China's Track Superstar Drops Out

悲情刘翔：中国的田径超级明星退出比赛

It was the race all of China - and, no, this is not journalistic hyperbole - was waiting for. On Aug. 18, under a hazy Beijing sky, Chinese mega-star Liu Xiang was supposed to cruise to victory in heat six of the 110m hurdles' first round. His competitors were, frankly, uninspiring - the man with the second fastest personal best after Liu's 12.88 seconds was a Dutchman who had clocked in a relativelyleisurely 13.35 seconds. This was going to be the moment of glory for a man for whom a Beijing gold medal was the foremost wish among the Chinese people, according to a nationwide poll. A sea of Chinese flags waved. The Bird's Nest Stadium thrummed with expectation.

这是整个中国期待的比赛，这样说绝没有丝毫的夸张。8月18日北京的天空有些雾蒙蒙，全中国都在想象他们的超级巨星刘翔将会在奥运会的110米栏第六小组的预赛中轻松获胜。老实说，他小组赛的竞争对手并不扎眼--排在刘翔的最好成绩12.88秒之后的是一名荷兰选手，他的个人最好成绩仅仅为13.35秒。一项全国调查显示：中国人在北京奥运会上最大的期望就是刘翔夺取金牌。看台已经成为五星红旗的海洋，整个鸟巢翘首以待。

But when the starting gun went off, Liu was missing from lane 2. Minutes earlier, during a warm-up set of hurdles, Liu had grabbed his right leg, wincing in pain. As the 25-year-old returned to the starting blocks, his face was clenched in a grimace. The nearly 91,000-strong crowd, which had gathered at the Bird's Nest Stadium to watch China's most-beloved Olympic athlete, couldn't see Liu's contorted facial expression, so they continued to wave their national flags. Then, a false start. Liu took a few brave steps but his leg seemed to crumple. Instead of returning to the blocks for another try, he slowly limped off the track. The T.V. cameras, which had nosed their way into the faces of many a disgraced, disappointed athlete, kept a respectful distance. As a nation waited, Liu Xiang, icon of the Beijing Olympics and face of countless advertising billboards, sat backstage rubbing his leg. His race went on without him.

但是当发令枪响之后，人们在第二道没有发现刘翔的身影。就在几分钟前的热身活动中，刘翔曾痛苦地捂住自己的右腿。当他回到起跑线时，又露出了痛苦的表情。但是鸟巢看台上将近91000名观众看不清他们最喜欢的这位奥运选手此时痛苦的表情，他们尽情挥舞着国旗。比赛开始了，刘翔坚持跑了几步就支撑不住了，但是这次有人抢跑。可是刘翔没有再次回到起跑线，而是一瘸一拐地离开了赛场。记者们让摄像镜头和刘翔保持着一定的距离，而通常他们都会争抢着捕捉运动员种种失意的表情。在全国人民的期待中，刘翔--北京奥运会的偶像以及无数广告的形象代理--此时只能在场外轻揉自己受伤的大腿。他的比赛在激烈进行，可是我们找不到他矫健的身影。

A Greek named Konstadinos Douvalidis won the heat with a time of 13.49 seconds, but few in the stadium could probably recount that result. On Aug. 18, even though China already had surpassed its 2004 Athens total golden haul by three medals, a nation was paralyzed by shock. Even the announcers on Chinese television didn't know what to say, letting silence wash over the airwaves. In post-race news wrap-ups, at least two Chinese journalists choked up, unable to describe what had just happened. The violin strains that accompanied montages of Liu's Olympic journey felt more suited to a state leader's funeral rather than a race averted.

希腊人Konstadinos Douvalidis以13.49秒的成绩取得小组赛头名，但是鸟巢体育场中几乎没有人记得这个结果。8月18日这天，尽管中国代表团的金牌总数已经超过了2004年雅典奥运会的金牌总数3块（注：截止发稿时），但是刘翔的伤退仍然震惊了全中国。就连中国电视台的播音员也不知如何报道了，电波中只有寂静。在赛后的新闻发布会上，至少两名中国记者失声痛哭，竟不能描述所发生的一切。伴随刘翔入场的的小提琴此时更让人感觉悲壮。

After winning a surprise gold medal in the 110m hurdles in Athens four years ago, Liu morphed from amiable jock to national stud. In 2006, he shattered the event's world record with his 12.88 time. As an Asian athlete competing in a klieg-light track event - not an international sideline sport like badminton or table-tennis or synchronized diving - Liu came to personify the Chinese nation's rising ambitions. The pressure for a golden repeat in China's Games must have been overwhelming.

自从四年前刘翔在雅典爆冷夺取110米栏金牌后，他从一名普通的运动员变为全国偶像。在2006年，他以12.88秒的成绩打破110米栏的世界纪录。做为一名亚洲运动员参加这项世人关注的田径赛事--而不是其他非主流国际赛事，比如羽毛球、乒乓球、双人跳水--刘翔代表了中华民族的勃勃雄心。因此，刘翔在北京奥运会上卫冕金牌的巨大压力可想而知。

Before the Opening Ceremony on Aug. 8, there was frenzied speculation in the Chinese blogosphere about who would carry China's flag and who would light the Olympic flame. The two obvious candidates were hoops star Yao Ming and hurdling legend Liu. When Yao loped in front of the massive Chinese Olympic team with the Chinese flag held aloft, the audience naturally thought Liu would carry the final torch. But that honor went instead to retired gymnast and sports-clothing tycoon Li Ning. Liu didn't even march with the Chinese Olympic delegation. Where was he?

在8月8日开幕式之前，网上对谁将成为旗手以及谁将点燃主火炬的猜测异常热烈。NBA巨星姚明和110米栏王刘翔看起来最合适不过。当姚明高举国旗走在庞大的中国体育代表团之前的时候，观众们自然想到刘翔将点燃奥运会主火炬。但是享受这一殊荣的是昔日体操王子、现在的体育服装商界大亨李宁，刘翔连开幕式都没有参加。人们在想，他去哪里了？

Earlier this spring, Liu had disappeared from public view, nursing a sore hamstring that led him to pull out of a May race and triggered another injury with his Achilles tendon. By the start of the summer, the protective cocoon around the hurdler had reached epic proportions. In June, Dayron Robles, a bespectacled Cuban, shaved one-hundredth of a second off of Liu's world record. The Chinese was going into the Beijing Olympics as the underdog. (Robles easily won his Beijing heat less than an hour before Liu was scheduled to compete, while medal contender Terrence Trammell of the U.S. also failed to finish his race due to an injured leg.)

早在今年春天的时候，刘翔为了治疗伤病就从公共视野里退出了，他因此还缺席了5月份的一场比赛。但不久他跟腱却又受了伤。从今年夏天开始，对栏王刘翔的保护就达到了极点。来自古巴的罗伯斯在六月份以超过刘翔的世界纪录百分之一秒刷新了男子110米栏世界纪录，本届奥运会刘翔不再是最有力的金牌争夺者。（一小时之前，就在刘翔比赛之前，罗伯斯在小组赛上轻松获胜，而另一位来自美国的奖牌有力争夺者特拉梅尔也由于伤病退出了比赛。）

At a press conference shortly after Liu pulled out, Liu's coach Sun Haiping, who has mentored the Shanghai-born athlete since he was a child, dissolved into tears. Dabbing his eyes with a tissue, he described how Liu's hamstring and Achilles tendon had caused excruciating pain, and how sports hospital staff had tried intensive massage to heal the injuries. But it was of no use. The throbbing, exacerbated by a training session two days before, was so severe that the hurdler was shivering during rehab treatments. Liu was determined to compete unless the pain was "intolerable," said Feng Shuyong, China's head athletics coach. Apparently, it was. Mighty Liu Xiang had dropped out.

在刘翔退出比赛后的新闻发布会上，刘翔的教练孙海平潸然泪下（刘翔出生于上海，孙海平从刘翔儿时就开始了指导，直到现在）。孙海平一边擦拭泪水，一边讲述刘翔受伤的腿筋和跟腱造成的巨大伤痛，他还讲述了医护人员精心按摩以求治愈他的伤病。但是，这些都没有起到作用。两天前的一次训练再次加剧了伤痛，以至于刘翔在恢复治疗中痛得直发抖。中国田径队总教练冯树勇说："刘翔坚持要参加比赛，除非疼痛不能忍受。"很显然，这次的伤痛刘翔忍受了。强大的刘翔告别了奥运会比赛
关键字:英语国际新闻
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