all time not spent on work to participating in Olympic activities. Both my father and I were chosen to be torchbearers, and on August 8, I will bring my 80-year-old grandmother to Beijing to watch Olympic competitions.

Both my father and mother were active athletes. My father was a basketball player, and my mother a record holder in the 800 and 1500 meter runs. While I was in school, I managed to maintain my family's athletic legacy, claiming many first places in sports meets. On June 8, in Bose, my father and I served as torchbearers; he was the 126th, I was the 127th. I felt like the Olympic spirit was being relayed much like the relationship between my father and I, being passed down from one generation to the next.

Coincidentally, my father's birthday is August 8, the day the Beijing Olympic Games begins. My father is a low-key person, he never asks for help. In 2006, he missed out on his chance to be selected as a torchbearer through the Lenovo selections, because he was working in the field. In 2007, when Samsung began their selection process, I submitted my father's name, as well as my own. Very quickly, he was notified of his selection, whereas I was merely listed as a substitute. It wasn't until April of this year that I was told that I was also going to be an official torchbearer in the torch relay.

Now that our part in the torch relay is over, my family is looking forward to going to the Olympic venues to watch the competitions. I was lucky enough to have been picked through the lottery system for tickets to the opening ceremony and my mother got tickets to the closing ceremony. In addition, we got tickets for beach volleyball, gymnastics, women's football, and field hockey competitions, 8 tickets in all.

How are we going to split up the tickets? We're not absolutely sure yet, except that I am definitely bringing my 80-year-old grandmother, who raised me, to Beijing. Her greatest dream is to go to Beijing to see the flag-raising. I must help her fulfill this dream.

My father has protected the frontier for almost 30 years