3-13 1968年墨西哥城奥运会

Modern Olympic Games Review

——1968 Olympics, Mexico City

The Games of the Nineteenth Olympiad were the highest and most controversial ever held. Staged at 7,349 feet above sea level where the thin air was a major concern to many competing countries, the Mexico City Olympics were another chapter1 in a year buffeted2 by the Vietnam War, the assassinations3 of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy, and the Soviet 3 invasion of Czechoslovakia. Ten days before the Olympics were scheduled to open on Oct. 12, over 300 Mexico City university students were killed by army troops when a campus protest turned into a riot.

However, the Mexico City Olympic Games were still held, with 5530 athletes from 112 countries participating.

The first Olympics at high altitude hurt the long distance runners but gave sprinters4 and jumpers a huge advantage as world records were set in all men's sprint 4 events over 400 metres or shorter, while five different athletes broke the record in the triple jump5.

Lee Evans' mark of 43.86 for the 400m would stand for 29 years while Bob Beamon will be remembered for ever for his spectacular long jump of 8.90 metres, a mark which would only be broken 23 years later.

On a sad note, the Games saw the first drug disqualification as modern pentathlete6 Hans-Gunnar Liljenwall tested positive7 for excessive alcohol.

The Games ended on a controversial note when American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos were removed from the Olympic village by the IOC.

In protest at the Mexican government's killing 6 of unarmed demonstrators on the eve of the Games, the two staged a silent protest with a raised fist salute 7 during the 200m award ceremony, which didn't go down8 well with the IOC, who promptly 8 ordered the USA to send them home.

注释：

1. chapter [5tFAptE] n.〈喻〉（人生或历史的）重要章节；时期，时代

2. buffet 1 [5bQfit] vt. 打击；连续猛击；伤害

3. assassination 2 [E7sAsi5neiFEn] n. 暗杀，行刺

4. sprinter 5 [5sprIntE(r)] n. 短跑运动员，短跑选手

5. triple jump [体] 三级跳远

6. pentathlete [pen5tAWli:t] n. [体] 五项全能运动员

7. positive [5pCzEtiv] adj. [医]（试验）阳性的，Rh阳性的

8. go down被接受；受欢迎

现代奥运回顾

——1968年墨西哥城奥运会

第19届奥运会是有史以来在海拔最高的地方举行，也是最有争议的一届奥运会。由于墨西哥城海拔7349英尺，许多参赛国家都对那里稀薄的空气极为关注。墨西哥城奥运会召开的这一年可谓是多事之秋：越南战争、马丁·路德·金和罗伯特·肯尼迪遇刺、苏联入侵捷克斯洛伐克。距奥运会举办日期——10月12日前10天，墨西哥城的一场大学校园抗议演变成骚乱，300多名大学生被军队开枪打死。

　　但是，墨西哥城奥运会还是如期举办，共有112个国家的5530名运动员参加了比赛。

　　首次在高海拔地区举办的奥运会害苦了长跑运动员，但是却成就了短跑和跳远运动员。400米以内的所有男子短跑项目的世界记录都被刷新，而在三级跳远中，有5名运动员先后打破了该项目的世界记录。

　　李·埃文斯以43.86秒的成绩打破了男子400米跑的世界记录。他的这一记录保持了29年之久。鲍勃·比蒙的跳远以令人叹为观止的8.90米让世人永远记住了他的名字。这一记录也是经过了漫长的23年才被人打破。

　　本届奥运会的一个遗憾是，现代五项运动员汉斯·冈纳·利延瓦尔被查出体内酒精含量超标。这是奥运会首次出现的药检不合格。

　　此外，本届奥运会在结束之际还出现了不和谐音符，美国运动员汤米·史密斯和约翰·卡洛斯被国际奥委会从奥林匹克村中驱逐了出去。

　　原来，在200米赛跑的颁奖仪式上，这两位运动员举起拳头，对墨西哥政府在奥运会前夕杀害手无寸铁的示威者进行了无声的抗议。这一举动令国际奥委会大为不快，当即责令美国代表队将这两位运动员遣送回国。