Essay Olympic spirit!! By Kip Cates	フレームで見る  英文をプリントする  脚注をプリントする
オリンピックの精神 オリンピックが始まると、世界中のさまざまな国とのコネクションがある筆者にとっては、どの国を応援すべきかが大問題となる。自分の母国、自分が住んだり旅して回った国、そして選手強化のための潤沢な資金のない国・・・。さて、最終的に筆者の出した結論とは？

The Olympic Games are an amazing event. Every four years, they bring together 10,000 athletes from 200 countries for two weeks of sports, drama and excitement. For me, the Olympics is a chance not just to see top-class athletes but also to learn about the world's peoples, countries and cultures. During the games, I sit glued to the TV with a world atlas on my lap so I can check out the flags, anthems, languages and religions of the athletes and countries which appear on the screen.

At each Olympics, one challenge I face is deciding who to cheer for. There are so many nations competing. Which one should I support? Most people cheer for their own country. Of course, it's fun and natural to hope that "our" athletes will win. However, cheering gets more complicated when you've traveled the world, lived in different countries and have friends around the globe.

I'm Canadian, so of course I'm eager to see Canada do its best. My wife is Japanese, though, so I support athletes from Japan as well. I've got relatives in Great Britain and Ireland, so I always cheer for them. Plus my sisters are married to Americans, so I support the USA, too.

I've lived in France, Germany and Sweden, and have experienced the generosity of people in India, Iran and Vietnam. So, of course, I support these nations. It's only right! My wife and I lived in the Middle East for two years, so we always cheer the Arab athletes as well.

Friends are important and it's our duty to stand by them. I've got friends in places ranging from Mexico, Ghana and Russia to Haiti, Kenya and Costa Rica, so of course I cheer for all these nations. Japan is part of Asia, so I try to encourage Asian athletes, too, especially from China and Korea. Support your local neighborhood!

The rich nations at the games really don't need much support since they spend so much money on coaching, training and equipment. That's why I like to cheer for the underdog nations — countries like Nepal, Ecuador, Morocco and Fiji. They need all the support they can get!

As you've guessed by now, I basically cheer for everyone! We're all members of the same global village, so I feel we should support athletes from every country and share with them the triumphs and heartbreaks, the wins and losses, the drama and the excitement of this unique international sports event.

The Olympic Games are like a relay race through time. The Ancient Greeks ran the first few laps, then passed the Olympic tradition to us. Now, every four years, we pass on the torch to a new host city, to a new country and to a new generation.

Long live the Olympics! Go Team Earth! Gambatte, everybody!

Shukan ST: AUGUST 3, 2012

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