勇者的游戏

Two hours east of 1）Dallas， 2）sun-drenched 3）granite cliffs 4）loom high above the cloudy waters of Possum Kingdom Lake. A pair of diving platforms 5）jut from the gold and red stone， the higher of the two 6）perched 27 meters above the lake’s surface about the same height as an eight-story building. Again and again， watched by several thousand fans bobbing in the lake below， 7）svelte young athletes walk to the platform’s edge， wave to the crowd， and after taking a moment to gain their 8）composure they fling themselves over the edge.

For roughly three seconds they fall， twisting and tumbling， reaching speeds of nearly 60 miles per hour before striking the water’s surface. A ring of safety swimmers 9）closes in around them. Flashing “OK” signs， the safety crew waits for the divers to 10）pop up and flash an “OK” back. If the dive went well， the divers also will probably pump a fist and smile， then swim to shore and await their scores from judges on a nearby pontoon boat.

That was what happened on the second stop of the 2014 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series. On June 28th and 29th， the tour stopped at the island of Inis Mór， off the Irish coast. The tour then went to Norway for dives off a 11）fjord， followed by stops in Portugal， Ukraine， Spain， and a season 12）finale in Brazil.

Despite the name， cliff divers do neither. Unlike， say， weekend daredevils or natives who dive to entertain the tourists in Maui and Acapulco， Red Bull athletes do not leap from natural stone ledges. They take off from 13）sturdy wood platforms covered by a non-slip 14）polyurethane surface.

They also do not dive. A dive， strictly speaking， means entering the water headfirst. Red Bull competitors may flip， pike， twist， twirl and triple-somersault on their way down， but they must enter feet-first， toes pointed， bodies rigid and straight， lest they crack a spine or bust a lung. Or， like， die. That’s why medical teams， 15）replete with Life Flight 16）helicopters， are always on standby at tour events. Three times at last year’s events， divers were knocked unconscious by the impact of hitting the water， and virtually all have tales of an 17）off-kilter entry that tears muscle from bone or rips skin from flesh.

High diving， however， is more than an exhibition of 18）derring-do. It’s a legitimate sport. Or， more accurately， it’s trying to become one， moving from a tourist spectacle to an accepted discipline in the already-established sport of diving. Last year， high diving made its 19）debut at the International Swimming Federation’s world championships. In August， Russia hosted the 20）inaugural edition of the High Diving World Cup， and there was a movement 21）afoot to add high diving as an event to the 2020 Olympic Games.

True， in the 1970s， the La Quebrada Cliff Divers of Acapulco were a popular feature on 22）ABC’s Wild World of Sports. The World High Diving Federation， established in 1996， is recognized by the Olympic Committee as the sport’s governing body. But it’s Red Bull， forming the World Series in 2009， that’s bringing cliff-diving to a mass audience by staging and sanctioning competitions around the world， while securing a three-year broadcast deal with Fox Sports.

Greg Louganis， four-time Olympic gold medalist， is also a judge on this year’s tour. Lakeside in Texas， baked by the heat， Louganis described how Red Bull got him to lend his credibility to the competition.

“When they approached， I was a little skeptical because I had been a commentator for Acapulco cliff diving. That was a very different atmosphere. It was party-ish. It didn’t really have the finesse. Red Bull was different. They had standardized the height of the platforms， standardized the rules. They were using the 23）FINA degree of difficulty. Sanctioning and running this event， they showed they were really taking the sport of diving seriously.”

Louganis is among those who want a high-dive event in the Olympics， and there is a compelling case. Olympic Diving currently includes competitions on 1-meter， 3-meter， and 10-meter platforms， plus a synchronized version of the sport. Leaping from 27 meters nearly triples the time that athletes spend in the air， allowing for dives that are far more complicated， difficult， and entertaining to watch.

But there are also arguments against having high-dives in the Olympics. Namely， there simply aren’t that many people who do it.

G r a n t e d ， t h e r e’s a n international flavor to the Red Bull series. Reigning champ Gary Hunt comes from the United Kingdom. David Colturi and Steve LoBue are from the USA. Artem Silchenko is Russian. And Orlando Duque is from Colombia.

Though wide， however， the talent pool is not deep. That’s partially because of sheer logistics. You can stage a springboard or platform diving meet virtually anywhere there’s a swimming pool， but it’s far more complicated and expensive to safely construct a platform 27 meters in the air. Water depth is also an issue. FINA guidelines require competitive diving pools to be at least five meters deep―or about 17 feet. That can be 24）knotty when you hit the water at 60 mph. High divers， really， need lakes and oceans.

They also need 25）a dash of crazy. Which is the other factor contributing to a small pool of talent. World-class divers are rare enough. Highdivers must not only perform dazzling midair gymnastics， they have to do it under the constant threat of death and serious injury. It takes a special kind of person to compete in a sport where even the practice can kill you. It demands monumental courage， a high tolerance for pain， and at least a touch of 26）insanity. With prizes on the Red Bull tour of just a few thousand dollars， the divers certainly aren’t in it for the money.

In truth， that 27）lunacy is a big part of the sport’s appeal. Audiences at an Olympic 10-meter diving competition are looking for grace and technical perfection according to a very specific set of rules. Most of the 6，700 Texans who bobbed and floated on Possum King Lake a few weeks ago weren’t there to see Gary Hunt’s winning front triple somersault threeand-a-half twist pike. Nor will the 20，000 spectators expected to show up for the series stop in Bilbao， Spain. They won’t want to see finesse. They’ll come for the dumb， vicarious， but undeniable thrill of watching human beings do something dangerous， and potentially deadly. That， if anything， is the very definition of an extreme sport. For Red Bull， who built their brand selling an 28）adrenaline-fueled lifestyle， that’s the whole appeal. But it’s also why highdiving might stay stuck in niche status， caught forever between a spectacle and a sport.

达拉斯以东两小时车程，洒满阳光的花岗岩峭壁在朦胧不清的负鼠王国湖上若隐若现。一块金红色的石头上伸出两个跳水台，较高的那个高出湖面27米――高度约相当于一栋八层楼的建筑。在悬崖底下的湖上，几千个涌动的粉丝正注视着。一次又一次，体态优美的年轻运动员走到跳台的边缘，向人群招手，稍花时间调息定气之后，他们从跳台边缘纵身跃起。

在大约三秒钟的时间里他们跳落、转体和翻转，在触碰到水面之前速度约达60英里每小时。救援泳手随即向他们游近。亮出“OK”的标识之后，救援队伍等待跳水员游上水面，亮出一个“OK”的标识以示回复。如果这一跳表现不错，跳水者可能会举起拳头，露出微笑，然后游上岸，在附近一艘平底船上等待评委们给他们打分数。

这就是2014年红牛悬崖跳水世界系列赛在第二站开展的情景。6月28日到29日，巡回赛到达位于爱尔兰海岸边的伊尼什莫尔岛。然后是到挪威站从峡湾上跳水，接着是葡萄牙站、乌克兰站、西班牙站，最后在巴西结束这个赛季。

尽管冠着悬崖跳水这个名称，但是悬崖跳水员们其实并不算从悬崖上起跳，也不算是跳水。与毛伊岛和阿卡普尔科市那些为娱乐游客而从悬崖跳水的周末玩命侠或当地人不同，红牛运动员从来不从天然的礁石跳台上起跳。他们从坚固的、铺有防滑聚氨酯表层的木材跳台上起跳。

他们也并不算是跳水。跳水，从严格意义上讲，是头先入水的。红牛竞技者则可以在跳落过程中空翻、屈体、转体、旋转和转体三周，但是他们必须脚先入水，脚尖伸直，身体绷紧，以免出现脊椎断裂和肺部爆裂，甚至是死亡的情况。这就是为什么在巡回赛中，医疗队总是配备了救生直升机以随时待命。在上一年的赛事中，出现跳水员因入水冲击力导致不省人事的意外就有三宗。事实上，几乎所有这些跳水员都有过曾经因入水失衡而导致皮绽肉裂的悲惨故事。

然而，高空跳水却远远不止是勇气的一种展现。它是一种正统的运动。或者更准确地说，高空跳水正试着从一种游客观赏性活动走向为众人接受的一种正式跳水运动。去年，高空跳水在国际游泳联合会的世界锦标赛会上首次亮相。俄罗斯也于8月份举办了首届高空跳水世界杯，同时有团体正努力促成把高空跳水添加到2020年奥林匹克运动会项目中。

确实，20世纪70年代在阿卡普尔科市靠近奎布拉达一带，悬崖跳水是一档在美国广播公司《疯狂体育世界》栏目中热播的特色节目。虽然世界高空跳水联合会早在1996年就成立，是受到国际奥委会认可的该项运动的管理机构，但真正令该运动为大众熟知的却是在2009年开始的世界红牛系列赛，此赛事为悬崖跳水赛制定了规则，在世界各地举行比赛，同时争取到福克斯体育频道为期三年的广播协议。

格雷格・洛加尼斯，四届奥运会金牌得主，在今年的巡回赛上担任裁判。德克萨斯州的湖边，热人，洛加尼斯描述着红牛赛赢得其心的原因。

“当他们找我时，我有些许怀疑，因为我曾是阿卡普尔科市悬崖跳水的解说员。那是截然不同的气氛，就像是开派对一样，并不具有很高的专业技巧。红牛赛则不同。他们为跳台的高度制定标准，制定比赛规则，他们采用的是国际泳联的难度系数。这项赛事获得批准并得以开展，充分表现了他们十分重视这项跳水运动。”

洛加尼斯也很赞成把高空跳水列入奥运会项目，理由很充分。奥运会跳水项目目前包括1米、3米和10米跳台竞赛，还有双人1米、3米和10米跳台。从27米高度跳水，几乎是把运动员在空中的时间拉长三倍，这样就可以欣赏到更为复杂、更具高难度和观赏性的跳水动作。

但是把高空跳水列入奥运会，还存在着争议。因为根本没有多少人从事这项运动。

当然，红牛系列赛中的选手非常国际化。卫冕冠军加里・亨特来自于英国。大卫・柯图瑞和史蒂夫・洛布来自美国。阿提姆・斯尔琴科是俄罗斯人。还有奥兰多・杜奇来自于哥伦比亚。

虽然范围广，但是人才储备不够深。部分原因在于设施资源。任何地方只要有游泳池，你就可以在那里进行弹板跳水或跳台跳水，但是要在空中建一个27米高的安全跳台则十分复杂和昂贵。泳池的水深也是个问题。国际泳联指导方针要求竞技跳水游泳池至少要5米深――或者大约17英尺深。当你跳水的速度达到60米每小时，这便是个棘手的问题。高空跳水，确实是需要湖泊或者是海洋。

他们同时需要一点疯狂劲儿，这一点也是高空跳水人才短缺的另一原因。世界级的跳水运动员是罕见的。高空跳水运动员不仅仅要在半空中表演眼花缭乱的体操动作，还要冒着重伤和生命危险。这需要极具特质的人才能在这项甚至是练习都得冒着生命危险的运动中竞技。这需要非比寻常的勇气，对疼痛的高度忍耐，和至少一点点的疯狂劲儿。红牛系列巡回赛的奖金仅仅是几千美金，跳水选手们参加比赛肯定不是为了奖金。

事实上，那股疯狂劲儿正是这项运动最吸引人之处。奥运会10米跳台的竞赛场上，观众观赏的是优雅和完美技巧的呈现，鉴于这项跳水运动具有一套非常细致严格的规则。几周前，在负鼠王国湖上涌动的6700名德州人中的大多数，绝不是为了看加里・亨特完美的向前转体三周和三周半转身屈体。估计出现在系列赛西班牙毕尔巴鄂站的两万名观众也一样。他们不想看完美的技术。他们是为了看令人震撼、引起共鸣但无疑是最刺激的人类表演，十分危险还可能致命。那才是极限运动真正的定义。红牛系列赛，他们建立自己的品牌，卖的是一种令肾上腺素激增的生活方式，这就是它最大的吸引力。但是这也是高空跳水也许只能局限于小众，永远陷于观赏性活动和运动项目之中间地带的原因。