How Two Decisions Led Me to Olympic Glory - Steve Mesler

两个让我获得奥运金牌的决定 — 史蒂夫·梅斯勒

翻译人员: Yixiong Zhu 校对人员: Qiwen Lu

（音乐）

有一天，我在山顶，

One day, I found myself at the top of a mountain,

one descent to go, one last chance to fulfill a lifelong dream.

还剩一次速降， 一个实现人生梦想的最后机会。

I wasn't even old enough to walk into a PG-13 movie alone

梦想之初，我还不到能看限制级电影的年龄，

when my dream took roots.

Yet there I stood,

而现在，我身边是三位队友，

my three teammates by my side,

facing the opportunity to make history.

一起面临创造历史的机会。

My mind wandered, just for half a second,

我开始遐想，仅仅才半秒钟，

but that half-second was filled with a lifetime of memories,

但这半秒钟却包含着一生的回忆，

and two decisions that brought me here to the top of the mountain.

以及促使我站在山顶上的两个决定。

I made the first decision after a very challenging period

我的第一个决定，发生在我运动员生涯中 一段非常艰苦的时期之后。

in my career as an athlete --

那时我是田径运动员， 之前五年断断续续地受伤。

five years of recurring injuries as a track athlete.

Five years -- that's a long time to dedicate to anything.

五年，从任何角度来说都是不短的时间。

But as much as I loved track,

尽管我爱田径，我的伤病 却不断地消磨着我的意志和梦想。

the injuries were slowly killing my drive and my dreams.

My injuries had me feeling like a failure

这个曾经成功的项目，因为伤病， 让我觉得自己是个失败者，

at a sport I was once great at.

The last of the series of injuries required major elbow surgery.

最后一次伤病后，我的肘部动了大手术。

As I sat on my couch, days out of surgery,

动完手术几天后，我坐在沙发上，

I thought of an old coach and mentor's words,

想起了一位老教练的话语，

comparing me to a great bobsledder he once knew.

拿我和他认识的一位 杰出雪橇运动员相提并论。

"Bobsled? No way!"

“雪橇？怎么可能！”

But after year upon year of not reaching the goals

但是田径场上年复一年 不能达到自己设立的目标，

I set for myself in track,

it was time for a change.

是时候进行改变了。

So I reached out to the US Olympic Committee,

我联系了美国奥委会，他们让我开始训练。

and they told me to start training.

I was going to be a bobsledder!

好！我要当雪橇手了。我虽然什么都不懂，

I didn't know anything about it,

但这第一个决心已经下了。

but the first decision had been made.

There I was, in what felt like a blink of an eye later,

于是，我就在这一眨眼之后，

about to push my four-man sled with my team

即将和我们四人雪橇队的队友一起，

to the chance of Olympic gold, Olympic glory.

为奥运金牌，为奥运荣耀拼搏。

"Back set! Front set! Ready and --"

“后滑！前滑！预备 —— ”

the driver yelled, and off we went.

掌舵员大喊，我们就出发了。

We dug as deep as we could,

我们使出最大力气，随着我们的步伐加快， 雪橇逐渐加速，

and as the cadence of our steps increased and the sled accelerated,

we left everything we had on the track,

我们在上雪橇前把一切都抛在了脑后，

before leaving the ice and boarding our Night Train sled.

然后登上了我们的Night Train型雪橇。

And a calm came over me.

我突然感受到了一阵宁静，

And once in the sled, as it was picking up speed,

当我们在雪橇中，速度逐渐加快，

for just another millisecond,

一毫秒内，我的脑海 又闪回了在沙发上的那天。

my mind went back to that day on the couch.

"How can I train for the bobsled team without getting hurt

“我如果练雪橇， 那我怎么不再像之前那样受伤呢？”

over and over again like before?"

I looked in the mirror and realized I still wanted to compete.

我看看镜子里的自己，意识到我仍想比赛。

I still wanted to succeed.

我仍想成功。

But I had to face the reality that my getting hurt

但我得面对现实， 那就是受伤是不能怪别人的，

wasn't to be blamed elsewhere.

I realized that if I had a problem it was up to me to change it,

我明白，如果我碰到问题， 那必须由我自己来解决。

and that what I had been doing all this time

我要承认我一直以来所做的事情，

may not have been best for me.

可能对我来说并不是最好的选择。

I had to confront my reality and make a change,

我要面对事实，做出改变，

and that was the second decision.

这就是我的第二个决定。

The decision in my mind not to get hurt anymore had many layers,

这个不再受伤的决定有好几个层面，

but it mostly had to do with taking responsibility

但最主要的是要为我人生中的各种变量负责。

for all the variables in my life.

If I thought something I would do or something I felt

如果我觉得什么事情可能导致我受伤，

would lead me to injury, then it most certainly would.

那它就会导致我受伤。

I would have to have a fundamental shift in mindset.

我的观念需要有个彻底的转变。

I learned to let go of the fears I had trained myself to have over the years

我开始学会抛弃这些年来我不断习得的恐惧，

and decided to trust myself and my body

要开始去相信自己，相信我的身体

to push through situations I had thought insurmountable before.

能够让我跨过我之前认为跨越不了的障碍。

What followed those five years of injuries

在那五年的伤病之后，

were nine years of not missing one race I entered

是九年没有落下任何一场比赛。

我加入了美国国家队和奥运队。

for the USA National and Olympic teams.

Because I made a decision, then another one,

因为我做出了一个决定， 然后又做出了另一个决定，

and held true to those two decisions,

并坚持这两个决定，

I found myself back with my team approaching 90 miles per hour.

我现在在和我的队友们 以90英里每小时的速度滑行。

And as we came around the last corners, I could hear the crowd cheering

当我们滑过最后一个弯道，我听到观众的欢呼

以及牛铃的声响， 还有人群中的喊出一个“美”字。

and the cowbells blaring, and a hard "You!" coming from the masses

as we passed by at 95 miles an hour.

我们这时正在超过95英里每小时。

But someone wasn't yelling "You!" at us, they were yelling "USA!"

但人们不是对我们喊“美”，而是在喊“美国”！

We were moving so fast, we only heard the first piece of it.

我们是如此之快，我们只能听到第一个音。

We then came around the last bend,

我们来到终点，

and when we all looked up, the clock simply read "1."

抬头看去，时钟上写着”1“。

We had done it; we were Olympic gold medalists.

我们成功了！我们获得了奥运金牌！

We were the best in the world.

我们是世上最优秀的！

My hands went up immediately,

我的手立刻高高举起。 我人生中一直等待的这一刻终于到来。

as the moment I had been waiting for my entire life had finally come true.

当我们的雪橇缓缓停下，

And as our sled slowly came to a stop

我在人群中看到了我的父母，

and I looked into the crowd to see my mom, dad,

sister and family and friends crying for me,

我的姐妹，家人和朋友为我喜极而泣，

I knew my decisions had been worth the sacrifice, worth the fear.

我就知道我的决定值得我做出牺牲， 值得我经历的恐惧。

Two decisions and those five minutes sitting on that couch

两个决定，沙发上的五分钟，

began to change my life,

改变了我的生活。

and sticking to them fulfilled my dreams.

坚持这两个决定成就了我的梦想。

It was those decisions and standing by them

是这两个决定和我的坚持，

that ultimately gave me the confidence to perform at the Olympic games.

给了我自信，让我在奥运赛场上拼搏。

What two decisions can you make and stick to

你会做出和坚守，

that will change your life forever?

哪两个能永远改变你命运的决定？

I challenge you to look at what you're doing in your life

请你看看你自己现在正在做什么，

and think of what you dream to do.

并想想你的梦想是什么。