２００８奧運勻牌拓荒者

體育強國收獲奧運金牌如探囊取物，但世界上仍有許多的國家和地區在為第一塊金牌甚至是第一塊獎牌而全力拼搏。于是，當奧運英雄們為自己的國家或地區贏回第一枚獎牌時，它所帶來的狂喜也就不難理解了。

Irving Saladino:

Panama's first Olympic gold medalist

With excitement felt across the country， Irving Saladino stepped into the pantheon1) of history as the first Panamanian athlete to win a gold medal at the Olympic Games. On the morning of Monday， August 18， 2008， Saladino won gold with a jumping distance of 8.34 meters in his fourth attempt， going well past his competitors.

Saladino is Panama's first man in nearly 60 years to win an Olympic medal， and the nation's first gold ever. This is also the first Olympic gold medal ever won in a men's event by an athlete from Central America.

After winning Olympic gold， Saladino returned to Panama as a national hero. Government offices and public schools were closed in honor of him so that public servants were able to attend a parade through Panama City. Martin Torrijos， President of Panama， granted a check to Saladino for 50，000 U.S. dollars and announced a decree2) to name a sports facility after him. Martin Torrijos also commended Saladino \"an example of perseverance3) and success for all Panamanians.\"

Saladino is scheduled to compete one more time this year， so he'll be going back to Brazil to train. He says that if all goes well， he'll be in the London 2012 Olympic Games and compete in that field again.

Abhinav Bindra：

first Indian individual gold medalist

At the 2008 Beijing Olympics， Abhinav Bindra won the gold for the Men's 10m Air Rifle final after shooting a total of 700.5， thus becoming the first Indian individual gold medalist ever at the Olympics.

Back home， India is in a jubilant4) mood. The Bihar government has decided to name the Patna Indoor Stadium after Bindra as well as give him a cash prize. However， Bindra said that he feels the country should prepare developed infrastructure5) and use good coaches to tap sporting talents.

\"I hope for better days of Indian sport. Of course a lot needs to be done. Hope my win at the Olympics will inspire the youth to take up sports more seriously. Education and sports should go hand in hand benefiting each other，\" he said.

Rohullah Nikpai：

Afghan's first Olympic medalist

Nikpai competed in the 58-kilogram taekwondo6) at the 2008 Beijing Olympics， defeating two-time world champion Juan Antonio Ramos of Spain to win the bronze medal， making him Afghanista's first Olympic medalist in any event. Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai immediately called to congratulate Nikpai and awarded him a house.

\"It is every athlete's dream to have a medal around his neck， and I feel proud that my dream has come true，\" said Nikpai. \"I hope this medal will bring a better future for my country， both in terms of peace and friendship. My message to all the Afghan youth is to conquer their aspirations.\"

Back home， Nikpai was cheered by crowds of people as he was driven in an open-topped truck from the international airport to the arena.

The top U.N. official in Afghanistan， Kai Eide， said in a statement:

\"Young people should draw hope and inspiration from this Olympic win. Today， Afghanistan has demonstrated7) that it can and will succeed in the face of adversity8) with the determination， commitment9) and hard work of its most precious resource—the young people of Afghanistan.\"

歐文·薩拉迪諾：

巴拿馬首枚奧運金牌得主

歐文·薩拉迪諾是巴拿馬首位獲得奧運會金牌的運動員，這使他躋身歷史英雄之列，令巴拿馬舉國上下興奮不已。2008年8月18日，星期一上午，薩拉迪諾憑借第四跳8.34米的成績，遠遠超越他的競爭對手，勇奪跳遠金牌。

薩拉迪諾是巴拿馬近60年來奪得奧運會獎牌的首位運動員，這是該國得到的第一枚金牌，也是中美洲的選手在男子項目中獲得的首枚奧運會金牌。

贏得奧運會金牌之后，民族英雄薩拉迪諾回到巴拿馬。為了向他表示敬意，政府機關停止辦公，公立學校放假，以便讓公務員們能夠參加穿越巴拿馬城的游行。巴拿馬總統馬丁·托里霍斯授予薩拉迪諾一張5萬美元的支票，并且宣布了一項法令，以他的名字命名一處體育設施。馬丁·托里霍斯還贊揚薩拉迪諾“是所有巴拿馬人的榜樣，他堅持不懈的精神和取得的成就值得學習”。

按照計劃，薩拉迪諾今年還要再參加一次比賽，所以他要返回巴西訓練。他說如果一切順利，他將參加2012年的倫敦奧運會，再次馳騁田徑賽場。

阿比納夫·賓德拉：

印度首枚奧運金牌個人得主

阿比納夫·賓德拉在2008年北京奧運會上以700.5環的總成績獲得男子10米氣步槍決賽的金牌，成為在奧運會上首位獲得個人項目金牌的印度運動員。

他的家鄉印度沉浸在一片歡樂的氣氛之中。比哈爾邦政府決定給賓德拉現金獎勵，并且以他的名字來命名巴特那室內體育館。不過，賓德拉表示他認為印度應該準備先進的基礎設施，啟用優秀的教練來挖掘體育方面的人才。

“我希望印度的體育能更強。當然，要做的事有很多。希望我在奧運會上的勝利將激勵年輕人更加認真地投入到體育事業中。教育和體育應該聯合起來，相互促進。”賓德拉說。

魯胡拉·尼帕伊：

阿富汗的首枚獎牌獲得者

在2008年北京奧運會58公斤級跆拳道比賽中，尼帕伊擊敗了兩屆世界冠軍、西班牙選手胡安·安東尼奧·拉莫斯，贏得了銅牌，成為阿富汗在奧運會各項目中的首位獎牌獲得者。阿富汗總統哈米德·卡爾扎伊立即打電話祝賀尼帕伊，并獎給他一棟房子。

“脖子上掛著獎牌是每個運動員的夢想，我的夢想成真了，我感到十分自豪，”尼帕伊說，“我希望這枚獎牌將給我的國家帶來更美好的未來，這個未來既包括和平也包括友誼。我想要傳達給所有阿富汗年輕人的信息就是去實現你們的抱負。”

尼帕伊回國后，乘坐敞篷卡車從國際機場到運動場時，沿途聚集了大批的人群，為他歡呼。

聯合國駐阿富汗最高長官卡伊·艾德在一份聲明中說：

“年輕人應該從這次奧運會獲獎看到希望，受到激勵。現如今，阿富汗已經證明，它所擁有的最珍貴的資源——阿富汗的年輕人——有決心、肯奉獻并且愿意努力，這樣，阿富汗在面對逆境時，能夠也必將成功。”