老將遇新秀，冬奧花樣滑冰誰封后？

老將遇新秀，冬奧花樣滑冰誰封后?

SOCHI, Russia — Kim Yu-na had arrived on a long flight from South Korea to defend her Olympic figure skating title. This was her first practice, near dusk on Thursday, and dozens of reporters and photographers recorded every jump and spin and mop of the brow. The whir of cameras made a hushed, clattering sound like cards in the spokes of a bicycle tire.

俄羅斯索契——金妍兒(Kim Yu-na)經(jīng)過長途飛行從韓國抵達了索契，她將迎來冬奧會花樣滑冰項目的衛(wèi)冕之戰(zhàn)。這是她在索契的首次訓練，周四，黃昏將至的時候，幾十名記者和攝影師記錄下了她的每次跳躍、旋轉(zhuǎn)，甚至每次拭去額上汗水的瞬間。工作中的攝像機發(fā)出連續(xù)而清脆的聲音，就像硬紙片在轉(zhuǎn)動的自行車輪輻條間發(fā)出的聲響。

Afterward, Kim was asked about her presumed top challenger, 15-year-old Yulia Lipnitskaya, whose poise, youthful jumping, blurring spins and gymnastic flexibility helped lift Russia to a team gold medal and made her an international sensation.

然后，金妍兒被問到了與她的最大挑戰(zhàn)者——15歲的尤利婭·利普尼茨卡婭(Yulia Lipnitskaya)有關(guān)的問題。利普尼茨卡婭淡定的姿態(tài)、富有活力的跳躍、令人目不暇接的旋轉(zhuǎn)，以及體操運動員般的靈活性，幫助俄羅斯奪得了花樣滑冰團體賽的金牌，在世界范圍引起了轟動。

Women’s skating does not begin until Wednesday, but anticipation has been growing since last month when an emergent Lipnitskaya won the European championship. This is probably the most eagerly awaited competition of the Winter Games.

花樣滑冰女子單人滑的比賽周三才拉開序幕，但是自從上個月，新星利普尼茨卡婭贏得了歐洲花樣滑冰錦標賽冠軍之后，人們對該項目比賽的期待不斷升溫。這可能是本屆冬奧會最受矚目的比賽。

Yes, Kim said through an interpreter, she had watched Lipnitskaya compete in the team event on television before leaving Seoul, the South Korean capital. But Kim, 23, would not compare herself to anyone, except to say that this would be her second and final Olympics, while it would be Lipnitskaya’s first.

是的，金妍兒說，她在離開韓國首都首爾之前看了利普尼茨卡婭在團體賽中的表現(xiàn)。一名口譯員把她的話翻譯給了記者。但現(xiàn)年23歲的金妍兒不愿意把自己和任何人進行比較，她只是說，這將是自己的第二次、也是最后一次奧運比賽，然而，這卻是利普尼茨卡婭首次參加奧運會。

“The meaning is different,” Kim said.

“它對我們的意義并不一樣，”金妍兒說。

Kim could become only the third woman after Sonja Henie of Norway (1928, 1932, 1936) and Katarina Witt of East Germany (1984, 1988) to win consecutive gold medals. Lipnitskaya would be the youngest gold medalist since Tara Lipinski, who was also 15 when she defeated Michelle Kwan at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.

金妍兒或許能成為繼挪威的桑雅·赫尼(Sonja Henie, 1928, 1932, 1936) 和東德的卡特琳娜·維特(Katarina Witt, 1984, 1988)之后第三位蟬聯(lián)冬奧會冠軍的女子花滑運動員。利普尼茨卡婭則可能成為塔拉·利平斯基(Tara Lipinski)之后最年輕的花滑奧運金牌得主，后者1998年在日本長野冬奧會上打敗了關(guān)穎珊，當時也是15歲。

“To knock an Olympic champion off the top spot of the podium is going to take a lot,” said Kristi Yamaguchi, the 1992 Olympic champion.

1992年的奧運冠軍克麗斯蒂·山口(Kristi Yamaguchi)說，“要把一名奧運冠軍從最高領(lǐng)獎臺上拉下來是要付出很多努力的。”

“Yu-na will have to make mistakes for Lipnitskaya to beat her, but it’s possible.”

“金妍兒只有出現(xiàn)失誤才會敗給利普尼茨卡婭，但這是有可能的。”

Each skater has her strengths and vulnerabilities. Kim is both a champion and a mystery. At the 2010 Vancouver Games, she gave one of the greatest Olympic performances ever delivered. At her best, Kim has an ethereal command on the ice, whispery speed, helicoptering height and graceful flow on her jumps. Last March, after seldom competing during the season, she won the world championship decisively.

每一名花滑選手都有自己的長處和弱點。金妍兒既是一名冠軍，也是一位謎一樣的選手。在2010年溫哥華冬奧會上，她呈現(xiàn)了奧運會有史以來的最偉大演出。在最佳狀態(tài)下，金妍兒能展示出精妙的冰上控制，風一樣的速度，其跳躍動作既能極具高度，又保持流暢連貫。去年3月，雖然此前很少在當時那個賽季參加比賽，她仍然無可爭辯地贏得了世錦賽冠軍。

“She can do a simple move, and it has you on the edge of your seat,” Yamaguchi said.

山口說，“她可以只是做一個簡單的動作，卻扣人心弦。”

Yet, Kim missed weeks of training and the entire international Grand Prix circuit in the fall while recovering from a metatarsal injury in her right foot. She has competed only at a less visible event in Zagreb, Croatia, and at the South Korean national championship.

然而，由于右腳跖骨傷病的恢復，金妍兒在秋季錯過了好幾周的訓練和國際滑冰聯(lián)盟花樣滑冰大獎賽(Grand Prix)的全部比賽。她只在克羅地亞的薩格勒布參加了一個不太知名的賽事，以及韓國錦標賽。

Her practices here have been impressive, but there will be no day of rest between the short and long program, no time to recover physically and emotionally, which left the conclusion of the Olympic men’s competition drained and messy.

她今天訓練時的表現(xiàn)已然非常精彩，但短節(jié)目和自由滑的比賽之間沒有整天的休息時間，沒有時間進行體力和情緒上的恢復和調(diào)整，也是因為這個原因，本屆冬奧會男子花滑的比賽以運動員精疲力盡和混亂不堪的表現(xiàn)而收場。

“Who knows what Yu-na Kim is going to show up?” said Paul Wylie, the 1992 Olympic silver medalist. “She could just take all the air out of the room, but I think she’s going to struggle against a perfect performance from Lipnitskaya.”

1992年冬奧會銀牌得主保羅·懷利(Paul Wylie)說，“誰知道金妍兒會有怎樣的表現(xiàn)。她可能讓所有人激動得無法呼吸，但我認為，她也可能因為利普尼茨卡婭的完美表現(xiàn)而經(jīng)歷一場艱苦卓絕的比賽。”

There is a diffidence about Kim, a sense that these Games are as much about a closing of a career as an opening to history. She said she was more focused on taking part than winning. When asked about Henie and Witt, Kim said, “A lot of time has passed and our abilities are different.”

人們對金妍兒有些缺乏信心，她給人的感覺是，這些比賽既是歷史記錄的撰寫，也是她職業(yè)生涯的終結(jié)。她說，她更注重參賽而不是獲勝。當被問到海妮和維特時，金妍兒說，“時間已經(jīng)過去很久了，我們的能力是不同的。”

Kim does have at least two potential advantages over Lipnitskaya: maturity and experience. She breezily handled the pressure of the Olympics in Vancouver and has grown accustomed to dealing with widespread celebrity, which can pin a person like a butterfly to a spreading board.

和利普尼茨卡婭相比，金妍兒確實至少擁有兩個潛在的優(yōu)勢，那就是成熟和經(jīng)驗。在溫哥華冬奧會上，她輕而易舉地化解了壓力，她已慣于應對無處不在的名人效應，而這種效應有時能把人像蝴蝶那樣釘?shù)綐吮景迳稀?/p>

She is one of South Korea’s most popular athletes, featured on billboards and in television commercials for products like cosmetics, fine jewelry, air-conditioners and fabric softener. Some popular South Korean actors and boy-band members have said they would love to date her.

她是韓國最具人氣的運動員之一，她出現(xiàn)在廣告牌和電視廣告里，為化妝品、高級珠寶、空調(diào)和織物柔軟劑等產(chǎn)品代言。一些當紅的韓國演員和男子樂隊組合成員已經(jīng)表示，他們希望能和她約會。

There is a gravity about Kim, too. As a good-will ambassador for Unicef, she has donated money to earthquake victims in Haiti, typhoon victims in the Philippines and children displaced by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

金妍兒也有嚴肅的一面。作為聯(lián)合國兒童基金會(Unicef)的慈善大使，她捐助了海地地震的災民、菲律賓臺風風災難民和因為2011年的日本地震及海嘯而無家可歸的兒童。

“She can handle whatever’s thrown at her,” Lipinski said. “Her lifestyle is probably so different than any of these other skaters. That’s an advantage. She’s had to learn to deal with so many things and still stay calm.”

利平斯基說，“她能游刃有余地處理別人丟給她的任何事。她的生活方式可能和其他所有滑冰選手都完全不同。這是一種優(yōu)勢。她不得不學會應對如此多的事務，同時依然保持鎮(zhèn)定。”

Composure is also one of the most impressive aspects of Lipnitskaya’s skating. Contrary to what many people believe, Lipinski said from personal experience, young skaters are not fearless and immune to pressure.

鎮(zhèn)定也是利普尼茨卡婭在比賽中令人印象最深刻的一點。和許多人的看法相反，利平斯基說，就她個人的經(jīng)驗而言，年輕的花滑選手并非不受壓力的影響，也不是無所畏懼。

“If anything, I think the young ones have it harder,” Lipinski said.

利平斯基說，“如果說有什么區(qū)別的話，我認為年輕選手更難承受壓力。”

“They don’t have the experience to put things into perspective. When you’re young, it’s your entire life. When you step on the ice, it’s not like, ‘Oh, I’m here for a party.’ It’s intimidating.”

“她們?nèi)狈Π蜒酃夥砰L遠的經(jīng)驗。如果你正年輕，比賽就是你生活的全部。當你踏上冰面，可不是‘噢，我是來這里參加派對的’。它令人膽怯。”

Lipnitskaya’s intense, blinkered drive has led to a reputation for haughtiness. In Moscow, where she returned to train after the team competition, her mother, Daniela, told The Associated Press, “I’m almost afraid she’s going to mouth off to someone. She’s a girl with character; she’s capable of that.”

利普尼茨卡婭激烈而偏頗的舉動為她帶來了為人傲慢的名聲。團體賽后，她回到莫斯科接受訓練，她的母親丹妮拉(Daniela)對美聯(lián)社(The Associated Press)說，“我?guī)缀鹾ε滤龝δ橙顺鲅圆贿d。她是一個有個性的女孩;她有可能這么做。”

She is said to be devastated if she misses even a few minutes of practice time, a teenage obsession that Lipinski said she found familiar. Yet there is also something adult about Lipnitskaya, a depth of emotion and an actor’s sense of drama.

據(jù)說，哪怕是錯過了幾分鐘的訓練，她都會傷心欲絕，利平斯基說，這是十幾歲少年人的執(zhí)念，她相當熟悉這種感覺。不過，利普尼茨卡婭也有成年人的一面，她有著濃烈的情感和演員般深厚的戲劇感。

It was evident in the way Lipnitskaya put on a baseball cap to celebrate Russia’s team victory before an adoring crowd at Iceberg Skating Palace. And it was especially so in her gestures of grim endurance and failed hope in portraying an ultimately doomed Jewish girl in a red coat from the Holocaust movie “Schindler’s List.”

她的言行明顯表現(xiàn)了這一點，在冰山滑冰中心(Iceberg Skating Palace)，她在一群崇拜者面前戴上了一頂棒球帽，以慶賀俄羅斯隊在團體賽中獲勝。她在用動作刻畫最終在劫難逃的紅衣猶太女孩那種堅韌不拔的意志和希望破滅的感受時，這一點更是尤為明顯，這個女孩的原型來自敘述大屠殺的電影《辛德勒的名單》(Schindler’s List)。

“She’s kind of got that old soul in her for 15,” Yamaguchi said.

山口說，“她就像是被老人靈魂附體的15歲少女。”

And lest anyone forget, also competing is Mao Asada of Japan, the reigning Olympic silver medalist, who has struggled with her triple axel but who is an engagingly lyrical skater.

大家不要忘了，還有一名競爭對手是日本的淺田真央(Mao Asada)，她是衛(wèi)冕奧運亞軍，她一直在為完成三周半跳動作而努力，而且，她是一名表演風格抒情的迷人選手。

“If she skates well,” Yamaguchi said, “I think she has all the necessary things to be Olympic champion.”

山口說，“我認為，如果她表現(xiàn)得好，她有成為奧運冠軍的一切要素。”