泰晤士报：美国拒绝在奖牌榜上认输

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　　简介

　　这次奥运显然对美国造成了某种伤害，长期垄断的金牌状元首次折戟中国。当然，对他们伤害尤甚的，是高速赛道上美帝时代的终结。而这篇泰晤士执笔的报道，语含讥讽，主观上戏谑美国，客观上抬举中国，最终是本届和下届东道的惺惺相惜——考虑到只有19枚金牌，英国只能是点头哈腰。

　　昨晚，当火炬（应该是奥运旗吧——译者）在世界最大的体育馆内由中国递交给伦敦时，本届奥运华丽落幕。激动人心的比赛时刻过去，国人们热烈庆祝中国的金牌数有史以来第一次雄居榜首。但除非你正身在美国，否则你也许就不知道其实美国队仍“宝刀不老”。

　　奥运比赛是以奖牌数衡量的，但问题在于哪种奖牌。奥委会曾按金牌数排列各国名次——中国自然炙手可热，荣光加身——但随后又承认，并没有一套官方系统来裁度谁是最终赢家。所以，美国民众是按包括铜牌和银牌在内的奖牌总数来解读比赛的。以这种标准，美国略胜东道主中国一筹。

　　但不可否认，无论那个角度，这都是一场中国扮演主角的体育盛会。一百年前的伦敦奥运会（1908年）上，中国甚至还没有代表团。而现在，他力压俄罗斯，震怖美利坚。在北京，中国几乎参加了每一个项目，即便是那些没能闯进前三的，这都预示着他们在四年后的伦敦将势不可挡。

　　就算是最弱的项目，也有不少突破。比如帆船，殷剑摘取了中国帆板的第一块金牌。她只是一个开头：青岛（奥运帆船场地）有80家快艇俱乐部，42所学校为共2000多名孩子开设了帆船课。中国打算接替英国成为海上霸主。

　　不管怎么个算法，北京成为美国72年来首次跌落金牌榜首的魂断之地是一个不争的事实。这显然对美国造成了某种伤害，而在径赛上伤痕尤深。面对跑道，美国高官们对自己队的表现议论纷纷，暗中又悄悄派人内部查问到底哪里出了错。

　　显而易见，是博尔特。他一举粉碎了美国人百米赛道上的寡头政治。鸟巢里，牙买加人把美国这位不可一世的祖师爷狠狠从讲经坛上扇了下来，并宣布他们才是男子和女子高速赛道上的大佬。包括6枚金牌在内的共11枚奖牌数，使这个人口仅北京市五分之一的小国令人过目难忘。

　　如同澳大利亚，在奥委会奖牌榜的排名从雅典的第四退步到现在的第六，美国也不得不接受世界其他国家正在迎头赶上的事实，他们耀武扬威、抖搂肌肉的时代行将结束。

　　美国人或许会装傻，但中国改变了整个奥运格局，而这与采用哪种奖牌榜毫无关系。

原文：America refuses to accept defeat in Olympic medal count

Kevin Eason, Sports News Correspondent, in Beijing

It was the perfect end to a perfect Olympic Games for China as the Olympic flame was handed over to London in one of the world's greatest stadiums last night. As memories of a sensational Games faded, China celebrated achieving its ultimate aim of heading the Olympic medals table for the first time. Unless you are in America, where you will discover that Team USA remain the force in world sport.

The race for the Olympic title is measured in medals, it just depends on which medals you consult. The IOC issues its league table based on the number of golds won, which gives China the honours, but then admits that there is no official system in place to decide who is top dog. So the American public is reading tables counting the total number of medals, including silver and bronze, won at the Games. On that measure, the US keep the whip hand over the home nation.

The undeniable fact, though, is that this has been China's Games in every sense. A century ago at the 1908 Games in London, China did not even field a team. Now they have overtaken Russia and loom in the US's sights. In Beijing, China contested almost every event and, even where they could not win medals, showed signs that they will be a formidable force in London.

Even in their weakest sports, there were breakthroughs. In sailing, for example, Yin Jian won China's first medal when she took windsurfing gold. She is just the start: in Qingdao, the venue for the Olympic sailing regatta, there are already 80 yacht clubs with 42 schools offering specific courses in sailing for more than 2,000 children. China plans to take over from Britain in ruling the Olympic waves.

Whatever way they count, the fact remains that Beijing was the first time in 72 years that the US have not headed the gold-medal standings - and it has clearly hurt, never more so than on the track, where US officials were talking up the team's performance while quietly launching an internal inquiry into what went wrong.

The answer was Usain Bolt, of course, the phenomenon who ended America's grip on the 100 metres. Jamaica blasted the US off the podium at Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium and claimed dominance of the high-speed events for men and women. Six golds and a total of 11 medals was an impressive performance from a country with a population of three million, a fifth of the number of residents of Beijing.

Like Australia, who sank from fourth in Athens to sixth in Beijing on the IOC medals table, the US will have to accept that the rest of the world is catching up fast and that they will not be able to flex their sporting muscles for much longer.

The US may feign ignorance, but there is a new Olympic order led by China, whichever league table you read.