环球英语 1286 Women at the 2012 Olympics
Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Robin Basselin.
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And I’m Ryan Geertsma. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
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It was August 3rd, 2012. Hundreds of people filled a large building or sports arena in London, England. These sport fans had come from all over the world. They were there to watch an Olympic event - the opening competition for women’s Judo.
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Two female athletes walked into the arena. They wore traditional judo clothing, belts and no shoes. One of the athletes wore an unusual piece of clothing for a judo competition. It was a small, black head covering. Immediately, the announcer introduced the athlete. He said,
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“In white, the first woman ever from Saudi Arabia, Wojdan Shaherkani.”
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Wojdan Shaherkani did not win her judo competition that day. In fact, she did not compete very well at all. But on that day, she did succeed. Shaherkani became the first woman from Saudi Arabia to ever compete in the Olympic games. Today’s Spotlight is on women and the 2012 Olympics.
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The London Olympics games were an extremely important Olympics for women. Almost 45% of all the Olympic athletes at the London games were women. This is a higher percent than ever before. Some countries even sent more women than men! And for the first time ever, each country competing in the Olympics sent at least one female athlete.
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These achievements are special because it has not always been this way. The Olympic games started in Ancient Greece in the year 776 BCE. In these games, only men competed. In 1896, officials started the modern Olympic games. Once again, only men competed in these games.
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However, four years later in 1900, Olympic officials permitted women to compete for the first time. This was a major achievement. But, officials limited women to competing in only two sports - tennis and golf. In the 1920’s, officials permitted women to compete in more sporting events. They competed in swimming and horse riding events. But many countries still restricted what events women could compete in. For example, the United States did not let women compete in swimming events during this time. Many Americans at this time believed that women should keep their legs covered. And this was not possible if they competed in swimming.
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In the 1960s and 70s, Olympic officials began opening more and more sports to women. Over the next 40 years, the number of women competitors increased at almost every Olympics. And the number of events they competed in also increased.
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However, it was not until the year 2000 that officials opened the last major Olympic event to women. At the Sydney Olympics officials permitted women to compete in the sport of weight lifting. Weight lifting is a sport where an athlete tries to lift heavier and heavier amounts of weight. It is a sport of strength.
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Female athletes struggled over many years to fully compete in the Olympics. And they still continue to experience struggles. For example, remember Wojdan Shaherkani from the beginning of the program? This young, Saudi athlete experienced a lot of pressure. Many people in her country did not want her to compete. Saudi television stations refused to broadcast her competition. Some people even called her hurtful names. They believed women should dress modestly - wearing a head covering and long, flowing clothes that cover a women’s whole body. The clothing she wore to compete in judo was not like this. This made some people angry.
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Another thing that was difficult for Shaherkani was a lack of training. Usually, Olympic athletes train and compete for many years before the Olympics. But Shaherkani had only trained and competed for a few years. She did not even know if she would compete in the Olympic games until a few weeks before they started. Saudi Arabia decided very late to permit women to compete in the Olympics. So, their female athletes were not as prepared to compete as other athletes.
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For this reason, Shaherkani lost her first competition in less than two minutes. But people around the world watched this historic competition. They cheered for Shaherkani. Shaherkani was frightened during her competition. But she was also very proud. After the competition she released a statement. In it, she said,
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“I am excited and proud to be representing my country…Unfortunately I lost, but I will do better next time.”
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It is not just new female athletes that experience struggle. Some long time female athletes experience struggle even when they win! At the 2012 Olympics, there was a young, expert Chinese swimmer named Ye Shiwen. Shiwen performed well in her event. In fact, she performed better than many male swimmers in the same event. Because of her success, many people accused her of doping. They believed she took drugs to make her better. However, there was no evidence that she was using drugs. Many people believe Shiwen was accused because she was a woman - because people did not expect a woman to swim so well naturally.
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Women in the 2012 Olympics experienced a mixture of struggle and historic success. And their examples give women around the world hope for the future. Sarah Attar is another first time female Olympic athlete. She competed in the running sports for the country of Saudi Arabia. She told the New York Times:
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“A big reason why I competed in the Olympic Games was to be one of the first women from Saudi Arabia…It is a huge honor. I hope that it can cause some big steps forward for women’s sports in Saudi Arabia. I hope that women will get more involved in sport.”
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Having women in the Olympics is not just important for women. Female athletes show all people what it means to be human - to work hard, succeed and even fail. Jane Seu is a writer for the Daily Nebraskan newspaper. As she explains,
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“When we see an athlete win, we are involved in a deep and real part of his or her life. We see complete happiness and a lifetime of work in that one goal. When we see them fail, we have the same complex emotion of loss. A whole country can cheer for an athlete because of this human connection. This human connection is not about being a woman or a man.
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The writer of this program was Dianna Anderson. The producer was Mark Drenth. The voices you heard were from the United States and the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it on the Internet at http://www.radioenglish.net This .program is called, “Women at the 2012 Olympics.”
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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.
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