在 “女性·奥运”论坛上的演讲
美国驻中国大使馆新闻发言人苏珊·史蒂文森女士
The Olympics holds a special place in the public mind. More than a world championship or national match， an Olympic event brings countries together behind their athletes. Olympic achievement is all the more significant because millions around the globe witnessed it. The theme of the Beijing Games.
“One World， One Dream” perfectly captures this spirit.
I’m very pleased to represent the United States in speaking about Olympic achievements because I had a lot of inspiring stories to choose from. American women have worked hard to reach the top of their sports， and I think I can share some inspiring stories in eight minutes.
Although the Chinese say that women hold up half the sky， they were often the “poor relation” in U.S. sports programs. There were no school sports programs for girls. Jackie Joyner Kersee， who later won six Olympic medals， had to carry sand to her front porch in potato chip bags with her friends to create a makeshift long jump pit. In the 1930s， Alice Coachman the first African American woman to win a medal in the 1948 London Games was excluded from school sports because she was black. She trained on dirt roads and fields and practiced the high jump barefoot. African American Wyomia Tyus， who won back-to-back gold medals in the 100-meter dash in Tokyo and Mexico City， says， “My father used to tell us，You will have to work twice as hard to get what you want” because of the color of their skin. Willye White， who won a silver medal in the long jump at the 1956 Melbourne Games， said that through the Olympics， “I found there were two worlds： Mississippi (where she grew up) and the rest of the world. The Olympic Movement taught me not to judge a person by the color of their skin， but by the contents of their hearts. I am who I am because of my participation in sports.”
Most inspirational of all was Wilma Rudolph. The 17th of 21 children， Rudolph had polio， scarlet fever and double pneumonia as a child. She grew up wearing a brace on her right leg. To her doctor’s shock， she took the brace off at 9 and was racing her neighbors at 13. In Rome in 1960， she won gold in the 100-and 200-meter dash as well as the 4x100 relay.
But it was a blonde-haired diver from California who helped change American sports for women. Donna de Varona won two gold medals at the 1964 Tokyo Games and went on to a career in broadcasting. She used her fame to help lobby passage of the landmark “Title IX of the Equal Education Amendment Act of 1972”or “Title IX.” This mandated equal access to sports for men and women throughout the United States. Title IX allowed me to participate in track and field when I was at school. The passage of this act came just in time for then-10 year-old Jackie Joyner-Kersee， who was able to train in her school sports program before competing in the 1984， 1988， 1992， and 1996 Olympics， where she won her six gold medals.
Now American women know no obstacle in sports. I’m proud that my country has produced such athletes as Michelle Kwan and Mia Hamm. We are all looking forward to the achievements of women athletes next summer here in Beijing.
Thank you.
