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Hunting for Talent
搜寻人才
The potency of the U.S. system is its ability to spread money and opportunity to the broadest spectrum of athletes. 'You've got this competitive system of clubs and coaches and schools all looking for talent,' says Chris Welton, chief executive of Helios Partners, a sports-consulting firm that works with Olympic organizations around the world. 'If you've got athletic talent in this country, it's so much harder to be missed.'
美国体育制度的潜能在于它能够让最大范围的运动员获得资金和机会。“我们有这种俱乐部、教练和学校都在寻觅人才的竞争机制，”体育咨询公司赫利奥斯咨询有限公司(Helios Partners)首席执行长克里斯•威尔顿(Chris Welton)说，“如果你有运动天赋的话，在这个国家很难被埋没。”赫利奥斯公司与全球各地的奥运机构都有合作。
The system largely leaves training up to the athletes, forcing them (and their parents) to be hungry and entrepreneurial in their search for the best coaching and money to fund their training.
该体制基本上将训练事务交由运动员自己负责，迫使他们（以及他们的家长）迫切并积极地寻觅最好的教练并筹集资金来资助他们的训练。
Jesse Williams, the NCAA high-jump champion in 2006, failed to make the final at the 2008 Olympics. When his career continued to sputter, Williams switched coaches to train with Cliff Rovelto at Kansas State University. Rovelto overhauled his training and jumping style. Williams did away with his 300-meter repetitions and now never runs farther than 60 meters leading up to a major competition. His regimen is focused on reaching maximum speed in his final steps before his jump as he sprints toward the bar, clawing the track with his whole foot instead of bounding into his jump while running on his toes.
杰西•威廉姆斯(Jesse Williams)是2006年全美大学生体育协会(NCAA)的跳高冠军，但是他在2008年北京奥运会上未进入决赛。当他的职业生涯继续停滞不前时，威廉姆斯换掉了教练，转而在堪萨斯州立大学(Kansas State University)接受克里夫•诺维托(Cliff Rovelto)的训练。诺维托改变了他的训练方案和跳高风格。后来威廉姆斯不再进行300米重复跑，如今他在大型比赛之前的跑步距离绝不会超过60米。他的训练方案集中于在全速跑向跳杆时，要在起跳之前的最后几步达到最快速度，整个脚部都要抓住地面，而不是还在踮着脚尖跑步时就突然起跳。
The changes helped Williams win the gold at the IAAF World Championships in South Korea last summer, and now he is headed for London. 'I feel like I can jump over Times Square,' he said in a recent interview.
这些改变帮助威廉姆斯在去年夏季的韩国世界田径锦标赛上赢得金牌，如今他即将向伦敦进发。“我感觉自己都能跳过时报广场(Times Square)了，”最近他在接受采访时如是说道。
Then there is Gabrielle Douglas, the 16-year-old who won the U.S. Olympic Trials competition in gymnastics. Her family cobbled together enough money and support to send her from her home in Virginia at 14 to West Des Moines, Iowa, where she lived with a host family and trained with Liang Chow, coach of 2008 gold medalist Shawn Johnson.
类似的例子还有加布里埃尔•道格拉斯(Gabrielle Douglas)，16岁的道格拉斯在美国的奥运体操选拔赛上也获得胜利。在她14岁时，她的家人就凑足了一笔钱，把她从弗吉尼亚的家送到艾奥瓦的西得梅因(West Des Moines)训练。她在那和寄宿家庭住在一起，在2008年北京奥运体操冠军肖恩•约翰逊(Shawn Johnson)的教练乔良的指导下训练。
Douglas is part of a U.S. Olympic gymnastics team that includes 2011 world all-around champion Jordyn Wieber (Michigan) and gold-medal hopeful Alexandra Raisman (Massachusetts).
如今，道格拉斯已经是美国奥运体操代表队的一员，其队友包括2011年世界体操锦标赛的全能冠军乔婷•韦伯(Jordyn Wieber)(来自密歇根)以及金牌的有力竞争人选亚历山德拉•莱斯曼(Alexandra Raisman)(来自马萨诸塞州)。
The team is favored to win the women's team gold medal in London, something few would have predicted eight years ago when the Chinese were ascendant.
这支队伍很有希望赢得伦敦奥运会的女子团体冠军，要是在八年前中国队正处于上升态势时，几乎没有人会做这样的预测吧。
Steve Penny, president of USA Gymnastics, says the relatively decentralized American approach has created 'a system that has a pipeline that continues to bring new kids into the elite level.'
美国体操协会(USA Gymnastics)主席史蒂夫•潘尼(Steve Penny)说，美国这种比较分散的训练方法创造了“一种拥有一个能源源不断将新人领进精英行列的渠道的体制。”
