刀鋒戰(zhàn)士：生而為跑

他擁有一個(gè)比常人不幸的童年，卻有著超出常人的自信；他自幼雙腿截肢，卻熱衷于各種體育運(yùn)動(dòng)還創(chuàng)造了奧運(yùn)歷史；他從未把自己當(dāng)做殘疾人，因?yàn)樗钪嬲哪芰Σ辉谟谏眢w是否健全而在于是否發(fā)揮了自己的天賦；他面對(duì)人們的爭(zhēng)議毅然奮起反抗，用自己的堅(jiān)持不懈和勤奮努力換來(lái)了奇跡般的人生。他說(shuō)：“我希望此生能不負(fù)天賦，然后死而無(wú)憾。”他就是人稱“刀鋒戰(zhàn)士（Blade Runner）”的傳奇人物奧斯卡·皮斯托瑞斯。

Oscar Pistorius is relaxing in the midday sun. He has had a tough training session that has left him \"only just able to speak\"， but he is not ready to leave the track just yet. He sits with his notebook in hand and scribbles1） away， writing everything down. He does this every time he trains， and particularly after every race. \"I do it so that when it comes to a race in the future， if I'm not feeling great or haven't eaten well， I can look back and know that the last time I ate badly， I still managed to win the race. Every race is won or lost in the head， so you have to get the contents of your head right. Writing things down helps you to control your thoughts，\" he says.

奧斯卡·皮斯托瑞斯此刻正在正午的太陽(yáng)下休息。雖然剛才的一段艱苦訓(xùn)練讓他累得“只剩下說(shuō)話的力氣”，但他還不想就此離開(kāi)跑道。他坐在那里，一手托著筆記本，一手草草地寫下所有的一切。每次訓(xùn)練他都要做記錄，尤其是在每場(chǎng)比賽之后。“我寫下所有這些東西，這樣將來(lái)比賽時(shí)如果我感覺(jué)不太好或是飲食不佳，我可以回過(guò)頭來(lái)看看，就會(huì)知道自己上一次胃口不好的時(shí)候仍舊努力贏得了比賽。每場(chǎng)比賽的輸贏全在你的心態(tài)，所以你必須要把心態(tài)擺正。做記錄能幫助你調(diào)控自己的心態(tài)。”他說(shuō)。

Growing up with Pain and Love

Pistorius is 25. He was born in Johannesburg， South African， into a middle—class family. He came into the world without a fibula2） in either of his legs. His parents were strongly advised that their son should have both of his legs amputated3） while he was very young and before he got used to life with them.

As a result， Pistorius became a double—amputee before his first birthday， and he doesn't remember a time when he did have legs. When he thinks about his childhood， he remembers a happy time， full of games， fun and a lot of sport. \"I won a trophy for Greco—Roman4） wrestling when I was six，\" he says. \"I remember taking up5） boxing when I was around nine. It felt like nothing was off—limits6）.\"

Pistorius's parents divorced when he was six years old and his father moved out， leaving him to spend seven years in the company of his mother and two siblings， before going away to board at the highly respected Pretoria Boys High School at 13.

The thing he remembers most about his school was the sporty environment. Despite his disability， he competed in triathlons， water polo， cricket and tennis， playing against able—bodied children. He says he never felt different from the other children， and certainly never felt inferior.

Pistorius says it was his mother's love， coupled with her \"no—nonsense7） attitude\" and her refusal to see him as in any way different to anyone else that gave him the confidence to live his life to the full. He tells a story about her saying to his brother： \"Put your shoes on.\" then saying to him： \"And you， put your legs on.\"

But when Pistorius was 15， his mother died suddenly from disease. It was a devastating time for him. He says his mother is still with him every day， and in everything he does. He says she taught him to believe in himself.

成長(zhǎng)路上的痛與愛(ài)

皮斯托瑞斯現(xiàn)年25歲。他出生在南非約翰內(nèi)斯堡市的一個(gè)中產(chǎn)階級(jí)家庭，生下來(lái)時(shí)雙腿就沒(méi)有腓骨，醫(yī)生強(qiáng)烈建議他的父母趁著他還很幼小、還未適應(yīng)有腿的生活前就進(jìn)行截肢手術(shù)。

就這樣，皮斯托瑞斯不滿一歲便成了雙腿截肢的殘疾人，他絲毫不記得自己曾有過(guò)雙腿。當(dāng)他思及自己的童年，他憶起的是一段快樂(lè)的時(shí)光，充滿了游戲、歡笑和許許多多的運(yùn)動(dòng)。“六歲時(shí)我便贏得一個(gè)古典式摔跤的獎(jiǎng)杯，”他說(shuō)，“記得大約在九歲時(shí)，我開(kāi)始對(duì)拳擊產(chǎn)生了興趣。拳擊讓我覺(jué)得沒(méi)有什么事是不能做的。”

皮斯托瑞斯六歲那年，父母離異了。父親搬了出去，留下皮斯托瑞斯跟母親和兩個(gè)兄妹共同生活了七年，直到13歲時(shí)，他離家前往享有盛名的比勒陀利亞男子高中住宿就讀。

關(guān)于他上過(guò)的這所高中，皮斯托瑞斯記憶最深的就是那里的體育氛圍。盡管身有殘疾，皮斯托瑞斯卻參加了鐵人三項(xiàng)、水球、板球和網(wǎng)球比賽，跟身體健全的學(xué)生一同較量。他說(shuō)他從未覺(jué)得自己跟別的孩子有什么不同，當(dāng)然更沒(méi)有感到過(guò)自卑。

皮斯托瑞斯說(shuō)，是母親的愛(ài)以及她那“實(shí)事求是的態(tài)度”和拒絕在任何事上把他區(qū)別看待的做法給了他信心，讓他活得很充實(shí)。他講到一件事，說(shuō)母親有一次對(duì)哥哥說(shuō)“穿上你的鞋”，然后對(duì)他說(shuō)“奧斯卡，穿上你的腿”。

然而，皮斯托瑞斯15歲時(shí)，母親突然因病去世，這對(duì)他來(lái)說(shuō)是災(zāi)難性的時(shí)刻。他說(shuō)他覺(jué)得母親現(xiàn)在每天仍舊陪伴在他身邊，不論他做什么事情都陪著他。他說(shuō)是母親教會(huì)了他要相信自己。

Making Olympic History

Pistorius threw himself into school life after his mother's death， and enjoyed all the sports on offer. He loved rugby8）， but when he shattered9） his knee playing the sport in 2004， he was told to stop playing until fully recovered and advised to take up track running to recuperate10）. He did so， and entered a school race in the process. He ran the 100 m in 11.72 secs. When his father looked up this time， he established that his 17—year—old son was faster than the current Paralympic record.

His father spoke to the school coach， who referred Pistorius to an athletic club. Just six months after starting to train as an athlete， he won gold in the Athens Paralympic Games at 200 m， breaking the world record. But it wasn't enough. Pistorius， who had been used to competing against able—bodied runners， wanted to continue doing so， and in March 2005， at the South African Championships， he finished sixth in the 400 m final. He went on to win golds in the 100 m， 200 m and 400 m in the Paralympics in Beijing， in 2008， the first athlete ever to do that. Last year， in South Korea， he became the first Paralympian to win an able—bodied medal—a silver—at the IAAF World Athletics Championships. This year， Pistorius ran in the men's 400—meter race in London， making history as the first double amputee to compete in the Olympic Games. Although he failed to qualify for the 400 m final， but for disabled people worldwide the historic performance of Pistorius has redefined the possible. \"I believe I'll be at my peak in Rio. It's already beckoning11） me，\" he says.

創(chuàng)造奧運(yùn)歷史

母親去世后，皮斯托瑞斯全身心地投入到學(xué)校生活中，盡情參加學(xué)校里的各項(xiàng)體育運(yùn)動(dòng)。他熱愛(ài)橄欖球，但2004年他在打橄欖球時(shí)膝蓋受了傷，醫(yī)生叮囑他完全康復(fù)前不得再玩橄欖球，并建議他通過(guò)跑步來(lái)進(jìn)行康復(fù)訓(xùn)練。皮斯托瑞斯照做了，在此期間還參加了一次學(xué)校的比賽，在100米短跑比賽中跑出了11.72秒的成績(jī)。這次正好來(lái)看他的父親發(fā)現(xiàn)，自己17歲兒子的成績(jī)比當(dāng)時(shí)的殘奧會(huì)紀(jì)錄還要好。

皮斯托瑞斯的父親和學(xué)校的教練談了談，教練遂介紹皮斯托瑞斯加入了一家體育俱樂(lè)部。接受職業(yè)運(yùn)動(dòng)員訓(xùn)練僅半年后，皮斯托瑞斯便在雅典殘奧會(huì)上奪得了200米比賽的金牌，并打破了世界紀(jì)錄。但這還不夠。皮斯托瑞斯過(guò)去一直與身體健全的田徑運(yùn)動(dòng)員同場(chǎng)競(jìng)技，他希望能繼續(xù)與健全人站在同一起跑線上。2005年3月，在南非田徑錦標(biāo)賽上，他取得了400米決賽第六名的成績(jī)。2008年北京殘奧會(huì)上，他在100米、200米和400米這三個(gè)項(xiàng)目中斬獲了三枚金牌，成為首位創(chuàng)造該紀(jì)錄的運(yùn)動(dòng)員。去年，在韓國(guó)舉辦的國(guó)際田聯(lián)世界田徑錦標(biāo)賽上，他摘得一枚銀牌，成為首位在健全人田徑比賽上贏得獎(jiǎng)牌的殘奧會(huì)運(yùn)動(dòng)員。今年，皮斯托瑞斯又亮相倫敦奧運(yùn)會(huì)男子400米比賽，成為歷史上首位雙腿截肢的奧運(yùn)會(huì)選手。雖然他沒(méi)能晉級(jí)400米決賽，但對(duì)全世界的殘疾人來(lái)說(shuō)，皮斯托瑞斯歷史性的表現(xiàn)已重新詮釋了可能。“我相信我會(huì)在里約熱內(nèi)盧的奧運(yùn)會(huì)上迎來(lái)我的巔峰，那一刻已經(jīng)在向我招手。”他說(shuō)。

Fighting Back Controversy

Along the way， Pistorius has courted12） a great deal of controversy. He runs on carbon—fiber prosthetics13） called Flex—Foot Cheetahs. They are J—shaped， and though very difficult to walk on—it is hard to balance while wearing them—he has found them extremely effective for running. The reason the prosthetics work so well is that they are very agile14）， and have been designed to mimic the running characteristics of the cheetah15）.

The Flex—Foot prosthetics are perfectly legal in Paralympics sport， but in 2007 his use of them in able—bodied races was challenged. The IAAF filmed him running in races over the summer. Scientists watched the tapes and decided they conferred16） some advantage to him. Competition rules were changed banning \"any technical device that incorporates springs， wheels or any other element that provides a user with an advantage over another athlete not using such a device\". Pistorius was， effectively， banned from able—bodied sport. He went on to take part in a number of scientific tests at the end of the year and they appeared to convince the scientists further that Pistorius had an advantage. It was decided that his limbs used 25 per cent less energy than runners with natural legs running at the same speed， and that they led to less vertical motion combined with 30 per cent less mechanical work for lifting the body.

But Pistorius decided to fight back. He hired lawyers and his own scientists and challenged the ruling. At the Court of Arbitration for Sport at the end of April 2008， the decision was revoked17） with immediate effect. The main reason was that the original tests had looked only at Pistorius when he was running， but hadn't taken into account how much more complicated starting and accelerating were for him. \"It was a difficult time and a frustrating time， but I had to do it，\" he says. \"I'd always competed against able—bodied runners and wanted to be able to do so again. I also knew that it was important for me to take a stand18） now for other athletes in the future.\"

It's certainly true that Pistorius has always competed in able—bodied races and doesn't want always to be judged on his strengths as a disabled athlete. \"You're not disabled by the disabilities you have， you are able by the abilities you have，\" he says.

When asked what he wants most in the world， he goes silent for a while. Then： \"I'd like to have a career without regrets.\" There's a pause again and he corrects himself. \"No， what I really mean is that I'd like a life without regrets. I'd like a life in which I made the most of my God—given talents and died without regrets.\"

為夢(mèng)想力排眾議

一路走來(lái)，皮斯托瑞斯亦惹起無(wú)數(shù)爭(zhēng)議。他參加賽跑時(shí)用的是“獵豹刀片式”碳纖維假肢。這種假肢呈J形，穿上它們走路極為不便，因?yàn)榇┥虾笊眢w難以保持平衡，但皮斯托瑞斯卻發(fā)現(xiàn)這種假肢非常利于奔跑。之所以會(huì)有如此奇效，是因?yàn)檫@種假肢極為靈活，而且是模仿獵豹奔跑的特點(diǎn)而設(shè)計(jì)的。

在殘奧會(huì)比賽中使用“獵豹刀片式”假肢完全合法，但2007年皮斯托瑞斯穿著這種假肢參加健全人比賽時(shí)卻遭到了非議。國(guó)際田聯(lián)對(duì)他整個(gè)夏季的所有比賽都錄了像，科學(xué)家們觀看錄像后認(rèn)為假肢給他帶來(lái)了一些優(yōu)勢(shì)。比賽規(guī)則為此做了修改，禁止使用“任何裝有彈簧、輪轂或其他任何部件從而讓使用者比非使用者占有優(yōu)勢(shì)的技術(shù)裝備”。這條規(guī)則將皮斯托瑞斯徹底排除在健全人比賽之外。年底，皮斯托瑞斯又參加了一系列科學(xué)測(cè)試，結(jié)果似乎進(jìn)一步讓科學(xué)家們確信皮斯托瑞斯穿假肢跑步占有優(yōu)勢(shì)。科學(xué)家們認(rèn)為，以相同的速度奔跑時(shí)，皮斯托瑞斯的“雙腿”所消耗的體能比正常人的雙腿要少25%，而且這種假肢讓他所做的垂直運(yùn)動(dòng)也減少，抬起身體時(shí)所做的機(jī)械功也要比正常人少30%。

然而，皮斯托瑞斯決定奮起反擊。他聘請(qǐng)律師和自己的科學(xué)家團(tuán)隊(duì)對(duì)這一裁定發(fā)起質(zhì)疑。2008年4月底，國(guó)際體育仲裁法庭宣判此前的規(guī)定無(wú)效，此判決立即生效。主要原因在于，原來(lái)的測(cè)試僅注意到皮斯托瑞斯跑步行進(jìn)中的情形，而沒(méi)有考慮到他更為復(fù)雜的起跑和加速過(guò)程。“那段日子很艱難也很痛苦，但我必須要那么做，”他說(shuō)，“我一直在跟身體健全的選手進(jìn)行比賽，我希望還能繼續(xù)這樣比下去。我也意識(shí)到，我現(xiàn)在就要為將來(lái)的其他運(yùn)動(dòng)員討個(gè)說(shuō)法，這很重要。”

可以肯定，皮斯托瑞斯一直活躍在健全人的比賽中，他不希望人們總是從殘疾運(yùn)動(dòng)員的視角來(lái)評(píng)價(jià)他的實(shí)力。“身有殘缺并不等于你沒(méi)有能力，身有本領(lǐng)才是你真正的能力。”他說(shuō)。

當(dāng)問(wèn)及在這個(gè)世上最想擁有什么時(shí)，皮斯托瑞斯沉默了一陣，然后說(shuō)：“我想擁有一份無(wú)悔的事業(yè)。”隨后又頓了頓，改口說(shuō)：“不，我真正想說(shuō)的是，我希望能沒(méi)有遺憾地活著。我希望此生能不負(fù)天賦，然后死而無(wú)憾。”

1.scribble [?skr?bl] vi. 草草書(shū)寫

2.fibula [?f?bj?l?] n. 【解】腓骨

3.amputate [??mpjute?t] vt. （尤指用外科手術(shù)）切斷，截（肢）

4.Greco—Roman：【體】（摔跤）希臘羅馬式的，古典式的

5.take up： 開(kāi)始對(duì)……發(fā)生興趣

6.off—limits： 禁止使用（或干預(yù)、談及、考慮）的

7.no—nonsense： 嚴(yán)肅的；講究實(shí)際的

8.rugby [?r?ɡbi] n. 英式橄欖球（運(yùn)動(dòng)）

9.shatter [???t?（r）] vt. 破壞，損害

10.recuperate [r??ku?p?re?t] vi. 恢復(fù)，復(fù)原

11.beckon [?bek?n] vt. 召喚

12.court [k??t] vt. 招致；引誘

13.prosthetics [pr?s?θet?ks] n. 假肢

14.agile [??d?a?l] adj. 敏捷的，靈活的

15.cheetah [?t?i?t?] n. 【動(dòng)】獵豹（一種善于奔跑的豹狀動(dòng)物，產(chǎn)于非洲及南亞）

16.confer [k?n?f??（r）] vt. 賦予，帶來(lái)

17.revoke [r??v??k] vt. 撤回；取消

18.take a stand： 表明立場(chǎng)（或態(tài)度、意見(jiàn)等）