籃球運動
For 36 years after basketball entered the Olympic Games as a full medal sport for men, the question was not who would win, but who would finish second. The United States owned the game, and not just because it was invented there.
在男子籃球成為正式的奧運會比賽項目之後的36年中，人們關註的焦點並不是誰會贏得冠軍，而是亞軍的歸屬。美國是這項運動的主宰，這並不僅僅是因為籃球起源於美國。
The Soviet Union took home the gold when they toppled the US team in a controversial 1972 game. After another semi-final victory for the Soviets in 1988, the sport opened to professionals. Once again, the question became who would finish second. In Barcelona in 1992, with a squad featuring some of the world’s best-known athletes - Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird - the gold-medal winning US "Dream Team" gave an exhibition of basketball at its best.
蘇聯曾在1972的壹場有爭議的比賽中擊敗了美國，獲得了奧運金牌。在1988年蘇聯再次擊敗美國贏得奧運會籃球半決賽的勝利後，奧運會籃球賽向職業選手敞開了大門，於是人們關註的焦點又成了誰將獲得亞軍。在1992年的巴塞羅那奧運會上，擁有邁克爾·喬丹、魔術師約翰遜、拉裏·伯德等著名職業選手的美國“夢之隊”上演了壹場精彩絕倫的表演賽。
Women’s basketball hasn’t been quite such a one-sided affair. Since it joined the Olympic programme in 1976, the gold medals have been divided between the US, the Soviet Union and, after the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Commonwealth of Independent States.
而女子籃球的決賽就不是壹邊倒了。自從1976成為奧運會正式比賽項目之後，冠軍起初是由美國和蘇聯分享，在蘇聯解體後則有美國和獨聯體來爭奪。