Was Rio China's worst-ever Olympics?

By Steven Jiang, CNN

Beijing (CNN)For a nation known for its obsession for gold[痴迷金牌], Team China seemed to have had a rough time in Rio de Janeiro.

The country came in third place in the gold medal count at the 2016 Summer Games, trailing[1] the United States and Great Britain. Eight years ago in Beijing, China sat on top with a record 51 gold medals.

Now, analysts and spectators[观众;观察者;看客] are debating if China has moved beyond its single-minded determination[专心致志] in winning gold.

Some see a diminishing role[逐渐缩小的作用] for sports as an outlet for nationalism, thanks to China's economic and military ascent[提升;提高] on the global stage. Others consider swimmer Fu Yuanhui's instant popularity a sign of a demographic shift in Olympic viewing, as younger generations focus more on personalities than results.

But if one looks at the hardware, there is no denying that China came up short[2].

"We agree that winning gold is not the only benchmark, but we also recognize the Olympic motto is faster, higher and stronger after all," said Liu Peng, China's sports minister, in Rio on Saturday.

“首先，大家评论的，‘唯金牌论’是不对的。这个话我是赞成的。因为体育它是综合的价值，不能够把金牌作为唯一的标准。”

“但是也有另外一种说法：‘既然如此，那就金牌要不要，就无所谓了。’这种说法同样是错误的。因为我们奥林匹克的理念就是追求更快、更高、更强，我们中华体育的核心就是顽强拼搏、为国争光。”

►►►A slow start

China began its quest at the Games without winning gold on day one.

Soon came some unexpected flops in fields that China usually excels in: diving[跳水], gymnastics[体操] and swimming.

Female swimmer Chen Xinyi, a rising star, tested positive for a banned substance[违禁物].

Then, 100-meter freestyle world champion Ning Zetao -- the swimming team's golden boy[3] and a huge celebrity -- finished his Rio races empty-handed[一无所获;空手].

Finally, blaming an illness, Sun Yang -- the world-record holder in men's 1,500-meter freestyle -- failed to even qualify for the final[晋级决赛].

Fu was the one Chinese swimmer who bucked the gloomy trend[4] and became an overnight sensation[一夜轰动/成名]. The 20-year-old lit up -- and cracked up[5] -- the whole nation with her exuberant[6] and at times hilarious[7] answers during post-competition interviews on state television. Her reactions formed a stark contrast to[形成鲜明对比] the usual somber[8] responses from Chinese athletes.

►►►A much-needed win

In the end, it was once again the Chinese women's volleyball team that lifted the national spirit and let the world's most populous country go out with a bang[9] at the Rio Games.

When the women overcame their first-set loss in the final and beat Serbia[塞尔维亚] 3-1 Saturday night to claim the 26th -- and final -- gold medal for China, the entire Chinese cyberspace seemed to explode with joy and pride, with countless posts from around the world on people bursting into tears.

As China re-entered the world of international sports in the early 1980s, it was the unlikely success of the national women's volleyball team that injected the scarred[伤痕累累;有疤痕的;瘢痕性的] nation with a much-needed shot of purpose and optimism.[此处对原文有删改]

This time around, millions of fans were glued to[紧盯着] their television sets or phones, holding their collective breath as state media offered play-by-play[详细报道的;实况报道的] announcements on air and online.

The volleyball team accomplished something even Beijing's propaganda czars and Internet censors had found elusive[10] in the past few weeks: Replacing the disappointing and bitter tone on social media over China's Olympic performance in Rio with a united and enthusiastic voice.

►►►The blame game

Disheartened[灰心;沮丧;气馁的] state media outlets could hardly conceal[隐藏;隐瞒;掩盖] their feeling during much of the Games, with the official Xinhua news agency memorably tweeting in English "You're kidding me!" as Great Britain overtook China for the number two spot in the gold medal table.

The tweet has since been deleted.

Yet others pointed the finger at[指责;指摘] the country's government-run sports system, which pours millions of dollars of state funds in Olympic sports and puts young athletes through ruthless[无情的;残忍的] training in fields chosen by the authorities.

"The state should use taxpayer money to improve conditions of public sports facilities for ordinary people, instead of spending it to win a few medals that would make officials look good," wrote prominent sports commentator Huang Jianxiang on Weibo, China's equivalent of Twitter.

Despite such criticisms, officials and the public still often link China's Olympic success to its national rise.

Economists at Goldman Sachs[高盛投资公司] had predicted China would take home 89 medals, including 36 gold, to take second place in the medal table in Rio.

When the Olympic flame extinguished[熄灭] Sunday night, the final count of 70 in total with 26 gold made the widely reported forecast look way too sanguine[11].

Still, there were enough victories to celebrate, according to Liu, China's top sports official.

He pointed to the issue of succession in many sports but stressed that, while Rio was the first Olympics for more than 70% of Team China members, 13 first-timers struck gold[摘金]. He also applauded Fu's viral remarks as a sign of increasingly relaxed and confident Chinese athletes.

"We underestimated the challenges and difficulties we would face at the Rio Olympics," Liu said. "We are behind in studying new ideas and trends in the fast-developing world of competitive sports along with their training and management."

“一是里约奥运周期在世界杯、世锦赛等国际大赛上成绩突出，这使认知和判断出现偏差，对奥运会面临的严峻形势和困难估计不足。

二是我们对世界竞技体育的迅猛发展趋势、训练管理的新思维新潮流和水平的迅速提高深入认识、及时研判、交流学习还不够，在一些项目的训练理念、方法上创新不足，在管理措施上不够严不够实。

"Our Rio mission was basically accomplished," he added.

“中国体育代表团总体上基本完成了参赛任务。”

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[1]trail：to be losing to your competitor in a competition （比赛中）落后，失败

The Swiss team are trailing by 6 points.

瑞士队落后了6分。

The Nationalist Party is trailing (behind) the Liberals in the opinion polls.

在民意调查中国民党落后于自由党。

[2]come up short of：to fail to achieve <We came up short of our goal.>

昨天的文章[E477]郎平圆梦里约 女排重返巅峰同样出现了come up short.

[3]golden boy 有名声的男子;受人喜爱的男孩;有成就的男人

[4]buck the trend：to be noticeably different from the way that a situation is developing generally, especially in connection with financial matters （尤指经济上）逆潮流，逆势

This company is the only one to have bucked the trend of a declining industry.

这家公司是在行业日益不景气的情况下唯一一家蒸蒸日上的企业。

gloomy：with no positive opinions or expectations about a situation 悲观的

The vet is rather gloomy about my cat's chances of recovery.

兽医对我的猫康复表示很不乐观。

a gloomy economic forecast

令人沮丧的经济形势预测

[5]crack up：If you crack up or if someone or something cracks you up, you laugh a lot. 哈哈大笑; 使…哈哈大笑

[6]exuberant [ɪg'z(j)uːb(ə)r(ə)nt; eg-]

(especially of people and their behaviour) very energetic （尤指人或其行为）精力充沛的，热情洋溢的，兴高采烈的

Young and exuberant, he symbolises Italy's new vitality.

青春年少、意气风发，他代表了意大利朝气蓬勃的新生力量。

[7]hilarious [hɪ'leərɪəs]

extremely funny and causing a lot of laughter 非常滑稽的，引人发笑的

He didn't like the film at all - I thought it was hilarious.

他根本就不喜欢这部电影——可我觉得它好笑极了。

[8]somber [ˈsɒmbə(r)]

serious, sad and without humour or entertainment 严肃的；忧郁的

a sombre atmosphere/voice/face

严肃的气氛／声音／脸

[9]go out with a bang：to end or finish something in a dramatic way

If someone or something goes out with a bang, they stopexisting or doing something in an exciting way.

[10]elusive：difficult to describe, find, achieve or remember 难以表述（或找到、达到、记起）的；困难的；难懂的

The answers to these questions remain as elusive as ever.

这些问题的答案仍然是不得而知。

Success, however, remained elusive for her.

但是对她来说，成功仍然不可企及。

elusive memories

模糊的记忆

[11]sanguine ['sæŋgwɪn]

(of someone or their character) positive and hopeful 乐观的，乐天的

They are less sanguine about the prospects for peace.

他们对和平的前景不乐观。

[12]本文英文原文摘自CNN：http://t.cn/Rt1qLpv

本文无音频，下面听听郎导用英文接受采访。

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