Beijing Olympics 2008 - Famous Fathers and Their Famous Children

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics, more than 10,000 athletes from 205 countries will compete in various disciplines for the ultimate in sporting glory. For some, it is not just about winning a medal, but also living their father's Olympic dreams. These are their stories.

Michelle Carter

United States athlete Michelle Carter is hoping she can do her father proud at the Beijing Olympics. After all, her dad is Michael Carter, a silver medalist in the shot put at the 1984 Olympics. Father and daughter hold the men's and women's respective national high school record for the shot put.

Michelle talks about her father's influence on her own sporting career, "I guess my dad taught me everything I knew because he started me out," she says. "And so by him teaching me the basics that set me up for whatever else I needed."

Meagen Nay

Australian swimmer Meagen Nay followed in her father's footsteps when she qualified for the 200m backstroke at the Beijing Olympics. Her dad, Robbie Nay, was part of the swimming relay team at the 1972 Olympics in Munich. Meagen's qualification created history by making her and her dad the first father-daughter combination to represent Australia in swimming at the Olympic Games.

Sadly, Meagen's father cannot share his daughter's joy. Robbie passed away in a car accident when his daughter was still a baby. "It's a dream come true to follow in my dad's footsteps and go to the Olympics and I wish he was here now," she says.

Leander Paes

For a nation of one billion people starved of Olympic medals, Indian tennis star Leander Paes is a legend. Paes comes from a family of sportspersons. His father Vece Paes was part of the bronze-winning hockey squad in the 1972 Munich Olympics. His mom Jennifer Paes was the captain of the Indian basketball team at the 1980 Asian Basketball Championship.

Leander often mentions how his father's bronze medal inspired him to try his best at the Olympics. In a nail-biting match with a player no less than Andre Agassi, Paes lost the bid for the gold medal to eventually win bronze at the Atlanta Olympics.