美国游泳名将跻身于奥运精英行列

美国游泳名将迈克尔.菲尔普斯在北京奥运游泳比赛的第3天夺得他的第3枚金牌，加上在雅典所得金牌，总共已经赢得9枚金牌，平了一人赢得最多奥运金牌的记录。这名美国游泳健儿几乎肯定可以打破这个记录。

Michael Phelps has now reached a standard of Olympic excellence shared with American track legend Carl Lewis and another U.S. swimming great, Mark Spitz. Runner Paavo Nurmi of Finland (1920-1928) and Soviet Union gymnast Larissa Latynina (1956-1964) also won nine gold medals, each.

迈克尔.菲尔普斯现在达到了奥运精英运动员的标准，和美国短跑传奇人物卡尔.刘易斯、美国另一名游泳健将马克.施皮兹、芬兰长跑名将帕沃.鲁米和苏联的体操奇才拉里萨.拉蒂尼娜一样，独得9枚奥运金牌。

After winning the 200-meter freestyle race, Tuesday in Beijing, Phelps took a moment to reflect on his inclusion with some of the greatest athletes ever to compete at the Olympics.

菲尔普斯星期二在北京夺取2百米自由泳金牌后，对自己能够加入曾经在奥运会上竞争的世界上最伟大运动员的行列发表了他的感想。

"To be tied for the most Olympic golds of all time with those names in Olympic history - the Olympics have been around for so many years," Phelps said. "It is a pretty amazing accomplishment. I have been able to spend some time with [U.S. track legend] Carl Lewis. And I have exchanged a few words with [American Mark] Spitz here and there. It is pretty amazing."

他说：“奥运会已经举办过好多年了，平了奥运历史上赢得最多金牌的运动员的纪录，这是一个相当令人惊奇的成就。我曾跟卡尔.刘易斯在一起，还跟施皮兹在各种场合交谈过，这真是令人惊奇。”

Also amazing was his performance in his latest race, as he lowered his own world record in the event with a time of 1:42.96 minutes.

令人惊奇的还有菲尔普斯最新创下的世界记录。在星期二的200米自由泳比赛中，他以1分42秒96打破了自己创下的世界记录。

Park Tae-hwan trailed in the American's wake by nearly two full seconds (1:44.85). The South Korean touched the wall while Phelps was already looking at the overhead scoreboard. American Peter Vanderkaay claimed the bronze (1:45.14).

韩国选手朴泰桓跟在后面获得银牌，他落后菲尔普斯将近整整两秒。当朴泰桓手触游泳池壁时，菲尔普斯已经在抬头查看上方的计时版了。美国选手彼得.范德凯伊获铜牌。

The victory avenged a difficult loss for Phelps at that same 200-meter distance, four years ago in Athens.

菲尔普斯200米自由泳比赛夺金，抚平了4年前在雅典奥运会200米自由泳比赛中的失利之痛。

"I hate to lose," he said. "And, getting third in the 200-meter freestyle four years ago, you know when I do lose in a race like that, circumstance like that, it motivates me to swim faster."

他说：“我讨厌失败。4年前在200米自由泳中我排名第三，我在那种情况下输掉那样的一场比赛，这激励我更加努力，游得更快。”

Michael Phelps, 23, goes for two more gold medals, Wednesday, when he swims in the finals of the 200-meter butterfly and 800-meter freestyle relay. Phelps could haul in as many as eight gold medals in Beijing, which would also make him the most decorated athlete at a single games.

星期三，23岁的菲尔普斯将在200米蝶泳和800米自由泳接力的决赛中为再夺2金而拼搏。菲尔普斯有可能在北京奥运夺8金，这将使他成为在一届奥运会上获誉最多的运动员。