My dream comes true 梦想成真

1 The rain had started to fall gently through the evening air as darkness descended over Sydney. Hundreds of lights illuminated Stadium Australia, and the noise was deafening. As I walked towards the track I glanced around me at the sea of faces in the stands, but my mind was focused. The Olympic gold medal was just minutes away, hanging tantalisingly in the distance.

当夜幕降临悉尼时，雨也开始悄悄地从夜空中飘落。几百盏灯把澳大利亚体育场照得灯火通明，场内的声音震耳欲聋。走向跑道时我看了一眼四周看台上无数的脸，但我的注意力还是很集中。再过几分钟奥运金牌的归属就要见分晓了，它悬挂在远处，很诱人。

2 My heart was beating loudly, my mouth was dry and the adrenaline was pumping. I was so close to the realisation of my childhood dream and the feeling was fantastic; it was completely exhilarating, but also terrifying. I knew I would have to push myself beyond my known limits to ensure that my dream came true.

我的心在剧烈地跳动，口干舌燥，肾上腺素猛增。童年的梦想就要实现了，这种感觉真是太奇妙了;令人非常兴奋，又胆战心惊。我知道，为了确保能梦想成真我必须强迫自己超越已知的极限。

3 I tried to keep composed, telling myself not to panic, to stick to the plan and run my own race. I knew the Russian girls would set off quickly – and I had to finish this race fewer than ten seconds behind the Russian athlete Yelena Prokhorova. If I could do that, the title would be mine.

我极力保持镇静，告诫自己不要紧张，要坚持按原计划做，按自己的节奏跑。我知道那些俄罗斯姑娘起跑很快——这场比赛我落后俄罗斯运动员叶莲娜·普罗科霍洛娃不能超过十秒。如果我做到这一点，冠军就是我的了。

4 I looked out along the first stretch of the 400m track and caught my breath. The 800m race had punished me so much over the years – in the World, Commonwealth and European Championships – and now it stood between me and the Olympic title.

我望着四百米跑道的起跑点，屏住了呼吸。这些年来，在世锦赛、英联邦锦标赛以及欧洲锦标赛的八百米赛跑中我屡战屡败，饱受挫折。现在，它再次横在我与奥运冠军头衔之间。

5 The British supporters were cheering so loudly it seemed as if they were the only fans there. I could hear my name being called. I could hear the shouts of encouragement and the cries of hope. Union Jacks fluttered all around the vast, beautiful stadium. I felt unified with the crowd – we all had the same vision and the same dream.

我的英国支持者在为我欢呼，声音特别大，就好像看台上的观赛者只有他们一样。我听到他们喊我的名字，为我鼓劲加油，听到他们充满希望的呐喊。宽阔美丽的体育场上到处飘扬着大不列颠联合王国的国旗，我感觉自己和观众融为了一体：我们有着同样的期盼，同样的梦想。

6 My ankle was bandaged against an injury I had incurred in the long jump just a couple of hours earlier, but I shut out all thoughts of pain. I tried to concentrate on the crowd. They were so vocal.

My spirits lifted and I felt composed.

几个小时前，我的脚踝在跳远时受了伤，缠上了绷带，但是我忘掉伤痛，尽量把注意力集中在观众身上。他们的叫喊声势浩大，使我精神振奋，我感到镇定自若。

7 I knew I would do my best, that I would run my heart out and finish the race. I felt the performer in me move in and take over. I had just two laps to run, that was all. Just two laps until the emotional and physical strain of the past two days and the last 28 years would be eclipsed by victory or failure. This race was all about survival. It's only two minutes, I kept telling myself, anyone can run for two minutes.

我知道自己会全力以赴，拼尽全力跑完全程。我感觉自己已经进入最佳状态。我只要跑两圈就行了，就两圈。跑完这两圈，过去两天以及28年来所有情感和身体上的辛苦付出就将被胜利或者失败所淹没。这一跑真是生死攸关。我不断地告诉自己：也就是跑两分钟，谁都能跑两分钟。

8 The starting gun was fired, and the race began. The first lap was good, I managed to keep up with the group, but I was feeling much more tired than I usually did, and much more than I'd anticipated. Both the long, hard weeks of training that had led up to this championship, and the exhaustion from two days of gruelling competition were showing in my performance. Mental and physical fatigue were starting to crush me, and I had to fight back.

发令枪响了，比赛正式开始。第一圈还好，我跟其他人跑得一样快，但我觉得比平时要累得多，比我预想的要累得多。这次赛前长达数周的艰苦训练以及这两天激烈的比赛所带来的疲劳在我的赛跑过程中显现出来。精神和肉体的疲倦开始向我袭来，我不得不反击。

9 Prokhorova had set the pace from the start. It was important that I didn't let her get too far in front. I had to stay with her. At the bell I was 2.3 seconds behind her. Just one lap to go. One lap. I could do it. I had to keep going. In the final 150 metres I could hear the roar of the crowd, giving me a boost at exactly the moment I needed it the most – just when my legs were burning and I could see the gap opening between me and the Russian. Thankfully, my foot was holding out, so now it was all down to mental stamina.

普罗科霍洛娃一开始就领先。最重要的是我不能被她甩得太远，我得紧紧地跟着她。最后一圈的铃声响起时，我比她落后2.3秒。只剩一圈了，就一圈，我能赢，我必须坚持跑下去。到最后150米的时候我听见观众高声叫喊，在我最需要的时候为我加油助威——这时我的腿疼得要命，我看见我和那个俄罗斯运动员之间距离正在拉大。令人欣慰的是，我的脚还在继续向前迈步，这时候就全靠精神毅力来支撑了。

10 Prokhorova was pulling away. I couldn't let her get too far; I had to stay with her. I began counting down the metres I had left to run: 60 m, 50 m, 40 m, 20 m. I could see the clock. I could do it, but it would be close. Then finally the line appeared. I crossed it, exhausted. I had finished. 普罗科霍洛娃正在向前冲，我不能让她甩开了，我必须跟上她。我开始倒数剩下的距离：60米、50米、40米、20米。我看得见计时器了，我能赢，但成绩会很接近。最后终点线出现了，我冲了过去，累得精疲力竭。我跑完了。

11 As I crossed the line my initial thought was how much harder the race had been than expected, bearing in mind how, only eight weeks before, I had set a new personal best of 2 minutes 12.2

seconds. Then my mind turned to the result. Had I done it? I thought I had. I was aware of where the other athletes were, and was sure that I'd just made it. But, until I saw it on the scoreboard, I wouldn't let myself believe it. As I stood there, staring up and waiting for confirmation, I tried hard to keep negative thoughts from my mind – but I couldn't help thinking, what if I have just missed out? What if I've been through all this, and missed out?

冲过终点线时我最初的念头是这次赛跑比预期的要艰苦得多，记得八周前我以2分12.2秒的成绩打破了个人最好成绩。然后，我的心思转向了比赛成绩：我赢了吗？我想我是赢了，过终点线时，我知道其他运动员的位置，我肯定我赢了。但是，如果我不是亲眼看见记分牌上的成绩，我就无法让自己相信这是真的。当我站在那里，抬头望着记分牌等待确认成绩时，我竭力打消脑子里消极的念头，但是我还是禁不住想：如果我再次与冠军失之交臂怎么办？如果我经历了这些磨难却又一次失败了，那该怎么办？

12 In the distance I could hear the commentary team talking about two days of tough competition, then I could almost hear someone say, \knew, Sabine Braun of Germany came over and told me I'd won. They had heard before me, and she asked what it felt like to be the Olympic champion. I smiled, still not sure.

我听见远处转播比赛的解说员在谈论两天来的艰难赛事，我好像听见有人说：“我觉得她做得够好了。”接下来，来自德国的赛宾·布劳恩走过来告诉我我赢了，他们在我之前打听到了消息，她问我当奥运冠军是什么滋味。我笑了，但还是不敢肯定。

13 Then, the moment that will stay with me for the rest of my life – my name in lights. That was when it all hit me. Relief, a moment of calm, and a thank you to my inner self for taking me through these two days. I felt a tingle through the whole of my body. This was how it is meant to be – arms aloft and fists clenched.

接下来的那一刻将让我铭记一生：计分牌上我的名字亮了。那一刻我惊呆了。如释重负，平静了一会儿，感谢内在的自我帮我度过了这两天。我感到全身一阵振颤，这时候该做的事是：高举双手，紧握双拳。

14 I looked out at the fans, who were waving flags, clapping and shouting with delight. I was the Olympic champion. The Olympic champion.

我向我的支持者望去，他们正兴高采烈地挥舞旗帜，鼓掌呐喊。我是奥运冠军，奥运会的冠军。