18 Aug 2008

Volleyball coach returns to team

10:23 am on 18 August 2008

The New Zealand coach of the United States men's volleyball squad competing at the Beijing Olympics, Hugh McCutcheon, has returned to the team less than a week after his father-in-law was murdered in China's capital.

Barbara Bachman, McCutcheon's mother-in-law, who is still recovering from wounds suffered in the attack that killed her husband, has left Beijing by air ambulance and returned to the United States.

McCutcheon says they are extremely appreciative of the support they have received from people in Beijing, the United States, New Zealand, and around the world.

McCutcheon's wife and her two sisters have also returned to the United States.

The US team, ranked third in the world, had been coached by an assistant while McCutcheon dealt with the family tragedy.