英语沙龙：汤姆•多兰 悉尼奥运会400米个人混合泳金牌得主

Tom Dolan 400－meter individual medley¹ gold winner at Sydney Olympic Games

Dlan began swimming at age 5，because his older sister Kathleen was a swimmer．“Whatever she did，I wanted to beat her，”he says．While he says he was a “pool rat”as a child，he didn’t aggressively pursue swimming until his freshman² year in high school．Golf was his favorite sport then ――he played f or his high school team until his junior yea r．

Dolan grew up in Arlington，Virginia，and his early development as a swimmer was under the guidance of Rick Curl．At the University of Michigan，he trained under head coach Jon Urbanchek，who helped mold Dolan into an Olympic champion．During breaks from school，Dolan would reunite with Curl，and in the lead－up to Sydney，he has returned home full time．In April 2000，Dolan told the Detroit Free Press，“My whole career I had gone back and forth，but now I’m spending the whole year with Rick．But where I go and swim，I’ll always be linked to Michigan and to Jon，just as I will to Rick．”

Dolan was 18when he entered the 1994 World Championships．He remembers being near to all the big stars and noticing they were staring at him．He won the 400 IM title in world record time．He successfully defended hid world title four years later in Perth，Australia．

Dealing³ with asthma⁴ and poor air quality，Tom Dolan could barely breathe at the 1996 Atlanta Games．But as the reigning⁵ World Champion and world record－holder in the 400 －meter individual medley，he was determined⁶ to win Olympic gold，“My legs were burning pretty bad，and I couldn’t get any oxygen．I knew it was between me and Eric，and I just gave it everything I had coming into the wall，”says Dolan．He touched first，just ahead of fellow－American Eric，who got the silver．

汤姆•多兰 悉尼奥运会400米个人混合泳金牌得主

多兰5岁就开始了游泳，因为他姐姐凯瑟琳是游泳运动员。“不管她做什么，我都想战胜她。”他说。虽然他说童年时常泡在游泳池里，他却没有积极地从事游泳这项运动，这种状况到了他上高中一年级时有了改变。高尔夫球是他当时最喜爱的体育运动---在上二年级前，他一直在中学的高尔夫球队打球。

多兰在弗吉尼亚的阿灵顿长大，他早期的游泳训练是在里克•柯尔的指导下进行的。在密执安大学，他在主教练乔恩•厄本奇克的手下接受训练。乔恩把多兰塑造成一个奥运冠军。在学校放假时，多兰就去找柯尔。在准备去悉尼期间，多兰回到老家，在那儿度过了所有的时间。在2000年4月，多兰对底特律自由新闻社说：“我的职业使我来回奔波，现在我要在这里与里克度过整整一年。但是，不管我去哪儿游泳，我永远会与密执安大学和乔恩在一起，就像我与里克一样。”

多兰参加了1994年世锦赛，那年他18岁。他还记得他与那些大牌明星离得特近，并注意到他们都在看他。他在这次400米个人混合泳比赛中打破了世界纪录。4年之后，他在澳大利亚的珀思成功地卫冕了他世锦赛冠军的头衔。

由于哮喘和空气质量差，汤姆•多兰在参加1996年亚特兰大奥运会时几乎不能呼吸。但是，身为400米混合泳世锦赛冠军和世界纪录保持者，多兰决心在亚特兰大夺取金牌。他说：“我的腿火辣辣地疼，我已不能再吸入氧气了。我知道这是我与埃里克之间展开的争夺赛。我竭尽全力接近池壁。”多兰先于队友埃里克第一个触到终点记时器，后者得了一块银牌。

1 medley   

n.混合

参考例句：

• Today's sports meeting doesn't seem to include medley relay swimming.现在的运动会好象还没有混合接力泳这个比赛项目。
• China won the Men's 200 metres Individual Medley.中国赢得了男子200米个人混合泳比赛。

2 freshman   

n.大学一年级学生(可兼指男女)

参考例句：

• Jack decided to live in during his freshman year at college.杰克决定大一时住校。
• He is a freshman in the show business.他在演艺界是一名新手。

3 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

4 asthma   

n.气喘病，哮喘病

参考例句：

• I think he's having an asthma attack.我想他现在是哮喘病发作了。
• Its presence in allergic asthma is well known.它在过敏性气喘中的存在是大家很熟悉的。

5 reigning   

adj.统治的，起支配作用的

参考例句：

• The sky was dark, stars were twinkling high above, night was reigning, and everything was sunk in silken silence. 天很黑，星很繁，夜阑人静。
• Led by Huang Chao, they brought down the reigning house after 300 years' rule. 在黄巢的带领下，他们推翻了统治了三百年的王朝。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。