Olympics: Men's 800-Meter Hotly Contested

 

By Parke Brewer¹

The men's 800-meter run is expected to be one of the most hotly contested races at the Athens Olympics. Most of the favorites are from Africa.

The 800 meters is two laps around the track at Olympic Stadium and it's a race where the runners must have some strategy², because they cannot run all-out for the entire distance.

Four years ago in Sydney it was a slow, tactical race. In fact, it was so slow that for the first time since 1936, the Olympic final was slower than the semifinals. That's not likely to happen here in Athens.

While there is not a clear-cut favorite for the gold medal, the edge could go to Wilfred Bungei of Kenya, who recently ran the fastest time in the world this year (1:43.06). This is the 24-year-old athlete's first Olympics.

"I would like to take advantage of being the favorite, but I need to remain focused and work on my [race] plan that I had all along and try to see that I remain focused to the last, to the middle of the [finish] line," he says.

There is another top 800-meters contender³ from Kenya, but world record holder⁴ Wilson Kipketer, who won the silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, has a Danish wife and runs for Denmark.

Two South Africans should provide a strong challenge, Hezekiel Sepeng and Mbulaeni Mulaudzi.

Many thought the 30-year-old Sepeng should have won the gold medal in Atlanta in 1996, but he came away with the silver. Then he was fourth in Sydney. Sepeng feels fortunate to be in Athens. He had had a dispute⁵ with his country's athletics⁶ governing body and was originally left off the South African Olympic team.

"Things were sorted out at the end, and I'm happy," he says. "I nearly did not make the team because of a misunderstanding between me and my federation⁷. But in the end I made the team and I'm very happy because it's been my long-term plan to come to Athens and run here."

Sepeng says now that he's here, his goal is to win an Olympic gold medal.

"I've won silver in Atlanta. I've won silver in the world championships. I just feel like I've never done my best," he adds. "I'm always hungry for something. There's something that I'm missing⁸. [In] both my races that I've won silver, I feel like I've made mistakes in the races and I can fix it. So my aim coming here is to come up and try to run the perfect race for me, and I know myself if I feel good on that day I will do my best."

Another South African 800-meter runner hoping to do his best is first time Olympian Mbulaeni Mulaudzi. He is 23 years old. He won the bronze medal at last year's world championships in Paris and won gold at this year's World Indoor Championships in Budapest.

He says he does not want to think about winning an Olympic medal until he qualifies⁹ for the final.

"I'm just going to take it step by step," he says. "My first round I have to be careful. Run, like, in the front, you know make sure I don't get boxed [in]. Just to secure¹⁰ myself to the next level is the most important thing."

Before what should be a great final in the men's 800 meters Saturday night, there is one round of heats Wednesday night under the lights at Olympic Stadium and semifinals on Thursday night.

Parke Brewer, VOA Sports, in Athens.
注释：
hotly 激烈地
contest 角逐，竞争
strategy 策略
tactical 战术的
semifinal半决赛
Kenya 肯尼亚
contender 竞争者
Danish 丹麦的
world championship 世界锦标赛
Budapest 布达佩斯

 

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 strategy   

n.方法，策略，战略

参考例句：

• The only way to take the enemy position is by strategy,not by forceful attack.只可智取，不可强攻。
• Tactics differs from strategy.战术有别于战略。

3 contender   

n.参赛者

参考例句：

• a contender for a gold medal in the Olympics 奥运金牌的争夺者
• She has recently become a strong contender for the gold medal . 她最近已经成为一个金牌的强有力争夺者。

4 holder   

n.持有者，占有者；(台，架等)支持物

参考例句：

• The holder of the office of chairman is reponsible for arranging meetings.担任主席职位的人负责安排会议。
• That runner is the holder of the world record for the hundred-yard dash.那位运动员是一百码赛跑世界纪录的保持者。

5 dispute   

n.争端，分歧；v.争论，争吵，辩论，辩驳

参考例句：

• They are trying to find a way of settling the dispute.他们正设法寻找解决争端的办法。
• The parties to the dispute should be more polite to each other.争执双方应相互礼貌些。

6 athletics   

n.运动，体育，田径运动

参考例句：

• When I was at school I was always hopeless at athletics.我上学的时候体育十分糟糕。
• Our team tied with theirs in athletics.在田径比赛中，我们队与他们队旗鼓相当。

7 federation   

n.同盟，联邦，联合，联盟，联合会

参考例句：

• It is a federation of 10 regional unions.它是由十个地方工会结合成的联合会。
• Mr.Putin was inaugurated as the President of the Russian Federation.普京正式就任俄罗斯联邦总统。

8 missing   

adj.遗失的，缺少的，失踪的

参考例句：

• Check the tools and see if anything is missing.检点一下工具，看有无丢失。
• All the others are here;he's the only one missing.别人都来了，就短他一个。

9 qualifies   

（使）具有资格( qualify的第三人称单数 )； 有权； 达标； 使所说的话语气减弱（或更具体等）

参考例句：

• His training qualifies him as a teacher of English. 他受的培训使他有资格当一名英语教师。
• This certificate qualifies the products. 这份证书证明产品合格。

10 secure   

adj.无虑的，安心的，安全的；adj.牢靠的，稳妥的；vt.固定，获得，使...安全；vi.(海上工作人员)停止工；vi.(船)抛锚，停泊

参考例句：

• He found a secure foothold and pulled himself up.他找到了一个稳固的踏脚处并爬了上去。
• Extra men are needed to secure the camp against attack.需要增加兵力以保护军营免受攻击。