Michael Phelps Wins 6 Gold Medals in Swimming in Athens

 

By Parke Brewer¹

The eight days of Olympic swimming competition ended Saturday night at the Athens Summer Games. And the big star was American Michael Phelps. On Sunday he met with members of the media in Athens to reflect on the achievements and talk about what lies ahead.
Michael Phelps did not win a $1 million bonus offered by one of his sponsors (Speedo) if he could tie the record of seven gold medals in one Olympics, achieved by fellow-American swimmer Mark Spitz in 1972. But he did win more medals than anyone else in a non-boycotted Summer Games - eight of them in all, with six gold and two bronze.
His golds came in the 100 and 200-meter butterfly, 200 and 400-meter individual medley², the 4-by-100 medley relay and the 4-by-200 meter freestyle relay. His bronze medals were in the 200-meter freestyle and 4-by-100 meter freestyle relay.
All told, including preliminaries, Michael Phelps Swam in 17 races, and was first in 13 of them. He broke nine world, Olympic or American records.
In a secluded³ setting at the Athens Tennis club across from Panathinaiko Stadium, with locusts⁴ buzzing above him in the trees, Phelps was first asked if he had had time to reflect on his remarkable⁵ achievement.
"It's starting to sink in more and more," he replied. "I mean it's everything I wanted and everything I dreamed of and I've had a blast doing it. You know, being back where the modern Olympics started, being in Athens, Greece with the crowds they had here, and the support we had here, it was incredible and I couldn't ask for anything more."
Phelps was asked if he ever had any doubt about what he could achieve. "I wanted to go out and I wanted swim as fast as I could swim," he said. "We prepared for these games and this experience for the past four years. And once I got here, I got in the water and I did what I do best. I raced. And I raced the other competitors, and I did the best times and won medals and I can't ask for anything else
For the 19-year-old Michael Phelps this will be the first full week he has taken off from swimming, and he plans to see other Olympic events and have fun. He also looks forward to getting home to Baltimore, in the Eastern U.S. state of Maryland near Washington, D.C., where he's gotten the nickname the Baltimore Barracuda.
Not long afterward⁶, Phelps will head to college at the University of Michigan, where he will continue training. However, since he has accepted sponsorship money, he will not be allowed to compete for his college swim team. Phelps is a huge sports fan so he hopes to perhaps study sports marketing⁷ or sports management.
Near the end of his session with the media, a female reporter from the United States asked Phelps how he felt now that he was the country's newest sports sex symbol.
"All this is a new experience for me," he laughed. "Winning a gold medal, getting more attention in the sport. I don't know how to answer that, but it's first time I've been asked that question."
And the question many wanted answered is, since he fell short by only one, will Michael Phelps try for a record-equaling seven gold medals at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
"I wouldn't count anything out. I think it would be great just having the opportunity and the chance to be able to go for such an amazing record like that," he said. "Not that many people have that opportunity. And I'm thankful to be able to have the right support system, have the best people on my side to support me and help me through it. I would definitely keep all options open for the next four years."
I'm Parke Brewer, VOA Sports, in Athens.
注释：
bonus奖金
sponsor主办者,主办人
bronze 铜牌
butterfly蝶泳
individual medley 个人混合泳
medley relay混合泳
freestyle relay自由式接力
freestyle自由式
preliminary 预赛
Stadium露天大型运动场
Locust蝉
Incredible难以置信的
Baltimore巴尔的摩
Maryland马里兰
nickname绰号
sponsorship赞助单位
session 见面会
amazing令人惊异的

1 brewer   

n. 啤酒制造者

参考例句：

• Brewer is a very interesting man. 布鲁尔是一个很有趣的人。
• I decided to quit my job to become a brewer. 我决定辞职，做一名酿酒人。

2 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。

3 secluded   

adj.与世隔绝的；隐退的；偏僻的v.使隔开，使隐退( seclude的过去式和过去分词)

参考例句：

• Some people like to strip themselves naked while they have a swim in a secluded place. 一些人当他们在隐蔽的地方游泳时，喜欢把衣服脱光。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This charming cottage dates back to the 15th century and is as pretty as a picture, with its thatched roof and secluded garden. 这所美丽的村舍是15世纪时的建筑，有茅草房顶和宁静的花园，漂亮极了，简直和画上一样。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 locusts   

n.蝗虫( locust的名词复数 )；贪吃的人；破坏者；槐树

参考例句：

• a swarm of locusts 一大群蝗虫
• In no time the locusts came down and started eating everything. 很快蝗虫就飞落下来开始吃东西，什么都吃。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

6 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。