全球会客厅：尼日利亚首位冬奥越野滑雪运动员讲述他的奥运五环梦

北京2022年冬奥会在即，CGTN将邀请奥运选手们做客特别节目《全球会客厅：冬奥名将说》, 与观众们分享他们对冬季运动的热忱与坚持。

本期节目, 我们邀请到了尼日利亚越野滑雪运动员塞缪尔·伊克佩凡 (Samuel Ikpefan) ，他也是该国历史上首位参加冬季奥运会的滑雪运动员。伊克佩凡还在节目中分享了他对即将开幕的北京2022年冬奥会的期待，一起来倾听塞缪尔·伊克佩凡的故事吧。

向上滑动阅览

A: Eva May 伊娃·梅       CGTN Host  CGTN 主持人B: Samuel Ikpefan 塞缪尔·伊克佩凡 Nigerian Cross-country Skier 尼日利亚越野滑雪运动员A:Hello, everyone. Welcome to The Chat Room. My name is Eva May. We are currently in a virtual snowfield, a.k.a. winter wonderland.We will be tuning in with the 30-year-old Nigerian cross-country skier.Hi, Samuel, can you hear us?大家好 欢迎收看《全球会客厅》 我是伊娃·梅 我们将在这片虚拟雪地—冬日乐园中进行今天的节目  今天我们邀请到的嘉宾是来自尼日利亚的30岁越野滑雪运动员塞缪尔 你能听到我说话吗？
B:Yes. 可以
A:Bonjour. Ça va?  你好 最近过得怎么样？
B:Bonjour. Très bien, merci. 你好 我最近过得还不错 谢谢
I'm in training camp in Bessans. It's the same altitude as the Olympic stadium (in Beijing). I'm training for nine days to prepare for when I come to the Olympic stadium.我现在在贝桑滑雪训练基地 这里的海拔和北京冬奥会滑雪场馆的海拔一样高 我将在这里进行为期九天的训练 为参加北京冬奥会作准备
This is my bedroom. This is my kitchen. This is my ski material. This is my equipment for the Olympics and many other races.这里是我的卧室 这里是厨房 这是我的雪具 是我参加冬奥会和其他比赛时用的滑雪装备
A:I think most people wouldn't really assume or associate a (tropical) country like Nigeria with winter sports at any point. What does it mean to you to represent Nigeria in the Beijing Winter Olympics this year?我想大部分人 通常不会把尼日利亚这样的（热带）国家和冬季运动联系起来 代表尼日利亚参加北京冬奥会对你来说意味着什么？
B:It's really important for me to participate in the Winter Games because it will show the world that even in countries where winter sports are not a priority, we can all share it. It allows a large number of people to see and become interested in these sports.参加冬奥会对我来说意义重大 因为它将告诉全世界 即使在冬季运动并非主流的国家 人们也可以参与其中 它也可以让更多人观看比赛 让大家对这些运动感兴趣
I was really happy to see the first team of Nigeria go to the Olympics in PyeongChang. It's another motivation for me. It's a motivation for African people. I think it's really important to promote all winter sports, and in general, all sports in a tropical country.我很高兴看到尼日利亚的第一支（女子雪车）队参加了平昌冬奥会 这也是我参加北京冬奥会的一大动力 这对非洲民众来说也是一种鼓励 我觉得在热带国家推广冬季运动 以及所有运动项目都是十分重要的
A:Obviously, winning the medal is going to be the biggest goal. But would you say is it more about the journey and the experience along the way?  当然 摘得奖牌是终极目标 但你会不会觉得为了目标而努力的过程和这段旅途中的经历更为重要？
B:Yes. It's important to win a medal. It's always the pride and reward for the work and getting good grades too. But it's not the most important thing for me – it's to love and enjoy what we do.当然 摘得奖牌很重要 奖牌是一种荣誉 是对我们辛苦付出的回报 它也意味着我们取得了优异的成绩 但是 对我来说这不是最重要的 最重要的是热爱和享受我们所做的事情
A：When we are on a journey like that, we're also dealing with failures at times. You sometimes are also dealing with so called DNFs right? Could you tell us what does DNF stand for in skiing?当我们踏上这样一段旅途 免不了会遇到失败和挫折 越野滑雪中也会面临“DNF”的情况 你能向大家解释一下DNF是什么意思吗？
B:DNF is "did not finish." So you did not finish your race. If you don't finish the race, you have many explanations or many causes. You don't finish the race because you don't have good material, good equipment or you don't finish the race because physically it's really difficult for you on the day of the race.DNF就是未能完成比赛的意思 未能完成比赛的情况和原因有很多种 或许是因为没有良好的滑雪装备 又或许是 比赛当天的体力状况不足以支撑你完成比赛
A:What is your vision for your personal goal and your development when it comes to cross-country skiing?在越野滑雪领域 你对自己的个人目标和发展有哪些设想？
B:I would like to continue until 2026 and maybe Olympic Games after that.我希望自己能参加2026年的冬奥会 以及之后的奥运会
A:Thank you so much for your time, Samuel. It was a pleasure talking to you. What's left to say other than bonne chance for your competition here in Beijing, and thank you so much.感谢你抽时间参加今天的节目 塞缪尔 和你聊天很开心 我祝你在北京冬奥会一切顺利谢谢你

Samuel Ikpefan, cross-country skier of Nigeria. /CGTN

Nigeria's Samuel Ikpefan will make his Winter Olympic debut as the country's first-ever Winter Olympic cross-country skier in the coming 2022 Games in China.

He joined CGTN's Beijing 2022 special series "The Chat Room – Meet the Olympians" on Sunday to share the story of his career.

Ikpefan has dual citizenship as he was born in France. He used to train in different sports including football, judo and, of course, cross-country skiing before deciding what sport he should make his career.

However, in 2011, Ikpefan suffered a major setback: he was turned down by the French skiing team. That's when he decided to put a pause on his career and didn't return in five years.

In 2016, Ikpefan learned that he could become a cross-country skier on behalf of Nigeria, his second home, though he must wait until 2018 to start over. He reached out to the Nigerian skiing federation. Their vice-president wanted to test Ikpefan by asking him to participate in a demonstration in Nigeria.

Ikpefan accepted the challenge and flew to Nigeria for the first time in his life.

CGTN host Eva May (C) talks to Samuel Ikpefan, cross-country skier of Nigeria. /CGTN

"It was huge, it touched me." Ikpefan told Olympic.com. "I saw my father again for the first time in a year as he moved there for his retirement. When I walked on Nigerian soil, I started to get emotional. Some tears came to my eyes."

The demonstration happened at the 60,000-seater Abuja National Stadium and was broadcast on national television. Ikpefan convinced the vice-president with his performance and became a member of the Nigerian cross-country skiing team.

In 2021, Ikpefan made history by becoming the first Nigerian skier to attend the World Cross Country Ski Championships in Germany and the World Cup in Sweden. His next stage is the Winter Olympics in Beijing in 2022.

Back in 2018, Nigeria sent four athletes, Seun Adigun, Akuoma Omeoga, Ngozi Onwumere, and Simidele Adeagbo to participate in the two-woman bobsleigh and skeleton events in the Winter Games in Pyeongchang. Though they did not win any medal, their performance was very inspiring in a country where winter sports have been barely popular.

Now Ikpefan will take that duty from them to make Nigeria proud in Beijing 2022 and get more people, especially the youngsters, in his country, to grow interested in winter sports.

"I am so proud to represent Nigeria," Ikpefan said. His goal is more than making an appearance in one edition of the Winter Olympics. He wants to participate in Milano Cortina 2026 as well.

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