雷•尤里的橡皮人童话

I don't want to be companied by wheelchair all my life, even if I can walk only one step.

——Ray Ewry

我不想一辈子和轮椅做伴，哪怕只能走一步也好。

——雷·尤里

To many people, Forrest Gump, the Hollywood film remained fresh in their memories, what was not known over a hundred years ago, it really

happened in the history of Olympics. In those days, sports were rather pure and Olympics were elementary. The American, who had suffered from poliomyelitis1, made a myth from wheelchair to Olympic winner stand.

He was tall and good looking, his legs long and strong, not showing a little morbid2 or abnormal state. The reason why he was called "rubber man" was not only his graceful posture which was unfolding and extending in the air, but also he was not struck down by serious illness. After rebounding, he attended 3 Olympics from 1900 to 1908, keeping the record of 8 Olympic gold medals, illustrating the spirit of sports in the best way.

Ray Ewry was born in Lafayette, Indiana, USA on October 14, 1873. He was in poor health at early age and later got poliomyelitis. His legs suffered from muscular atrophy3 bit by bit, unable to support weight of his whole body. After many treatments, he was afflicted4 in the wheelchair all day long. Ewry had such strong consciousness:He can not spend his whole life in the wheelchair and he was not resigned to be a disabled man.

When he was 7, a doctor told him, "You must do physical training to ensure your muscles to stop atrophia, maybe you can stand up. " So he pushed away the wheelchair and crawled with great difficulties. Later, he tried to stand without leaning upon the wheelchair then he tried to walk. Gradually, he attempted to jump. Nobody knew how excited he became the first time when Ray sprang from the ground. Miracle really happened. After a long period of hard training, his muscles of legs not only recovered but also became stronger; at last, he could run and play like other children.

Although his simplistic actions could not be called "physical culture", active movement of his body gave him the second life and made him realize the endless possibilities of human body.

In addition, sports had become one part of Ray Ewry's life. After he entered the university, he became a rugby player and the captain of track and field team.

Rich physical atmosphere was the proud traditions in American cultures. In Purdue University, Ewry not only got degree in engineering, but joined Sigma Nu fratemity5, an activity group for man students, thus beginning to engage in sports and being enrolled as a member in New York Club.

Under the instruction of coach in the club, he decided to devote himself to 3 events:standing long jump, standing high jump and standing triple jump. There were no run-ups in these items. Athletes need to finish the competition by means of instant explosive power andcoordination of lower limbs, waist as well as arms, which had a high requirement for athlete's physical quality.

The second Olympics were held in Paris, France in July, 1900. The 27-year-old Ray Ewry entered the competition for the first time. On July 16, he won three championships in standing long jump, standing high jump and standing triple jump, which caused a sensation6 all over the world. 4 years later, he successfully won the titles of the 3 items in St. Louis Olympics, America in 1904. In 1908, standing triple jump was no longer the match in Olympics, but Ray Ewry won the other two gold medals with absolute superiority. Up to now, he had won 8 Olympic gold medals.

After 1908 Olympics, the 3 items which Ewry were good at were withdrawn from the Olympic competitions. Today people can never see standing long jump, standing high jump nor standing triple jump in the Olympic track and field, which made the achievements by Ray Ewry become records which can never be broken. He made an entire monopoly7 of all the standing jump events in Olympic history, becoming the real King of Standing Jumps. His record of standing long jump was 3.47m. This sports event was officially proposed to be cancelled in all international track and field evens in 1930, so Ewry's record became a number which can never be rewritten. Ray Ewry fully deserved one of the most successful 10 athletes in Olympic history.

In fact, in the first several Olympics, there were a few athletes and the competitive standard was not so high, to be honest, the difficulty to win 8 gold medals was less than that of today. On the other hand, Ray Ewry didn't get so many material benefits from these Olympic champion ships. Outside the competition field, he was a hydraulic8 engineer. The greatest wealth of spirit Ray Ewry left to Olympic sports was not the gold medals he won but the sportsmanship he presented. On September 29, 1937, Ray Ewry passed away at the age of 64. He told people with his actions and experiences that success forever belonged to those who didn't succumb to9 destiny and could defeat himself.

很多人都会对好莱坞电影《阿甘正传》记忆犹新，孰不知100多年前，在奥林匹克历史上就真的发生过这样的传奇。在那个体育还很单纯，奥运会还比较初级的年代，这个曾罹患小儿麻痹症的美国人，创造了从轮椅到奥运领奖台的神话。

他身材高大，相貌英俊，双腿修长健壮，丝毫不显病态。他之所以被昵称为“橡皮人”，不仅仅是因为在空中舒展拉伸的优美姿势，更因为他没有被病魔打趴下，反弹之后还参加了从1900年到1908年的3届奥运会，至今保持着8枚奥运金牌的纪录，用最好的方式阐释了体育精神。

雷·尤里，1873年10月14日出生于美国印第安纳州的拉法耶特，他从小体弱多病，后来患上了小儿麻痹症，双腿肌肉渐渐萎缩，不足以支撑他的身体的重量。虽经多方求治，却仍然只能整天困在轮椅上。尤里内心深处有一种强烈的意识：自己的一生绝不能在轮椅上度过，他不甘心做一个“残疾人”。

在他7岁的时候，一位医生告诉雷：“你需要锻炼，使你的肌肉不再萎缩，也许你还能站起来。”于是他开始推掉轮椅，用力爬行，后来他努力让自己不依靠轮椅也能站立了，再后来他尝试着行走，渐渐地他能尝试跳跃了。没人知道，当雷第一次跳离地面时，他兴奋成了什么样子。奇迹真的发生了，经过长期的苦练，他的腿部肌肉功能不但真的恢复了，而且变得更加有力，他终于能和其他的孩子那样奔跑、嬉戏了。

尽管这个时候他所做的那些简单的动作还不能称为“体育”，但积极活动肢体带给他第2次生命，让他看到了人体无穷无尽的可能性。

不仅如此，运动已经成为雷·尤里生活中的一部分。在进入大学后，他成为一名橄榄球运动员，同时是校田径队队长。

浓厚的体育氛围是美国大学文化引以为豪的传统。在普渡大学，尤里不仅获得了工程学位，重要的是在加入SigmaNu兄弟会(男同学的社交活动团体)后，他才开始真正深入体育，并被纽约运动员俱乐部吸收为该会成员。

经俱乐部教练指点，他决定让自己专注于立定跳远、立定跳高和立定三级跳远3个项目。这是3个完全没有助跑，仅凭下肢、腰部和手臂在一瞬间的爆发力和协调性来决定成绩的项目，对运动员的基本身体素质要求极高。

1900年7月，第2届奥运会在法国巴黎举行，27岁“高龄”的雷·尤里初次参赛。7月16日一天，他一举夺得立定跳高、立定跳远和立定三级跳远3项冠军，轰动世界；4年后，1904年美国圣路易斯奥运会上，他成功卫冕3项冠军；1908年，立定三级跳不再是奥运项目，但尤里以绝对优势卫冕另外两项。至此，他共获得8枚奥运金牌。

1908年奥运会后，尤里擅长的3个项目都退出了奥运舞台，今天人们再也不能在奥运田径赛场上看到立定跳远、立定跳高和立定三级跳，这让尤里此前取得的成绩，成为永远不会被打破的纪录：他包揽了奥运会历史上所有立定跳项目的金牌，成为真正的“立定跳之王”；他创下的3米47的立定跳远纪录，在该项目于1930年正式退出所有国际田径赛场后，成为人类运动史上一个无法被改写的数字。雷·尤里当之无愧地成为奥运史上最成功的10名运动员之一。

事实上，在起初的几届奥运会上，参赛运动员并不多，竞技水平也不高，凭心而论，夺取8金的难度比今天要小。另一方面，雷·尤里也没有从这些奥运冠军中获得什么物质利益。在奥运赛场之外，他是一位水利工程师。雷·尤里留给奥林匹克运动的最大精神财富，不在于拿了多少金牌，而在于充分体现了体育精神。1937年9月29日，雷·尤里辞世，终年64岁。他用自己的行动和经历告诉人们，成功永远属于那些不屈服于命运，并能够战胜自己的人。

注释：

①poliomyelitis：n．小儿麻痹症；骨髓灰质炎

②morbid：adj．病态的，生病的

③atrophy：n．萎缩症

④afflict：v．使苦恼，折磨

⑤fraternity：n.友爱，互助会，兄弟会

⑥sensation：n.引起轰动的事(或事物等)

⑦monopolyn.垄断专利

⑧hydraulic：adj.水力的，水压的

⑨to succumb to: 屈服于，屈从