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RIO DE JANEIRO — The track and field events at the Rio Olympics this month will showcase elite athletic talent and, if you look closely, creative subterfuge.
里约热内卢――本月里约奥运会的田径赛事将展现运动员卓越的体育才华，如果你仔细观察，也会看到颇具创意的障眼法。
Tape, markers, elastic sleeves and maybe even paint will disguise some shoe brand logos in an Olympic sleight of foot.
在一场奥运会的脚下技法表演中，胶带、水笔、弹性鞋套，甚至还可能有彩绘，这些都将被用来掩盖某些运动鞋品牌的标识。
In track and field, the centerpiece sport of the Summer Games, shoes are the most vital piece of equipment and serve purposes beyond performance: supplying advertising billboards for apparel companies and providing financial footing for athletes. But some athletes do not want the world to see the logos on their shoes, or they are prohibited from doing so by their sponsors if they wear competing brands.
田径赛事是夏季奥运会的重头戏，运动鞋是比赛中最重要的装备，而且有提升成绩之外的作用，充当服装公司的广告牌，也为运动员提供经济支持。但是一些运动员不希望让全世界看到他们鞋子上的标识，又或许是因为他们穿用了竞争对手的品牌，赞助商要求他们不要露出标识。
Although U.S. track and field athletes at the Rio Games must wear uniforms bearing the familiar swoosh of Nike, an official team sponsor, they are free to wear their own brand of shoes, disguised or not.
尽管参加里约奥运会的美国田径运动员一致身穿田径队官方赞助商耐克的运动服，露出人们熟悉的对号标志，但他们可以选用他们自己的运动鞋品牌，不论是否遮盖。
Take, for example, Jeremy Taiwo, a decathlete from Seattle who will wear eight pairs of shoes in his 10 events, each with a function as specific as a golf club’s.
比如说，来自西雅图的十项全能运动员杰里米•塔伊沃(Jeremy Taiwo)就将在10项赛事中换穿八双运动鞋，每双都有不同的功能，就像高尔夫球杆一样。
His shoe sponsor is Brooks, but the company does not make shoes designed for throwing and jumping events. So Taiwo also plans to wear shoes made by Nike, Adidas and Asics. He must cover the logos of those competing brands, which he plans to do with tape, elastic sleeves and cleverly shaded fabric.
他的运动鞋赞助商是布鲁克斯(Brooks)，但是这家公司不生产专供投掷和跳跃运动的鞋。所以塔伊沃还计划穿着耐克、阿迪达斯和亚瑟士(Asics)的运动鞋。他必须把这些竞争品牌的标识都盖住，他打算使用胶带、弹力鞋套和配色巧妙的布。
“In terms of athletic performance, you have to have the right shoes to be able to meet your goals,” Taiwo, 26, said in a telephone interview before traveling to Rio de Janeiro. “And ultimately, you have to do well so you can get paid. If you make it, your shoes are largely responsible for that.”
“为了竞技成绩考虑，你必须穿上正确的运动鞋才能达到目标，”26岁的塔伊沃在去里约热内卢之前接受了电话采访。“最终，你得取得好成绩，才能得到报酬。如果成功了，很大程度上要归功于运动鞋。”
The camouflaging demonstrates the power of the $75 billion global athletic footwear industry, which closely monitors what athletes wear — and, with lawyers at its beck and call, what they do not.
这样的伪装说明了价值750亿美元的全球运动鞋产业拥有怎样的力量，它密切注视着运动员穿什么或不穿什么，还有律师随时待命。
Although it is unclear how many athletes will be disguising their footwear at the games, the practice is not uncommon at track meets, with the reasons for the cover-ups almost as varied as the shoes available.
这届奥运会上到底有多少运动员会把运动鞋的品牌遮盖起来，目前尚不清楚，但是这种行为在田径赛事中并不罕见。遮盖品牌的理由几乎和运动鞋的种类一样繁多。
Athletes who have no shoe sponsor may not want to give free advertising to any company, preferring to signal that they are free agents. Taiwo called this an act of “no representation without compensation.”
运动员如果没有运动鞋赞助商，他们可能不希望为任何公司免费做广告，更希望表明他们是自由选手。塔伊沃把这叫做“没有补偿，没有代理”。
Other athletes disguise shoes because they are transitioning from one company to another and are continuing to wear their old shoes while new ones are being perfected. Some, like Taiwo, participate in events for which their sponsor does not make shoes. Some athletes are simply dissatisfied with the gear made by their sponsor.
还有些运动员遮盖运动鞋是因为他们正在从一个公司转向另一个公司。在新鞋还没有完善之前，他们继续穿着前赞助商的鞋。有些人，就像塔伊沃这样，他们参加的运动赞助商没有专用鞋可供穿着。还有些运动员只是不满意赞助商提供的运动鞋。
Mike Hazle, the 2011 U.S. champion in the javelin, said his Nike-made shoes were too narrow, causing his toenails to fall off and his feet to become numb. So for years, he said, he borrowed gear made by Asics and Li-Ning, a Chinese company, from a fellow javelin thrower. He covered those logos with tape or with slices from wristbands that bore the Nike swoosh.
2011年美国标枪冠军迈克•黑泽尔(Mike Hazle)说，他的耐克运动鞋太瘦，导致他趾甲脱落，双脚麻木。所以，他说，多年来他一直向另一个标枪选手借亚瑟士和中国品牌李宁的鞋来穿。他用胶带来遮盖这些品牌的标识，或者从护腕上剪下带着耐克标识的一块布，贴在这些品牌上面。
It was never a problem in the little-noticed event, Hazle said, until he won the U.S. title and a photograph of him appeared in Track & Field News. His left foot was raised after a throw, revealing the check-mark logo of Li-Ning on the bottom of his shoe.
黑泽尔说，在他们这个没什么人关注的项目里，这本来并不是问题，直到他赢得了全国冠军，照片出现在《田径新闻》上，这才成了问题——他投掷之后左脚抬起，露出了鞋底上的李宁标识。
Nike was not pleased and exercised an option on his contract in 2012 to keep him from signing with another company, Hazle said, but offered only $10,000 with no chance of bonuses.
耐克很不高兴，在他2012年的合同上加入了一项条款，防止他与其他公司签约，但是只提供了1万美元的赞助，没有额外奖励机会。
It is unfortunate “if someone is paying your bills and you’re supposed to wear what they give you and it doesn’t work,” Hazle said from Afghanistan, where he is serving in the Air National Guard. “But at the end of the day, it’s going to compromise your performance, so you’ve got to take care of yourself.”
“如果有人给你钱，你应该穿他们提供的产品，可是不好用，”这样的事是很令人遗憾的。黑泽尔目前在驻阿富汗的空军国民警卫队服役，他在那里接受了采访。“但是到头来，这会影响你的成绩，所以你得照顾好自己。”
Nike said it did not comment on contracts but expected that its sponsored athletes “will always wear Nike products unless there is some specific, mutually agreed exception.”
耐克表示对合同不予置评，但是希望接受赞助的运动员“总是穿着耐克产品，除非有某些经双方同意的具体的例外”。
One high-profile exception took place last year. Christian Taylor of the United States, who won the triple jump at the 2012 Olympics and signed with Nike in 2015, was permitted to wear Adidas shoes at the world track and field championships in Beijing while Nike customized shoes for him. Taylor, the triple jump favorite at this year’s Olympics, now wears Nikes.
去年就有一个著名运动员的特例。美国的克里斯蒂安•泰勒(Christian Taylor)是2012年奥运会三级跳冠军的得主，2015年同耐克签约。北京世界田径锦标赛期间，耐克为他提供的鞋还在定制中，因此允许他破例穿着阿迪达斯。泰勒也是今年奥运会上三级跳的夺标热门选手，现在他穿的是耐克。
Two medal favorites in the high jump, Mutaz Essa Barshim of Qatar and Derek Drouin of Canada, have also been permitted by Nike to wear shoes from other brands that are covered by elastic sleeves resembling spats that bear the Nike swoosh.
卡塔尔的穆塔兹•艾萨•巴希姆(Mutaz Essa Barshim)和加拿大的德里克•德劳因(Derek Drouin)是两位有望获得跳高比赛奖牌的选手。他们也被耐克批准穿其他品牌的运动鞋，但要用带有耐克标识的弹性鞋套来遮盖。
“As with any athlete, we are working closely with them to get the shoe that best suits their specific needs,” Charlie Brooks, a Nike spokesman, said in an email. “There’s no issue with our shoes, it’s just a matter of personal customization for these athletes. We anticipate they’ll be jumping in Nike shoes soon.”
“就像同任何运动员一样，我们也同他们密切合作，让运动鞋最大限度满足他们的特殊需求，”耐克发言人查理•布鲁克斯(Charlie Brooks)在电子邮件中说。“我们的运动鞋没有问题，这只是为运动员进行个人定制。我们预计他们很快就可以穿着耐克鞋参赛了。”
Camouflaging reflects the particular nature of track and field, which finds itself in the limelight every four years during the Summer Games.
这些伪装表明了田径赛事的特殊性，每隔四年，这项赛事都在夏季奥运会期间成为关注的焦点。
Sprinters and pole-vaulters and steeplechasers generally do not receive annual salaries from teams the way professional football and basketball players do. Instead, they mostly rely on prize money and contracts with shoe companies, along with other endorsements.
短跑运动员、撑杆跳运动员和障碍赛跑运动员通常不会像职业橄榄球和篮球运动员那样从球队领取年薪。他们主要是靠奖金，以及和运动鞋制造商等赞助方签订赞助合同。
The apparel companies, Nike in particular, wield strong influence. They equip athletes and keep the struggling sport afloat. But they can also reduce payments when certain performance goals are not met. And, at certain meets like the Olympics, athletes are restricted from wearing competing sponsor logos on their uniforms and on temporary tattoos.
服装公司，特别是耐克，在这个领域有很大的影响力。他们为运动员提供装备，让这个举步维艰的项目得以延续。但是如果一些竞赛目标没有达到，他们也会缩减报酬。在某些赛事上，比如奥运会，运动员的服装或临时纹身上不能出现竞争对手的品牌。
The number of track meets is dwindling, along with available prize money and appearance fees, athletes and agents say. Rampant doping has threatened the legitimacy of the sport. Income disparity is wide.
运动员和经纪人们说，田径赛事正在减少，其奖金和出场费也在缩减。猖獗的兴奋剂使用正威胁着这项赛事的正当性。运动员收入差距极大。
The sprinting champion Usain Bolt of Jamaica, track’s one global superstar, sponsored by Puma, makes $32.5 million a year, including $30 million in endorsements, according to an estimate by Forbes. But far less visible and successful athletes say they might make as little as $10,000 to $25,000 annually.
牙买加短跑冠军尤赛恩•博尔特(Usain Bolt)是全球径赛巨星，由彪马(Puma)赞助。根据《福布斯》(Forbes)估计，他每年收入3250万美元，包括3000万美元的广告代言收入。但是远不如他那样成功和著名的运动员们说，他们每年赚的钱可能只有区区1万美元到2.5万美元。
Camouflaging of shoes, said Carl Lewis, the nine-time Olympic gold medalist, who has had a long affiliation with Nike, is “a microcosm of what the real issue is: Are we really creating a professional sport?”
卡尔•刘易斯(Carl Lewis)是九块奥运金牌得主，长期由耐克赞助。他说，遮盖运动鞋的做法是“真正问题的一个缩影：我们是否真正在创造一种职业体育？”
“Why are we so dependent on just shoe companies?” said Lewis, an assistant coach at the University of Houston.
“我们为什么那么依赖运动鞋公司？”刘易斯说。如今他是休斯敦大学的一名助理教练。
Some athletes said they considered it disrespectful and unprofessional to cover up the logo of a sponsor.
一些运动员说，他们认为遮盖赞助商标识的做法失礼而且不职业。
“If they’re paying money, the least we can do is respect their dollar,” said Wallace Spearmon of the U.S., a 200-meter sprinter and former Nike athlete.
“如果他们出了钱，我们至少应该尊重他们的钱，”美国200米短跑运动员华莱士•斯皮尔蒙(Wallace Spearmon)说。他曾经接受耐克赞助。
