Apolo Anton Ohno
Encyclopedia
Apolo Anton Ohno is an American
short track speed skating
competitor and an eight-time medalist (two gold, two silver, four bronze) in the Winter Olympics. He is the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time.
Raised by his father, Ohno began training full-time in 1996. He has been the face of short track in the United States since winning his medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics
. At the age of 14, he became the youngest U.S. national champion in 1997 and was the reigning champion from 2001–2009, winning the title a total of 12 times. In December 1999, he became the youngest skater to win a World Cup event title, and became the first American to win a World Cup overall
title in 2001, which he won again in 2003 and 2005. He won his first overall World Championship title at the 2008 championships
.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics, there were two controversies associated with Ohno. The first was whether or not he intentionally finished third in a qualification race during the U.S. Olympic Trials to allow Shani Davis
to make the team. The second occurred when he won the gold medal in the 1500 m race after the disqualification of the first skater to cross the finish line, South Korean Kim Dong-Sung
, for blocking Ohno. The disqualification upset South Korean supporters and had a lingering negative effect on Ohno's reputation in South Korea.
Ohno's accolades and accomplishments include being the United States Olympic Committee
's Male Athlete of the Month in October 2003 and March 2008, the U.S. Speedskating's Athlete of the Year for 2003, and was a 2002, 2003 and 2006 finalist for the Sullivan Award
, which recognizes the best amateur athlete in the United States. Since gaining recognition through his sport, Ohno has worked as a motivational speaker
, philanthropist
, started a nutritional supplement business called 8 Zone, and in 2007, competed on and won the reality TV show Dancing with the Stars
.
, to a Japanese
-born father, and a Caucasian-American mother, Jerrie Lee. Ohno's parents divorced when he was an infant, and he was raised in Seattle by his father. He has had little contact with his biological mother and as of 2002, has expressed no interest in knowing her or his older half-brother. Ohno's father, a hair stylist and owner of the salon Yuki's Diffusion, often worked 12-hour shifts, and with no family in the United States, found it hard to balance career and family. His father chose to name his son Apolo after the Greek words "Ap," which means to "steer away from" and "lo," which means "look out; here he comes."
When Ohno was very young, his father meticulously researched childcare
providers to care for his son during his long work hours. As he grew older, his father became concerned his son would become a latchkey kid
, so he got his son involved with competitive swimming and quad-speed roller skating at age 6, and later was taken under the wing of Benton Redford and instructed in Inline speed skating
. He later switched to a team in Federal Way, WA called Pattisons Team Extreme and became a national inline speedskating champion and record holder.His father used Inline Speedskating to fill his spare time. Ohno's days were spent with morning swimming practices, followed by schooling, and finally skating practices in the afternoon.
When Ohno was 12, he won the Washington state championship in the breaststroke
but preferred inline speed skating over swimming. He has stated that by the time he turned 13 years of age he attended parties with older teenagers if he did not have competitions on the weekends. His father has stated that it was a struggle balancing his son's desire for independence while helping him reach his potential as a young athlete.
after seeing the sport during the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer
. His father capitalized on this interest by driving him to short track competitions throughout the Northwest United States and Canada, and Ohno won several competitions in his age divisions. His father wanted to encourage Ohno to develop his skills and, although Ohno was underage, he got him admitted to the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center in 1996 to train full-time for short track. At 13 years of age, Ohno was the youngest skater admitted to the center.
At first, Ohno's commitment at Lake Placid was low until his teammates nicknamed him "Chunky", which motivated him to train harder. In January, he failed to make the 1997 U.S. Junior World Team. Ohno adjusted his training and made a comeback winning the 1997 U.S. Senior Championships overall title, taking a gold medal in the 1500 m, a silver in the 300 m, and came in fourth in the 500 m races. At the age of 14, he became the youngest person to win the title. Ohno then relocated to the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center
to begin training with the senior level skaters, despite being only 14 years old.
However, Ohno would struggle at the 1997 World Championships in Nagano, Japan
, finishing 19th overall. After this disappointing defeat at his first appearance at a world championships, Ohno returned home to Seattle. He did not train from April to August 1997, so he gained weight and was ill-prepared for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics
. As a result, he finished last in the Olympic trials and did not qualify for the Olympic team. Because of his losses at the World Championships and his failure to qualify for the Olympic team, Ohno recommitted himself to the sport and returned to junior-level skating at Lake Placid, rather than at Colorado Springs.
At the 1999 World Junior Championships, Ohno won first overall, placing first in the 1000 m and 1500 m, and winning silver in the 500 m. He won his second senior U.S. national championship in 1999. He finished fourth overall at the 1999 World Championships
and earned a silver medal in the 500 m. At the 2000 U.S. Championships, Ohno was unable to defend his title and finished third overall. At the 2000 World Championships
, Ohno finished ninth overall. In the 2000–2001 season, Ohno won his first World Cup overall title, regained his National title, and finished second overall in the World Championships
, losing to Chinese skater Li Jiajun
.
was racing for a position on the short track team. Ohno and fellow skater Rusty Smith
had already earned slots on the six-man team due to points earned from earlier races. In order for Davis to qualify, he had to place first in the final race—the 1000 m—by overcoming stronger skaters Ohno, Smith, and Ron Biondo. Since Ohno had been dominant in the meet to this point by winning every race he entered, a win by Davis seemed to be unlikely.
Though Ohno, Smith and Biondo were heavily favored to win the 1000 m, the race ended with Ohno finishing third, Smith second, and Davis at the top of the podium. Prior to crossing the finish line, Ohno started celebrating for Davis and Smith. Davis' first-place finish earned enough points to move past Tommy O'Hare in the final point standings and to qualify for sixth place. By finishing second, Smith earned the opportunity to skate individually in the 1000 m. The victory celebration was short-lived as rumors began that Ohno and Smith, both good friends of Davis, intentionally threw the race so Davis would win.
After returning to Colorado Springs, O'Hare, who did not skate in the 1000 m, filed a formal complaint. The complaint was founded on Ohno's seemingly deliberate attempt to stop Biondo from being able to pass Smith. Because of that blocking move on Biondo, Smith finished in second place and Davis finished first. For three days, Ohno, Smith, and Davis stood before an arbitration panel of the United States Olympic Committee. During the hearing, Davis was never accused of being at fault and Smith made the statement: "Any allegation that there was a fix, conspiracy or understanding between Apolo and me, or anyone else, to let Shani win the race is completely false. Shani is a great athlete, skated a great race, and deserves to be on the team." The final verdict was that O'Hare's claims went unproven, all three were absolved of guilt, and the claim was dismissed. After the dismissal, Ohno stated, "I am thrilled that the arbitration process has officially vindicated me.... As I've said since the moment of these accusations, they were untrue and I did nothing wrong".
At the 2002 Winter Olympics
in Salt Lake City, Utah
, Ohno emerged as the face of short-track speed skating among American fans. He was a medalist in two events but there was controversy associated with the results.
After a disqualification in the 500 m race, he was leading the skaters in the 1000 m race. During a turn around the final corner, Ohno, Ahn Hyun Soo
, Li Jiajun
and Mathieu Turcotte
all fell in a series of collisions. The last man standing was Steven Bradbury
from Australia
, who was trailing behind at the time, and skated through to win the gold medal, becoming the first person from the southern hemisphere to win a gold medal at a Winter Olympics. Ohno quickly got to his feet and crossed the finish line to win silver with Turcotte winning the bronze.
In the 1500 m race, Ohno won the gold medal. During the race, South Korea
n Kim Dong-Sung
was first across the finish line, but was disqualified for blocking Ohno, in a rule-violation called cross tracking. With three laps remaining and currently in second position, Ohno attempted to make a pass on the leader Kim, who then drifted to the inside and as a result, Ohno raised his arms to signal he was blocked. Fourth-place finisher of the race, Fabio Carta
of Italy, showed his disagreement with the disqualification decision saying it was "absurd that the Korean was disqualified". China's Jiajun Li, who moved from bronze to silver, remained neutral saying: "I respect the decision of the referee, I'm not going to say any more". Steven Bradbury
, the 1000 m gold-medal winner, also shared his views: "Whether Dong-Sung moved across enough to be called for cross-tracking, I don't know, he obviously moved across a bit. It's the judge's interpretation. A lot of people will say it was right and a lot of people will say it's wrong. I've seen moves like that before that were not called. But I've seen them called too".
The South Korean team immediately protested the decision of the chief official of the race, but their protests were denied by the International Skating Union (ISU)
. The Korean team then appealed to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
. The IOC refused to see the case, stating, "This is a matter for the ISU to decide on. At this time, the IOC has received no proposal and taken no action". The CAS sided with the officials of the race as "there is no provision in the short-track rule book for overturning a judgment call by the referee" after the Korean team asked to have a video replay be used to determined whether or not there was a rule violation.
The disqualification upset South Korean supporters, many of whom directed their anger at Ohno and the International Olympic Committee
. A large number of e-mails protesting the race results crashed the Olympic Committee's email server, and thousands of accusatory letters, many of which contained death threats, were sent to Ohno and the committee. Ohno shared his thoughts on the Koreans' hostile reaction by saying, "I was really bothered by it. I grew up around many Asian cultures, Korean one of them. A lot of my best friends were Korean growing up. I just didn't understand. Later on I realized that was built up by certain people and that was directed at me, negative energy from other things, not even resulting around the sport, but around politics, using me to stand on the pedestal as the anti-American sentiment". Earlier the same year, President George Bush
had named North Korea
as one of three members of the Axis of Evil
, which had upset some South Koreans; directing their anger at Ohno was a less direct way of voicing anger against Bush's decision. The controversy continued at the 2002 FIFA World Cup
, held jointly in South Korea and Japan several months after the Olympics. When the South Korean football (soccer) team scored a goal against the U.S. team, Korean players Ahn Jung-Hwan
and Lee Chun-Soo
made an exaggerated move imitating the move Ohno had made during the speed skating event to indicate the other athlete had drifted into his lane.
At the first event of the 2005 World Cup event in China, Ohno severely sprained his ankle and withdrew from the event. At the second event in South Korea, an estimated 100 riot police stood guard at Incheon International Airport to prevent harm from happening to Ohno. Their concern stemmed from a possible lingering negative reaction from the 2002 Olympic Games disqualification controversy.
Ohno won two gold medals, as well as the overall title at the meet despite suffering from a severe stomach illness, and was surprised when the Korean crowd cheered his victories, saying, "I was really happy with the crowd's reaction. It was pretty positive right from the time we landed. I was really happy it wasn't (hostile). Everything went really smooth. We were happy." He was unable to defend his World Cup title from the previous three seasons, finishing third in the 2005–2006 overall standings. At the 2005 World Championships
, he finished second overall, winning the 1000 m and 3000 m races.
and Lee Ho-suk
finishing before him.
After two false starts from other skaters, Ohno won gold in the 500 m when he took the lead with an explosive start and held it until the finish. Despite criticism that he appeared to move before the start, a violation of the rules, the race start was validated by the officials. Afterward, Ohno said, "I was in the moment at the time. I thought I timed the start just perfect. The starter had been pretty quick all day, so that's why there were so many false starts at the beginning. But that was really good for me."
On the same day as his 500 m gold win, he earned a bronze medal in the men's 5000 m relay, with an inside pass on Italian skater Nicola Rodigari
on the final leg to put the United States in third position. Later, during the medals ceremony for the event, the winning South Korean team and the Americans embraced, followed by a group picture featuring the medalists.
From March 9–11, 2007, he competed at the 2007 World Championships
held in Milan, Italy, winning gold in the 1500 m due to the disqualification of Song Kyung-Taek, who had blocked a passing attempt made by Ohno. He won bronze in the 1000 m, 3000 m, and the 5000 m relay with teammates, Jordan Malone, Travis Jayner, and Ryan Bedford. Because of his wins, he became the overall bronze medalist, behind silver medalist Charles Hamelin
and Ahn Hyun Soo, who became the first man to become a five-time World Champion.
On December 24, 2007, in Kearns, Utah
, Ohno won his ninth national title, finishing first in the 1000 m and the 1500 m. He also finished first in the 500 m, but was disqualified for crosstracking. In the 3000 m, he finished second. At the 2008 World Championships
in Gangneung, South Korea
, Ohno won his first overall title, placing first place in the 500 m, second in the 1000 m, and third place in the 3000 m. He defeated South Koreans Lee Ho-Suk
, silver medalist and Song Kyung-Taek who finished third in points. In 2009, he won his 10th national title and qualified for the world team. Unable to defend his championship, he finished fifth in the overall rankings at the 2009 World Championships
in Vienna, Austria, placing second at the 1000 m, and winning gold with the 5000 m relay team.
, Ohno lost over 9 kilograms (20 pounds) of weight from when he appeared at the 2002 Winter Games. He went down to a 65.7 kg (145 lb) bodyframe and a 2.5% Body fat percentage
enduring a 5 month 3-a-day training program combined with a strict nutritional program. As a result, he could lift double the weight he could before the training. In response to his training regimen, Ohno said, "Come these Games, there's no one who's going to be fitter than me. There's just no way. Whether I can put it together on the ice or not and feel good, that's a different story. But I know, from a physical training standpoint, nobody's even close... I've never prepared like this in my life — for anything. I want to leave nothing on the table".
, Ohno won the overall meet title and defended his national title. He won the finals during the 500 m, 1000 m and 1500 m races. However, during the 1000 m time trial, Ohno came in second to J. R. Celski despite skating a personal best of 1:24.500 to Celski's personal best of 1:23.981. Celski, who finished second overall and was leading in points after the first two nights of the trials, was injured during a crash in the semifinals of the 1000 m race when his right skate sliced into his left leg; he did not skate in the 1000 m finals. Ohno had a narrow victory in the 500 m, beating out the silver place finisher Jeff Simon by only .039 of a second. Ohno, Celski, Jordan Malone
, Travis Jayner
and Simon Cho
were the top five finishers at the trials. Afterwards, Ohno said about the nominated team: "This is the strongest team we've ever had. I feel really good about how we will do in the next Olympics".
, Ohno placed second after two Korean skaters, Lee Ho-Suk
and Sung Si-Bak
made contact and crashed into the wall during the final turn of the final lap. He was in fourth place leading into the crash, and as a result, moved into second place, earning the silver. Fellow American skater J. R. Celski finished with the bronze medal. The gold medal went to South Korea
's Lee Jung-Su
. This win allowed Ohno, with six career medals, to tie Bonnie Blair
for most medals won by a U.S. Winter Olympian.
Heading into the 1000 m final
, Ohno had won the overall silver medal for the 1000 m during the 2009–10 World Cup
by competing in three of the four competitions during the season. During the finals of the 1000 m, Ohno finished in third place, making a comeback from a slip with less than three laps remaining. With the bronze medal win, he became the most decorated American athlete ever at the Winter Games with seven career medals. Bonnie Blair, the former record holder, said she was happy for his accomplishment, adding, "It's a great feat for him, U.S. speedskating, and the United States of America. We hope that more kids will see his accomplishments and want to try our great sport that has been so good to us and taught us so much about what it takes to be successful in life".
In the 500 m final
, Ohno finished the race in second place behind Canada's Charles Hamelin
. However, he was disqualified after impeding François-Louis Tremblay
of Canada around the final turn. The silver medal went to Sung Si-Bak
, with Tremblay taking the bronze.
The 5000 m relay
team for the United States finished with the bronze medal. The team, consisting of J. R. Celski, Simon Cho
, Travis Jayner
, Jordan Malone
and Ohno, were in the fourth position for the majority of the race. With a strong push from Celski with two laps to go, Ohno as the anchor leg
was able to pass the Chinese team for third place; Canada won the gold and South Korea took silver. This bronze medal was the eighth Olympic medal of his career.
, Joe Frazier
, and Lance Armstrong
. Training for short track has been the main focus of Ohno's life, but he has been able to work on other endeavors. He studied business at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
. Believing in healthy eating habits, Ohno worked with his training coach John Schaeffer
during preparations for the 2010 Winter Games to develop a nutritional supplement business called 8 Zone. The supplements consist of eight-hour segments where a dose is administered. He hopes this business will be able to be a sponsor for future Olympic Games.
After the 2010 Winter Games, he created the Apolo Anton Ohno Foundation and partnered with the Century Council
's Ask, Listen, Learn Program to discourage underage drinking
of alcohol
and to promote a healthy lifestyle. Furthering his goal of promoting healthier food choices and working with the endorsement of the Washington State Potato Commission, he will be working on a cookbook
with top Seattle chefs in 2010.
He has an interest in pursuing a career in the entertainment world. He participated and won the fourth season of the U.S. reality show Dancing with the Stars. Ohno's interests in fashion led him to be a guest judge on the fashion reality show Project Runway in 2008, and to an endorsement deal with Omega, the maker of luxury watches, in 2010. Omega President Stephen Urquhart said, "We are very proud to support Apolo here in Vancouver and congratulate him on his outstanding performance. He is poised to make history of his own here and we are thrilled that he is part of the Omega family".
Ohno has an interest in being a philanthropist
. He participated in GAP
's campaign to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa by joining Product Red
. Half of the proceeds went to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
. Besides working with The Salvation Army
and the Clothes off our Back Foundations, he used his fame to help raise funds for a Ronald McDonald House in Seattle after the 2002 Winter Games. He helped raise $20,000 for Nikkei Concerns, a provider of care and services for Japanese elders living in the Pacific Northwest
. Later that year, Ohno joined Senator Ted Kennedy
in Washington, D.C.
to show the importance of math and science education by helping launch the "Math Moves U Hippest Homework Happening" program, which gave students the opportunity to do math homework online with celebrities and athletes.
, General Electric
, Vicks
and Coca-Cola
. Ohno's father, Yuki, said about sponsorships: "He's not like a professional athlete who has a multi-million-dollar contract with a team... He has to have sponsorships to pay the bills". Capitalizing on Ohno's fame, Alaska Airlines
were his primary sponsor for the 2010 Winter Games and designed a Boeing 737–800
jet with his image on the side.
He was critical of the leaders of the U.S. Speedskating Organization when a donation of $250,000 was raised by viewers of the Comedy Central
show The Colbert Report for the organization after their largest commercial sponsor, the Dutch DSB Bank
, declared bankruptcy and was unable to donate its $300,000 in November 2009. In an email to Time
, he wrote it was "a bit embarrassing that our leadership couldn't secure other sponsors three months before the Olympic Games" but credited the show's host Stephen Colbert
for "his willingness to help out our nation's greatest athletes". In return for The Colbert Report donation, long track
and short track skaters
had the "Colbert Nation" logo on their uniforms for World Cup events leading up to the 2010 Winter Games. Ohno did not wear the logo because Alaska Airlines
was his primary sponsor for the 2010 Games. He was also part of Oreo
's Team DSRL sketch in 2011.
reality show. He was paired with dancing partner Julianne Hough
, and both appeared on the show for the first time on March 19, 2007. Together they received the competition's first perfect score of 30 for their samba
routine on April 16, 2007. The dancing pair won the finale and were named the champions after performing a paso doble, rumba
, and a hip-hop freestyle routine in the final competition.
Profiles
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
short track speed skating
Short track speed skating
Short track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters skate on an oval ice track with a circumference of 111.12 m...
competitor and an eight-time medalist (two gold, two silver, four bronze) in the Winter Olympics. He is the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete of all time.
Raised by his father, Ohno began training full-time in 1996. He has been the face of short track in the United States since winning his medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
. At the age of 14, he became the youngest U.S. national champion in 1997 and was the reigning champion from 2001–2009, winning the title a total of 12 times. In December 1999, he became the youngest skater to win a World Cup event title, and became the first American to win a World Cup overall
Short Track Speed Skating World Cup
The Short Track Speed Skating World Cup is a series of international short track speed skating competitions, organised yearly by the International Skating Union since the winter of 1997/1998. Every year during the winter, a number of competitions on a number of different distances are held...
title in 2001, which he won again in 2003 and 2005. He won his first overall World Championship title at the 2008 championships
2008 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships
The 2008 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships took place between March 7 and March 9, 2008 in Gangneung City, South Korea. The World Championships are organised by the ISU which also run world cups and championships in speed skating and figure skating....
.
During the 2002 Winter Olympics, there were two controversies associated with Ohno. The first was whether or not he intentionally finished third in a qualification race during the U.S. Olympic Trials to allow Shani Davis
Shani Davis
Shani Davis is an Olympic Champion speed skater from the United States.At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Davis became the first Black athlete to win a gold medal in an individual sport at the Olympic Winter Games . He also won the silver in the 1,500 m...
to make the team. The second occurred when he won the gold medal in the 1500 m race after the disqualification of the first skater to cross the finish line, South Korean Kim Dong-Sung
Kim Dong-Sung
Kim Dong-Sung is a former South Korean short track speed skater. He won a gold medal in 1000m race and silver medal in 5000m relay at the 1998 Winter Olympics...
, for blocking Ohno. The disqualification upset South Korean supporters and had a lingering negative effect on Ohno's reputation in South Korea.
Ohno's accolades and accomplishments include being the United States Olympic Committee
United States Olympic Committee
The United States Olympic Committee is a non-profit organization that serves as the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee for the United States and coordinates the relationship between the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency and various...
's Male Athlete of the Month in October 2003 and March 2008, the U.S. Speedskating's Athlete of the Year for 2003, and was a 2002, 2003 and 2006 finalist for the Sullivan Award
James E. Sullivan Award
The James E. Sullivan Award, presented by the American Amateur Athletic Union , is awarded annually in April to "the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States". Often referred to as the Oscar of sports awards, it was first presented in 1930. The award is named for the AAU's founder and past...
, which recognizes the best amateur athlete in the United States. Since gaining recognition through his sport, Ohno has worked as a motivational speaker
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
, philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, started a nutritional supplement business called 8 Zone, and in 2007, competed on and won the reality TV show Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars (US TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a reality show airing on ABC in the United States, and CTV in Canada in 2011. The show is the American version of the British BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing...
.
Early life
Ohno was born in Federal Way, WashingtonFederal Way, Washington
Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Federal Way is located between Seattle and Tacoma. Its western boundary is Puget Sound. It is bordered by Des Moines on the north, Kent, unincorporated King County, and Milton on the east and Tacoma and Fife on the south...
, to a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
-born father, and a Caucasian-American mother, Jerrie Lee. Ohno's parents divorced when he was an infant, and he was raised in Seattle by his father. He has had little contact with his biological mother and as of 2002, has expressed no interest in knowing her or his older half-brother. Ohno's father, a hair stylist and owner of the salon Yuki's Diffusion, often worked 12-hour shifts, and with no family in the United States, found it hard to balance career and family. His father chose to name his son Apolo after the Greek words "Ap," which means to "steer away from" and "lo," which means "look out; here he comes."
When Ohno was very young, his father meticulously researched childcare
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
providers to care for his son during his long work hours. As he grew older, his father became concerned his son would become a latchkey kid
Latchkey kid
A latchkey kid or latchkey child is a child who returns from school to an empty home because his or her parent or parents are away at work, or a child who is often left at home with little or no parental supervision.- History of the term :...
, so he got his son involved with competitive swimming and quad-speed roller skating at age 6, and later was taken under the wing of Benton Redford and instructed in Inline speed skating
Inline speed skating
Inline speed skating is the sport of racing on inline skates It is often called inline racing by participants. Although it primarily evolved from racing on traditional roller skates, the sport is similar enough to ice speed skating that many competitors are now known to switch between inline and...
. He later switched to a team in Federal Way, WA called Pattisons Team Extreme and became a national inline speedskating champion and record holder.His father used Inline Speedskating to fill his spare time. Ohno's days were spent with morning swimming practices, followed by schooling, and finally skating practices in the afternoon.
When Ohno was 12, he won the Washington state championship in the breaststroke
Breaststroke
The breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on his or her chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to its stability and the ability to keep the head out of the water a large portion of the time. In most swimming classes, beginners learn...
but preferred inline speed skating over swimming. He has stated that by the time he turned 13 years of age he attended parties with older teenagers if he did not have competitions on the weekends. His father has stated that it was a struggle balancing his son's desire for independence while helping him reach his potential as a young athlete.
Beginnings
When he was 12 years old, Ohno became interested in short track speed skatingShort track speed skating
Short track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters skate on an oval ice track with a circumference of 111.12 m...
after seeing the sport during the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer
Lillehammer
is a town and municipality in Oppland county, Norway, globally known for hosting the 1994 Winter Olympics. It is part of the traditional region of Gudbrandsdal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Lillehammer. As of May 2011, the population of the town of Lillehammer was...
. His father capitalized on this interest by driving him to short track competitions throughout the Northwest United States and Canada, and Ohno won several competitions in his age divisions. His father wanted to encourage Ohno to develop his skills and, although Ohno was underage, he got him admitted to the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center in 1996 to train full-time for short track. At 13 years of age, Ohno was the youngest skater admitted to the center.
At first, Ohno's commitment at Lake Placid was low until his teammates nicknamed him "Chunky", which motivated him to train harder. In January, he failed to make the 1997 U.S. Junior World Team. Ohno adjusted his training and made a comeback winning the 1997 U.S. Senior Championships overall title, taking a gold medal in the 1500 m, a silver in the 300 m, and came in fourth in the 500 m races. At the age of 14, he became the youngest person to win the title. Ohno then relocated to the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center
United States Olympic Training Center
The United States Olympic Training Centers are three campuses created by the United States Olympic Committee as training facilities for its Olympic and Paralympic athletes. They are located in Colorado Springs, Colorado; Lake Placid, New York; and Chula Vista, California. There is a U.S. Olympic...
to begin training with the senior level skaters, despite being only 14 years old.
However, Ohno would struggle at the 1997 World Championships in Nagano, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, finishing 19th overall. After this disappointing defeat at his first appearance at a world championships, Ohno returned home to Seattle. He did not train from April to August 1997, so he gained weight and was ill-prepared for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics
1998 Winter Olympics
The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially the XVIII Olympic Winter Games, was a winter multi-sport event celebrated from 7 to 22 February 1998 in Nagano, Japan. Seventy-two nations and 2,176 participans contested in seven sports and 72 events at 15 venues. The games saw the introduction of Women's ice...
. As a result, he finished last in the Olympic trials and did not qualify for the Olympic team. Because of his losses at the World Championships and his failure to qualify for the Olympic team, Ohno recommitted himself to the sport and returned to junior-level skating at Lake Placid, rather than at Colorado Springs.
At the 1999 World Junior Championships, Ohno won first overall, placing first in the 1000 m and 1500 m, and winning silver in the 500 m. He won his second senior U.S. national championship in 1999. He finished fourth overall at the 1999 World Championships
1999 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships
The 1999 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships took place between March 19 and March 21, 1999 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The World Championships are organised by the ISU which also run world cups and championships in speed skating and figure skating.-Men:...
and earned a silver medal in the 500 m. At the 2000 U.S. Championships, Ohno was unable to defend his title and finished third overall. At the 2000 World Championships
2000 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships
The 2000 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships took place between March 10 and March 12, 2000 in Sheffield, England. The World Championships are organised by the ISU which also run world cups and championships in speed skating and figure skating.-Men:...
, Ohno finished ninth overall. In the 2000–2001 season, Ohno won his first World Cup overall title, regained his National title, and finished second overall in the World Championships
2001 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships
The 2001 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships took place between March 29 and March 31, 2001 in Jeonju, South Korea. The World Championships are organised by the ISU which also run world cups and championships in speed skating and figure skating....
, losing to Chinese skater Li Jiajun
Li JiaJun
Li Jiajun is a Chinese short track speed skater who has won 5 Olympic medals - two silver and three bronze. He has been a two-time Overall World Champion for 1999 and 2001....
.
Qualification race controversy
In December 2001, during the U.S. Short Track Speed Skating 2002 Olympic Trials, speed skater Shani DavisShani Davis
Shani Davis is an Olympic Champion speed skater from the United States.At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Davis became the first Black athlete to win a gold medal in an individual sport at the Olympic Winter Games . He also won the silver in the 1,500 m...
was racing for a position on the short track team. Ohno and fellow skater Rusty Smith
Rusty Smith
Rusty Smith is a short track speed skater from the United States who won bronze in the 500m at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and another bronze in the 5000m relay at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin....
had already earned slots on the six-man team due to points earned from earlier races. In order for Davis to qualify, he had to place first in the final race—the 1000 m—by overcoming stronger skaters Ohno, Smith, and Ron Biondo. Since Ohno had been dominant in the meet to this point by winning every race he entered, a win by Davis seemed to be unlikely.
Though Ohno, Smith and Biondo were heavily favored to win the 1000 m, the race ended with Ohno finishing third, Smith second, and Davis at the top of the podium. Prior to crossing the finish line, Ohno started celebrating for Davis and Smith. Davis' first-place finish earned enough points to move past Tommy O'Hare in the final point standings and to qualify for sixth place. By finishing second, Smith earned the opportunity to skate individually in the 1000 m. The victory celebration was short-lived as rumors began that Ohno and Smith, both good friends of Davis, intentionally threw the race so Davis would win.
After returning to Colorado Springs, O'Hare, who did not skate in the 1000 m, filed a formal complaint. The complaint was founded on Ohno's seemingly deliberate attempt to stop Biondo from being able to pass Smith. Because of that blocking move on Biondo, Smith finished in second place and Davis finished first. For three days, Ohno, Smith, and Davis stood before an arbitration panel of the United States Olympic Committee. During the hearing, Davis was never accused of being at fault and Smith made the statement: "Any allegation that there was a fix, conspiracy or understanding between Apolo and me, or anyone else, to let Shani win the race is completely false. Shani is a great athlete, skated a great race, and deserves to be on the team." The final verdict was that O'Hare's claims went unproven, all three were absolved of guilt, and the claim was dismissed. After the dismissal, Ohno stated, "I am thrilled that the arbitration process has officially vindicated me.... As I've said since the moment of these accusations, they were untrue and I did nothing wrong".
Games
2002 Winter Olympics
The 2002 Winter Olympics, officially the XIX Olympic Winter Games, were a winter multi-sport event that was celebrated in February 2002 in and around Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. Approximately 2,400 athletes from 77 nations participated in 78 events in fifteen disciplines, held throughout...
in Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, Ohno emerged as the face of short-track speed skating among American fans. He was a medalist in two events but there was controversy associated with the results.
After a disqualification in the 500 m race, he was leading the skaters in the 1000 m race. During a turn around the final corner, Ohno, Ahn Hyun Soo
Ahn Hyun Soo
Ahn Hyun-Soo is a Short track speed skating athlete from South Korea. One of the most accomplished Short Track Speed Skaters of all time, Ahn won three gold medals and a bronze medal in 2006 Winter Olympics held in Turin, Italy, becoming the most successful athlete there...
, Li Jiajun
Li JiaJun
Li Jiajun is a Chinese short track speed skater who has won 5 Olympic medals - two silver and three bronze. He has been a two-time Overall World Champion for 1999 and 2001....
and Mathieu Turcotte
Mathieu Turcotte
Mathieu Turcotte is a Canadian athlete. He was born in Sherbrooke, Quebec.Turcotte rose to fame within Canada, upon winning the bronze in the men's 1000 m in the short track speed skating at the 2002 Winter Olympics, with a time of 1:30.563 , and winning a gold as part...
all fell in a series of collisions. The last man standing was Steven Bradbury
Steven Bradbury
Steven John Bradbury OAM is a former Australian short track speed skater and four-time Olympian, who won the 1,000 m event at the 2002 Winter Olympics after all of his opponents were involved in a last corner pile-up...
from Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, who was trailing behind at the time, and skated through to win the gold medal, becoming the first person from the southern hemisphere to win a gold medal at a Winter Olympics. Ohno quickly got to his feet and crossed the finish line to win silver with Turcotte winning the bronze.
In the 1500 m race, Ohno won the gold medal. During the race, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n Kim Dong-Sung
Kim Dong-Sung
Kim Dong-Sung is a former South Korean short track speed skater. He won a gold medal in 1000m race and silver medal in 5000m relay at the 1998 Winter Olympics...
was first across the finish line, but was disqualified for blocking Ohno, in a rule-violation called cross tracking. With three laps remaining and currently in second position, Ohno attempted to make a pass on the leader Kim, who then drifted to the inside and as a result, Ohno raised his arms to signal he was blocked. Fourth-place finisher of the race, Fabio Carta
Fabio Carta
Fabio Carta is an Italian short track speed skater who competed in the 1998, the 2002, and the 2006 Winter Olympics.-1998 Olympics:...
of Italy, showed his disagreement with the disqualification decision saying it was "absurd that the Korean was disqualified". China's Jiajun Li, who moved from bronze to silver, remained neutral saying: "I respect the decision of the referee, I'm not going to say any more". Steven Bradbury
Steven Bradbury
Steven John Bradbury OAM is a former Australian short track speed skater and four-time Olympian, who won the 1,000 m event at the 2002 Winter Olympics after all of his opponents were involved in a last corner pile-up...
, the 1000 m gold-medal winner, also shared his views: "Whether Dong-Sung moved across enough to be called for cross-tracking, I don't know, he obviously moved across a bit. It's the judge's interpretation. A lot of people will say it was right and a lot of people will say it's wrong. I've seen moves like that before that were not called. But I've seen them called too".
The South Korean team immediately protested the decision of the chief official of the race, but their protests were denied by the International Skating Union (ISU)
International Skating Union
The International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...
. The Korean team then appealed to the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
and the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS)
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...
. The IOC refused to see the case, stating, "This is a matter for the ISU to decide on. At this time, the IOC has received no proposal and taken no action". The CAS sided with the officials of the race as "there is no provision in the short-track rule book for overturning a judgment call by the referee" after the Korean team asked to have a video replay be used to determined whether or not there was a rule violation.
The disqualification upset South Korean supporters, many of whom directed their anger at Ohno and the International Olympic Committee
International Olympic Committee
The International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
. A large number of e-mails protesting the race results crashed the Olympic Committee's email server, and thousands of accusatory letters, many of which contained death threats, were sent to Ohno and the committee. Ohno shared his thoughts on the Koreans' hostile reaction by saying, "I was really bothered by it. I grew up around many Asian cultures, Korean one of them. A lot of my best friends were Korean growing up. I just didn't understand. Later on I realized that was built up by certain people and that was directed at me, negative energy from other things, not even resulting around the sport, but around politics, using me to stand on the pedestal as the anti-American sentiment". Earlier the same year, President George Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
had named North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
as one of three members of the Axis of Evil
Axis of evil
"Axis of evil" is a term initially used by the former United States President George W. Bush in his State of the Union Address on January 29, 2002 and often repeated throughout his presidency, describing governments that he accused of helping terrorism and seeking weapons of mass destruction...
, which had upset some South Koreans; directing their anger at Ohno was a less direct way of voicing anger against Bush's decision. The controversy continued at the 2002 FIFA World Cup
2002 FIFA World Cup
The 2002 FIFA World Cup was the 17th staging of the FIFA World Cup, held in South Korea and Japan from 31 May to 30 June. It was also the first World Cup held in Asia, and the last in which the golden goal rule was implemented. Brazil won the tournament for a record fifth time, beating Germany 2–0...
, held jointly in South Korea and Japan several months after the Olympics. When the South Korean football (soccer) team scored a goal against the U.S. team, Korean players Ahn Jung-Hwan
Ahn Jung-Hwan
Ahn Jung-Hwan is a South Korean football player. He made world headlines by scoring the winning golden goal for South Korea against Italy in the 2002 World Cup second round, sending South Korea into the quarterfinals.-Football career:After starting his professional career with K-League's Busan...
and Lee Chun-Soo
Lee Chun-Soo
Lee Chun-Soo is a football player from South Korea, who currently plays for Omiya Ardija. He was a key member of his national team during the 2002 World Cup and the 2004 Summer Olympics...
made an exaggerated move imitating the move Ohno had made during the speed skating event to indicate the other athlete had drifted into his lane.
After Salt Lake
Ohno continued to perform well in the sport after the 2002 Winter Games. He declined to participate in a 2003 World Cup short-track event in Korea for security reasons. Despite the absence, he successfully defended his World Cup title during the 2003 season. He continued his dominance by winning the World Cup title again in the 2004–2005 season.Ohno won two gold medals, as well as the overall title at the meet despite suffering from a severe stomach illness, and was surprised when the Korean crowd cheered his victories, saying, "I was really happy with the crowd's reaction. It was pretty positive right from the time we landed. I was really happy it wasn't (hostile). Everything went really smooth. We were happy." He was unable to defend his World Cup title from the previous three seasons, finishing third in the 2005–2006 overall standings. At the 2005 World Championships
2005 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships
The 2005 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships took place between March 9 and March 11, 2005, in Beijing, China. The World Championships are organised by the ISU which also run world cups and championships in speed skating and figure skating.-Men:...
, he finished second overall, winning the 1000 m and 3000 m races.
2006 Winter Olympics
In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Ohno stumbled during a semifinal heat in the 1500 m. Finishing fifth, he was unable to defend his 2002 gold medal in the event. Ohno was able to win the bronze medal in the 1000 m, with Korean skaters Ahn Hyun SooAhn Hyun Soo
Ahn Hyun-Soo is a Short track speed skating athlete from South Korea. One of the most accomplished Short Track Speed Skaters of all time, Ahn won three gold medals and a bronze medal in 2006 Winter Olympics held in Turin, Italy, becoming the most successful athlete there...
and Lee Ho-suk
Lee Ho-Suk
Lee Ho-Suk is a South Korean short track speedskater. He won an Olympic gold medal as a part of 5000m Short-track relay team and won four Olympic silver medals. He is the Overall World Champion for 2009 and 2010.-Career:...
finishing before him.
After two false starts from other skaters, Ohno won gold in the 500 m when he took the lead with an explosive start and held it until the finish. Despite criticism that he appeared to move before the start, a violation of the rules, the race start was validated by the officials. Afterward, Ohno said, "I was in the moment at the time. I thought I timed the start just perfect. The starter had been pretty quick all day, so that's why there were so many false starts at the beginning. But that was really good for me."
On the same day as his 500 m gold win, he earned a bronze medal in the men's 5000 m relay, with an inside pass on Italian skater Nicola Rodigari
Nicola Rodigari
Nicola Rodigari is an Italian short track speed skater who competed in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics.He was born in Tirano....
on the final leg to put the United States in third position. Later, during the medals ceremony for the event, the winning South Korean team and the Americans embraced, followed by a group picture featuring the medalists.
Post-Olympic hiatus and return
Taking a year off from competitive skating when the 2006 Winter Olympics ended, Ohno returned to win his eighth national title, placing first in every event during the U.S. Championships held from February 23–25, 2007. On April 26, 2007, he was inducted into the Asian Hall of Fame, an award which honors achievements of Asian Americans.From March 9–11, 2007, he competed at the 2007 World Championships
2007 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships
The 2007 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships took place between March 9 and March 11, 2007 in Milan, Italy. The World Championships are organised by the ISU which also run world cups and championships in speed skating and figure skating.-Men:...
held in Milan, Italy, winning gold in the 1500 m due to the disqualification of Song Kyung-Taek, who had blocked a passing attempt made by Ohno. He won bronze in the 1000 m, 3000 m, and the 5000 m relay with teammates, Jordan Malone, Travis Jayner, and Ryan Bedford. Because of his wins, he became the overall bronze medalist, behind silver medalist Charles Hamelin
Charles Hamelin
Charles Hamelin is a Canadian short track speed skater from Sainte-Julie, Quebec. Hamelin is a 3 time Olympic medalist having won 2 gold and 1 silver during the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics...
and Ahn Hyun Soo, who became the first man to become a five-time World Champion.
On December 24, 2007, in Kearns, Utah
Kearns, Utah
Kearns is a township and census-designated place in Salt Lake County, Utah, United States. Named after Utah's U.S. Senator Thomas Kearns, it had a population of 35,731 at the 2010 Census.This was a 6.2 percent increase over the 2000 figure of 33,659...
, Ohno won his ninth national title, finishing first in the 1000 m and the 1500 m. He also finished first in the 500 m, but was disqualified for crosstracking. In the 3000 m, he finished second. At the 2008 World Championships
2008 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships
The 2008 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships took place between March 7 and March 9, 2008 in Gangneung City, South Korea. The World Championships are organised by the ISU which also run world cups and championships in speed skating and figure skating....
in Gangneung, South Korea
Gangneung
Gangneung is a city in Gangwon-do, on the east coast of South Korea. It has a population of 229,869 . Gangneung is the economic centre of the Yeongdong region of eastern Gangwon Province. Gangneung has many tourist attractions, like Jeongdongjin, one of the most famous towns in Korea...
, Ohno won his first overall title, placing first place in the 500 m, second in the 1000 m, and third place in the 3000 m. He defeated South Koreans Lee Ho-Suk
Lee Ho-Suk
Lee Ho-Suk is a South Korean short track speedskater. He won an Olympic gold medal as a part of 5000m Short-track relay team and won four Olympic silver medals. He is the Overall World Champion for 2009 and 2010.-Career:...
, silver medalist and Song Kyung-Taek who finished third in points. In 2009, he won his 10th national title and qualified for the world team. Unable to defend his championship, he finished fifth in the overall rankings at the 2009 World Championships
2009 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships
The 2009 World Short Track Speed Skating Championships took place between March 5 and March 8, 2009 in Vienna, Austria. The World Championships are organised by the ISU which also run world cups and championships in speed skating and figure skating.-Men:...
in Vienna, Austria, placing second at the 1000 m, and winning gold with the 5000 m relay team.
2010 Winter Olympics
In preparation for the 2010 Winter Olympics2010 Winter Olympics
The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially the XXI Olympic Winter Games or the 21st Winter Olympics, were a major international multi-sport event held from February 12–28, 2010, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with some events held in the suburbs of Richmond, West Vancouver and the University...
, Ohno lost over 9 kilograms (20 pounds) of weight from when he appeared at the 2002 Winter Games. He went down to a 65.7 kg (145 lb) bodyframe and a 2.5% Body fat percentage
Body fat percentage
A person's body mass percentage is the total weight of the person's fat divided by the person's weight and consists of essential body fat and storage body fat. Essential body fat is necessary to maintain life and reproductive functions. The percentage of essential body fat for women is greater than...
enduring a 5 month 3-a-day training program combined with a strict nutritional program. As a result, he could lift double the weight he could before the training. In response to his training regimen, Ohno said, "Come these Games, there's no one who's going to be fitter than me. There's just no way. Whether I can put it together on the ice or not and feel good, that's a different story. But I know, from a physical training standpoint, nobody's even close... I've never prepared like this in my life — for anything. I want to leave nothing on the table".
Trials
During the U.S. Olympic Trials held September 8–12, 2009, in Marquette, MichiganMarquette, Michigan
Marquette is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Marquette County. The population was 21,355 at the 2010 census, making it the most populated city of the Upper Peninsula. Marquette is a major port on Lake Superior, primarily for shipping iron ore and is the home of Northern...
, Ohno won the overall meet title and defended his national title. He won the finals during the 500 m, 1000 m and 1500 m races. However, during the 1000 m time trial, Ohno came in second to J. R. Celski despite skating a personal best of 1:24.500 to Celski's personal best of 1:23.981. Celski, who finished second overall and was leading in points after the first two nights of the trials, was injured during a crash in the semifinals of the 1000 m race when his right skate sliced into his left leg; he did not skate in the 1000 m finals. Ohno had a narrow victory in the 500 m, beating out the silver place finisher Jeff Simon by only .039 of a second. Ohno, Celski, Jordan Malone
Jordan Malone
Jordan Malone is an American short track speed skater who is a member of the US Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He is from Denton, Texas, and is an alumnus of the Texas Tech University Independent School District....
, Travis Jayner
Travis Jayner
Travis Jayner is a Canadian-born American short track speed skater who is a member of the US Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He earned a bronze medal in the 5000-meter relay with teammates Apolo Ohno, J.R...
and Simon Cho
Simon Cho
Simon Cho is an American short track speed skater who was a member of the US Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.-Early life:...
were the top five finishers at the trials. Afterwards, Ohno said about the nominated team: "This is the strongest team we've ever had. I feel really good about how we will do in the next Olympics".
Games
In the 1500 m finalShort track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 1500 metres
The men's 1500 metres in short track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics took place February 13 at the Pacific Coliseum. Heats took place at 5:00 PM PST, while the semifinals took place at 6:18 PM PST and the final event one hour later at 7:18 PM PST.-Preview:Going into the competition,...
, Ohno placed second after two Korean skaters, Lee Ho-Suk
Lee Ho-Suk
Lee Ho-Suk is a South Korean short track speedskater. He won an Olympic gold medal as a part of 5000m Short-track relay team and won four Olympic silver medals. He is the Overall World Champion for 2009 and 2010.-Career:...
and Sung Si-Bak
Sung Si-Bak
Sung Si-Bak is a South Korean short track speed skater. At the 2007 Winter Universiade, he won all five short track speed skating events. Sung has won more than 20 World Cup races and earned two World Cup titles, in addition to skating on the winning World Championship 5000 m relay teams in...
made contact and crashed into the wall during the final turn of the final lap. He was in fourth place leading into the crash, and as a result, moved into second place, earning the silver. Fellow American skater J. R. Celski finished with the bronze medal. The gold medal went to South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
's Lee Jung-Su
Lee Jung-Su
Lee Jung-Su is a South Korean short track speed skater. He is a two-time Olympic Champion from 2010 Winter Olympics....
. This win allowed Ohno, with six career medals, to tie Bonnie Blair
Bonnie Blair
Bonnie Kathleen Blair is a retired American speedskater. She is one of the top skaters of her time, and one of the most decorated athletes in Olympic history. Blair competed for the United States in four Olympics, and in her Olympic career won five gold medals and one bronze medal.-Career:Blair...
for most medals won by a U.S. Winter Olympian.
Heading into the 1000 m final
Short track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 1000 metres
The men's 1000 metres in short track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics began on February 17. The final was held on February 20, at the Pacific Coliseum.-Heats:-Quarterfinals:-Semifinals:-Final B :...
, Ohno had won the overall silver medal for the 1000 m during the 2009–10 World Cup
2009–10 Short Track Speed Skating World Cup
The 2009-10 Short Track Speed Skating World Cup was a multi race tournament over a season for Short track speed skating. The season began on September 17, 2009 and lasted till November 15, 2009. The World cup was shortened this year and consisted of only 4 events due the 2010 Winter Olympics in...
by competing in three of the four competitions during the season. During the finals of the 1000 m, Ohno finished in third place, making a comeback from a slip with less than three laps remaining. With the bronze medal win, he became the most decorated American athlete ever at the Winter Games with seven career medals. Bonnie Blair, the former record holder, said she was happy for his accomplishment, adding, "It's a great feat for him, U.S. speedskating, and the United States of America. We hope that more kids will see his accomplishments and want to try our great sport that has been so good to us and taught us so much about what it takes to be successful in life".
In the 500 m final
Short track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 500 metres
The men's 500 metres in short track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held 24–26 February 2010 at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada....
, Ohno finished the race in second place behind Canada's Charles Hamelin
Charles Hamelin
Charles Hamelin is a Canadian short track speed skater from Sainte-Julie, Quebec. Hamelin is a 3 time Olympic medalist having won 2 gold and 1 silver during the 2006 and 2010 Winter Olympics...
. However, he was disqualified after impeding François-Louis Tremblay
François-Louis Tremblay
François-Louis Tremblay is a Canadian short track speed skater and five-time Olympic medalist who competed at the 2002, 2006, and 2010 Winter Olympics....
of Canada around the final turn. The silver medal went to Sung Si-Bak
Sung Si-Bak
Sung Si-Bak is a South Korean short track speed skater. At the 2007 Winter Universiade, he won all five short track speed skating events. Sung has won more than 20 World Cup races and earned two World Cup titles, in addition to skating on the winning World Championship 5000 m relay teams in...
, with Tremblay taking the bronze.
The 5000 m relay
Short track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics – Men's 5000 metre relay
The men's 5000 metre relay in short track speed skating at the 2010 Winter Olympics began on 17 February, and ended on 26 February at the Pacific Coliseum.-Semifinals:-Final B :-Final A :-External links:...
team for the United States finished with the bronze medal. The team, consisting of J. R. Celski, Simon Cho
Simon Cho
Simon Cho is an American short track speed skater who was a member of the US Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.-Early life:...
, Travis Jayner
Travis Jayner
Travis Jayner is a Canadian-born American short track speed skater who is a member of the US Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He earned a bronze medal in the 5000-meter relay with teammates Apolo Ohno, J.R...
, Jordan Malone
Jordan Malone
Jordan Malone is an American short track speed skater who is a member of the US Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. He is from Denton, Texas, and is an alumnus of the Texas Tech University Independent School District....
and Ohno, were in the fourth position for the majority of the race. With a strong push from Celski with two laps to go, Ohno as the anchor leg
Anchor leg
Anchor leg refers to the final position in a relay race. The term is commonly used with respect to relays in athletics. Typically, the anchor leg of a relay is given to the fastest or most experienced competitor on a team...
was able to pass the Chinese team for third place; Canada won the gold and South Korea took silver. This bronze medal was the eighth Olympic medal of his career.
Personal life
In the United States, Ohno is credited with popularizing and being the face of his sport. He said it is amazing being a role model to younger skaters. Growing up, he did not have that influence within his sport, but looked up to other athletes outside his sport, such as Muhammad AliMuhammad Ali
Muhammad Ali is an American former professional boxer, philanthropist and social activist...
, Joe Frazier
Joe Frazier
Joseph William "Joe" Frazier , also known as Smokin' Joe, was an Olympic and Undisputed World Heavyweight boxing champion, whose professional career lasted from 1965 to 1976, with a one-fight comeback in 1981....
, and Lance Armstrong
Lance Armstrong
Lance Edward Armstrong is an American former professional road racing cyclist who won the Tour de France a record seven consecutive times, after having survived testicular cancer. He is also the founder and chairman of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer research and support...
. Training for short track has been the main focus of Ohno's life, but he has been able to work on other endeavors. He studied business at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs is a campus of the University of Colorado system, the state university system of Colorado....
. Believing in healthy eating habits, Ohno worked with his training coach John Schaeffer
John Schaeffer
John Schaeffer is a renowned American sports and fitness trainer, author and nutritionist for over forty years, best known as the athletic trainer of Apolo Ohno. He specializes in sports conditioning , nutrition and weight management...
during preparations for the 2010 Winter Games to develop a nutritional supplement business called 8 Zone. The supplements consist of eight-hour segments where a dose is administered. He hopes this business will be able to be a sponsor for future Olympic Games.
After the 2010 Winter Games, he created the Apolo Anton Ohno Foundation and partnered with the Century Council
The Century Council
The Century Council is a Virginia-based American not-for-profit organization founded in 1991 and funded by a group of distillers that aims to fight to eliminate drunk driving and underage drinking and promotes responsible decision-making regarding alcohol use....
's Ask, Listen, Learn Program to discourage underage drinking
Legal drinking age
Laws about the legal drinking age cover a wide range of issues and behaviours, addressing when and where alcohol can be consumed. The minimum age alcohol can be legally consumed can be different to the age when it can be purchased. These laws vary among different countries and many laws have...
of alcohol
Alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage is a drink containing ethanol, commonly known as alcohol. Alcoholic beverages are divided into three general classes: beers, wines, and spirits. They are legally consumed in most countries, and over 100 countries have laws regulating their production, sale, and consumption...
and to promote a healthy lifestyle. Furthering his goal of promoting healthier food choices and working with the endorsement of the Washington State Potato Commission, he will be working on a cookbook
Cookbook
A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...
with top Seattle chefs in 2010.
He has an interest in pursuing a career in the entertainment world. He participated and won the fourth season of the U.S. reality show Dancing with the Stars. Ohno's interests in fashion led him to be a guest judge on the fashion reality show Project Runway in 2008, and to an endorsement deal with Omega, the maker of luxury watches, in 2010. Omega President Stephen Urquhart said, "We are very proud to support Apolo here in Vancouver and congratulate him on his outstanding performance. He is poised to make history of his own here and we are thrilled that he is part of the Omega family".
Ohno has an interest in being a philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
. He participated in GAP
Gap (clothing retailer)
The Gap, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer based in San Francisco, California, and founded in 1969 by Donald G. Fisher and Doris F. Fisher. The company has five primary brands: the namesake Gap banner, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. As of September 2008,...
's campaign to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa by joining Product Red
Product Red
Product Red, styled as RED, is a brand licensed to partner companies such as Nike, American Express , Apple Inc., Starbucks, Converse, Bugaboo, Penguin Classics , Gap, Emporio Armani, Hallmark and Dell...
. Half of the proceeds went to The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria is an international financing organization that aims to "[a]ttract and disburse additional resources to prevent and treat HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria." A public–private partnership, the organization has its secretariat in Geneva,...
. Besides working with The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
and the Clothes off our Back Foundations, he used his fame to help raise funds for a Ronald McDonald House in Seattle after the 2002 Winter Games. He helped raise $20,000 for Nikkei Concerns, a provider of care and services for Japanese elders living in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. Later that year, Ohno joined Senator Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
to show the importance of math and science education by helping launch the "Math Moves U Hippest Homework Happening" program, which gave students the opportunity to do math homework online with celebrities and athletes.
Sponsorships
Using his recognition and fame from his sport, he has accumulated a list of sponsors that include McDonald'sMcDonald's
McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of hamburger fast food restaurants, serving around 64 million customers daily in 119 countries. Headquartered in the United States, the company began in 1940 as a barbecue restaurant operated by the eponymous Richard and Maurice McDonald; in 1948...
, General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
, Vicks
Vicks
Vicks is a line of over-the-counter medications owned by the American company Procter & Gamble. Vicks manufactures NyQuil and its sister medication, DayQuil. The Vicks brand also produces Formula 44 cough medicines, cough drops, VapoRub, and a number of inhaled breathing treatments...
and Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola is a carbonated soft drink sold in stores, restaurants, and vending machines in more than 200 countries. It is produced by The Coca-Cola Company of Atlanta, Georgia, and is often referred to simply as Coke...
. Ohno's father, Yuki, said about sponsorships: "He's not like a professional athlete who has a multi-million-dollar contract with a team... He has to have sponsorships to pay the bills". Capitalizing on Ohno's fame, Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is an airline based in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac, Washington in the United States. The airline originated in 1932 as McGee Airways. After many mergers with and acquisitions of other airlines, including Star Air Service, it became known as Alaska Airlines in 1944...
were his primary sponsor for the 2010 Winter Games and designed a Boeing 737–800
Boeing 737
The Boeing 737 is a short- to medium-range, twin-engine narrow-body jet airliner. Originally developed as a shorter, lower-cost twin-engine airliner derived from Boeing's 707 and 727, the 737 has developed into a family of nine passenger models with a capacity of 85 to 215 passengers...
jet with his image on the side.
He was critical of the leaders of the U.S. Speedskating Organization when a donation of $250,000 was raised by viewers of the Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
show The Colbert Report for the organization after their largest commercial sponsor, the Dutch DSB Bank
DSB Bank
DSB Bank was a Dutch bank and insurer. The company was founded in 1975 by Dirk Scheringa, a former police officer. It was originally called Buro Frisia, but in 1998 the DSB Groep was founded which included Buro Frisia...
, declared bankruptcy and was unable to donate its $300,000 in November 2009. In an email to Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, he wrote it was "a bit embarrassing that our leadership couldn't secure other sponsors three months before the Olympic Games" but credited the show's host Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert (character)
The Reverend / Sir / Dr. / Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A., brain-child of Google, is the persona of political satirist Stephen Colbert, as portrayed on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. Described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot", the character is a self-obsessed right-wing...
for "his willingness to help out our nation's greatest athletes". In return for The Colbert Report donation, long track
Long track speed skating
Speed skating is an Olympic sport where competitors are timed while crossing a set distance. It is also a sport for leisure. Sports such as short track speedskating, inline speedskating, and quad speed skating are also called speed skating...
and short track skaters
Short track speed skating
Short track speed skating is a form of competitive ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters skate on an oval ice track with a circumference of 111.12 m...
had the "Colbert Nation" logo on their uniforms for World Cup events leading up to the 2010 Winter Games. Ohno did not wear the logo because Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is an airline based in the Seattle suburb of SeaTac, Washington in the United States. The airline originated in 1932 as McGee Airways. After many mergers with and acquisitions of other airlines, including Star Air Service, it became known as Alaska Airlines in 1944...
was his primary sponsor for the 2010 Games. He was also part of Oreo
Oreo
Oreo is a trademark for a popular sandwich cookie by the Nabisco Division of Kraft Foods. The current design consists of a sweet, white filling commonly referred to as 'cream' or 'creme', sandwiched between two circular chocolate or golden cookie pieces....
's Team DSRL sketch in 2011.
Dancing with the Stars
Ohno participated on the fourth season of the Dancing with the StarsDancing with the Stars (US TV series)
Dancing with the Stars is a reality show airing on ABC in the United States, and CTV in Canada in 2011. The show is the American version of the British BBC television series Strictly Come Dancing...
reality show. He was paired with dancing partner Julianne Hough
Julianne Hough
Julianne Alexandra Hough is an American professional ballroom dancer, country music singer and actress. She is most widely known for being a two-time champion of ABC's Dancing with the Stars. She earned a Creative Arts Primetime Emmy nomination in 2007 for choreography...
, and both appeared on the show for the first time on March 19, 2007. Together they received the competition's first perfect score of 30 for their samba
Samba
Samba is a Brazilian dance and musical genre originating in Bahia and with its roots in Brazil and Africa via the West African slave trade and African religious traditions. It is recognized around the world as a symbol of Brazil and the Brazilian Carnival...
routine on April 16, 2007. The dancing pair won the finale and were named the champions after performing a paso doble, rumba
Rumba
Rumba is a family of percussive rhythms, song and dance that originated in Cuba as a combination of the musical traditions of Africans brought to Cuba as slaves and Spanish colonizers. The name derives from the Cuban Spanish word rumbo which means "party" or "spree". It is secular, with no...
, and a hip-hop freestyle routine in the final competition.
Performance
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' score | Result | ||
| Inaba | Goodman | Tonioli | |||
| 1 | Cha cha cha Cha-cha-cha (dance) The Cha-cha-cha is the name of a dance of Cuban origin.It is danced to the music of the same name introduced by Cuban composer and violinist Enrique Jorrín in 1953... / "Let's Hear It for the Boy" |
7 | 7 | 7 | Safe |
| 2 | Quickstep Quickstep The quickstep is a light-hearted member of the standard ballroom dances. The movement of the dance is fast and powerfully flowing and sprinkled with syncopations. The upbeat melodies that quickstep is danced to make it suitable for both formal and informal events... / "Two Hearts Two Hearts (song) "Two Hearts" is a song performed by Phil Collins, written and produced by Collins and Lamont Dozier for the 1988 crime comedy film Buster. It won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song alongside the Carly Simon song "Let the River Run" from Working Girl... " |
8 | 9 | 9 | Safe |
| 3 | Jive Jive (dance) In Ballroom dancing, Jive is a dance style in 4/4 time that originated in the United States from African-Americans in the early 1930s. It was originally presented to the public as 'Jive' in 1934 by Cab Calloway. It is a lively and uninhibited variation of the Jitterbug, a form of Swing dance... / "You Never Can Tell You Never Can Tell (song) "You Never Can Tell" also occasionally referred to as "C'est La Vie" is a rock and roll song by Chuck Berry. It was composed while he was in prison for intent to commit a sex crime. The song was originally released in 1964 on the album St... " |
7 | 8 | 8 | Safe |
| 4 | Waltz Waltz The waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim... / "If You Don't Know Me By Now If You Don't Know Me By Now "If You Don't Know Me by Now" is a song written by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff and recorded by the jersey soul musical group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, which became their first hit after being released as a single in 1972 topping the R&B chart and peaking at number three on the Pop chart.The... " |
9 | 8 | 9 | Safe |
| 5 | Samba Samba (ballroom) Among ballroom dances, samba is a lively, rhythmical one. It is related to the traditional samba styles of Brazil, but differs from them considerably. Its music is in 2/4 or 4/4 time.-Origins:... / "I Like to Move It I Like to Move It "I Like to Move It" is a 1994 music track performed by Reel 2 Real , featuring ragga vocals by Trinidad and Tobago rapper The Mad Stuntman... " |
10 | 10 | 10 | Safe |
| 6 | Rumba Rumba (dance) Rumba is a dance term with two quite different meanings.In some contexts, "rumba" is used as shorthand for Afro-Cuban rumba, a group of dances related to the rumba genre of Afro-Cuban music. The most common Afro-Cuban rumba is the guaguancó... / "Cool" |
9 | 9 | 10 | Safe |
| 7 | Foxtrot/ "Steppin' Out With My Baby Steppin' Out with My Baby "Steppin' Out With My Baby" is a popular song written by Irving Berlin and introduced in the 1948 musical film Easter Parade. There it was sung by Fred Astaire as part of a dance number involving Astaire on stairs and three different dance partners.... " Mambo Mambo (dance) Mambo .In the late 1940s, Perez Prado came up with the dance for the mambo music and became the first person to market his music as "mambo". After Havana, Prado moved his music to Mexico, where his music and the dance was adopted. The original mambo dance was characterized by freedom and... / "Dr. Beat" |
9 9 |
8 9 |
9 10 |
Safe |
| 8 | Tango Tango (dance) Tango dance originated in the area of the Rio de la Plata , and spread to the rest of the world soon after.... / "Jessie's Girl Jessie's Girl "Jessie's Girl" is a rock song written and performed by pop singer Rick Springfield. It was released on the album Working Class Dog. The song is about unrequited love, and centers on a young man in love with his best friend's girlfriend.... " Paso Doble/ "Carnaval de Paris Carnaval de Paris Carnaval de Paris is a song by Dario G, recorded for the 1998 World Cup in France. The music video features children painted in the colours of the representative countries participating in the tournament. It peaked at number five in the UK Singles Chart in 1998... " |
10 10 |
8 10 |
10 10 |
Safe |
| 9 Semi-finals |
Quickstep/ "Mr. Pinstripe Suit" Cha cha cha/ "Push It Push It (Salt-N-Pepa song) "Push It" is a song by the group Salt-N-Pepa, released as a single in 1986. It peaked at number 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987 and has been certified Platinum by the RIAA... " |
10 10 |
10 9 |
10 10 |
Safe |
| 10 Finals |
Rumba/ "Midnight Train to Georgia Midnight Train to Georgia "Midnight Train to Georgia" is a 1973 number-one hit single by Gladys Knight & the Pips, their second release after departing Motown Records for Buddah Records... " Freestyle/ "Bust a Move" Paso Doble/ "Carnaval de Paris Carnaval de Paris Carnaval de Paris is a song by Dario G, recorded for the 1998 World Cup in France. The music video features children painted in the colours of the representative countries participating in the tournament. It peaked at number five in the UK Singles Chart in 1998... " |
9 10 10 |
9 10 10 |
10 10 10 |
WON |
Further reading |
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External links
Profiles
- Apolo Anton Ohno at the International Skating UnionInternational Skating UnionThe International Skating Union is the international governing body for competitive ice skating disciplines, including figure skating, synchronized skating, speed skating, and short track speed skating. It was founded in Scheveningen, Netherlands in 1892, making it one of the oldest international...
...