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Scott Baird，the oldest Winter Olympian
in the history of the Games
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When Scott Baird steps on the curling rink next week he will become the oldest
Winter Olympian in the history of the Games.
Aged 54 and 282 days, the
white-haired curler from Minnesota will beat the previous record set by
Briton James Coates who at the 1948 Winter Games at the age of 53 and 328
days competed in the skeleton,
finishing seventh.
"I am the oldest member of the U.S. men's curling team and that is
exactly one of the reasons I love curling," a smiling Baird told Reuters
on Sundaysaid ahead of the start of the Turin Olympics, his first.
"Curling is like golf, it's a lifetime sport."
Baird is from
Bemidji, Minnesota, which prides itself as the curling capital of the U.S.
and has another four of its citizens on the men's and women's Olympic
teams.
He said while he taught the younger players a thing or two about the
sport, he was also picking up a lot from them.
"The game is always evolving and I am still learning from watching them
play," Baird said. "The strategy is constantly evolving."
As for the
team's chances of a medal, Baird said if they played well they could
surprise everyone.
"We are hopeful if we play to the top of our game. If we can be
consistent we will have good results," he said.
The team, including Baird, finished sixth at the 2005 world
championships which were won by Canada. Scotland, competing in the Turin
Olympics for Britain, were second and Germany third.
Despite his veteran status, Baird is not considering putting an end to
his curling career.
"I want to keep going. At least for another decade or two," he said
with a smile. "At least at club level."
(Agencies) |
下周，踏上冰壺比賽場的斯科特·貝爾德將成為冬奧會歷史上年紀最大的參賽選手。
這位滿頭白發的冰壺選手來自明尼蘇達州，年齡54歲零282天。白他將取代1948年冬奧會上的英國選手詹姆斯·科茨，成為冬奧會歷史上年紀最大的運動員。詹姆斯當時53歲零328天，參加了俯式冰撬項目，在比賽中獲得第七名。
都靈冬奧會開幕前，貝爾德笑著說："我是美國男子冰壺隊中年紀最大的運動員，這也正是我喜歡這項運動的原因之一。"這是他第一次參加冬奧會。
"和高爾夫一樣，冰壺運動是終生可以參加的運動。"貝爾德來自明尼蘇達州的伯米吉市，當地號稱是美國冰壺運動之城，在奧運參賽隊伍中還有另外四名選手來自此地。
貝爾德說，當他教年輕運動員這項運動的一些知識時，他也從他們身上學到了很多。
貝爾德說："這項運動始終在發展之中，通過看年輕人比賽，我仍然在學習。運動技巧一直在不斷發展。"
談到自己的隊伍能否獲得獎牌時，貝爾德表示，如果隊員們發揮得好，他們會給所有人帶來驚喜。
他說："如果發揮到最佳狀態，我們很有希望（獲得獎牌）。如果我們配合默契，我們會取得好成績的。"
在2005年世界錦標賽中，加拿大隊獲得冠軍，貝爾德所在的美國男隊獲得第六名。當年，蘇格蘭隊第二，德國隊第三，在今年的比賽中他們將和加拿大隊一決雌雄。
貝爾德雖然是老隊員，但是他認為他的冰壺運動生涯并沒有結束。
他微笑著說："我想繼續參加比賽，至少會再堅持一二十年。至少到達俱樂部級吧。"
(中國日報網站編譯) |
Updated: 2006-02-07 10:00
