Oldest Winter Olympian to Set Record

摘要：When Scott Baird steps on the curling rink next week he will become the oldest Winter Olympian in the history of the Games.下周，踏上冰球场的斯科特·贝尔德将成为冬奥会历史上年纪最大的参赛选手。

When Scott Baird steps on the curling rink next week he will become the oldest Winter Olympian in the history of the Games.

Aged 54 and 282 days, the white-haired curler from Minnesota will beat the previous record set by Briton James Coates who at the 1948 Winter Games at the age of 53 and 328 days competed in the skeleton, finishing seventh.

"I am the oldest member of the U.S. men's curling team and that is exactly one of the reasons I love curling," a smiling Baird told Reuters on Sundaysaid ahead of the start of the Turin Olympics, his first.

"Curling is like golf, it's a lifetime sport."

Baird is from Bemidji, Minnesota, which prides itself as the curling capital of the U.S. and has another four of its citizens on the men's and women's Olympic teams.

He said while he taught the younger players a thing or two about the sport, he was also picking up a lot from them.

"The game is always evolving and I am still learning from watching them play," Baird said.

"The strategy is constantly evolving."

As for the team's chances of a medal, Baird said if they played well they could surprise everyone.

"We are hopeful if we play to the top of our game. If we can be consistent we will have good results," he said.

The team, including Baird, finished sixth at the 2005 world championships which were won by Canada. Scotland, competing in the Turin Olympics for Britain, were second and Germany third.

Despite his veteran status, Baird is not considering putting an end to his curling career.

"I want to keep going. At least for another decade or two," he said with a smile. "At least at club level."

下周，踏上冰球场的斯科特·贝尔德将成为冬奥会历史上年纪最大的参赛选手。

这位满头白发的冰球选手来自明尼苏达州，年龄54岁零282天。白他将取代1948年冬奥会上的英国选手詹姆斯·科茨，成为冬奥会历史上年纪最大的运动员。詹姆斯当时53岁零328天，参加了俯式冰撬项目，在比赛中获得第七名。

都灵冬奥会开幕前，贝尔德笑着说："我是美国男子冰球队中年纪最大的运动员，这也正是我喜欢这项运动的原因之一。"这是他第一次参加冬奥会。

"和高尔夫一样，冰球运动是终生可以参加的运动。"贝尔德来自明尼苏达州的伯米吉市，当地号称是美国冰球运动之城，在奥运参赛队伍中还有另外四名选手来自此地。

贝尔德说，当他教年轻运动员这项运动的一些知识时，他也从他们身上学到了很多。

贝尔德说："这项运动始终在发展之中，通过看年轻人比赛，我仍然在学习。运动技巧一直在不断发展。"

谈到自己的队伍能否获得奖牌时，贝尔德表示，如果队员们发挥得好，他们会给所有人带来惊喜。

他说："如果发挥到最佳状态，我们很有希望（获得奖牌）。如果我们配合默契，我们会取得好成绩的。"

在2005年世界锦标赛中，加拿大队获得冠军，贝尔德所在的美国男队获得第六名。当年，苏格兰队第二，德国队第三，在今年的比赛中他们将和加拿大队一决雌雄。

贝尔德虽然是老队员，但是他认为他的冰球运动生涯并没有结束。

他微笑着说："我想继续参加比赛，至少会再坚持一二十年。至少到达俱乐部级吧。"