Profile: Name: Apolo Anton Ohno Height: 5'7" Weight: 158 lbs. Born: May 22, 1982 Hometown: Seattle, WA Team: US Elite Short Track Team Discipline: Short Track Speed Skating Winter Olympics 2002: 4 events -- Mens 500m, Mens 1000m, Mens 1500m, Mens 5000m Relay
The Story Behind the Ohno:
APOLO OHNO
Contrary to what you may think, Ohno was not named for Apollo, the Greek god of sunlight and prophecy. He explains that his unique first name was given to him by his father -- it is a combination of the Greek words Ap (meaning "lead") and lo (meaning "away from"). With the o to connect the two, it means "to lead away from." Even though he is now well within the weight limits for his sport, he still goes by the nickname "Chunky," given to him at the training center.
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Now lets start from birth. Apolo was raised by his father, Yuki, a hairdresser in Seattle, WA. Yuki has been taking care of Apolo since he was been about 1 year of age. His father tried everything to keep him busy by getting him into swiming and other sports (inline skating). Unfortanutly he still managed to become friends with well lets face it not, too good people. Yuki finally found the solution to the problem. After the 1994 olypmics and Apolo's watching speed skating, both his father and he became very interested. Though Apolo was not that serious his father took up on the chance.
UH OH WATCH OUT FOR OHNO (HIS QUICK START)
Ohno didn't begin his competitive career as a short track speed skater until 1995, but in less than two years he became the best short track skater in the United States. Ohno was just 14 when he claimed his first U.S overall title in the 1996-1997 season. He won the U.S. title again during the 1998-1999 season, and added a silver medal in the 500 meters at the World Championships and an eighth-place finish in the overall World Cup standings. He moved even higher in the international ranks the following season. In December 1999 in China, he earned his first overall victory at a World Cup event. He completed the season seventh in the overall World Cup standings, earning four podium finishes. (By SALT LAKE CITY 2002)
INLINE SKATER?
Part of the reason for Ohno's rapid success in short track is that he was a world-class in-line skater prior to switching to the ice. In 1992, Ohno and his father Yuki, who is of Japanese descent, were home watching the Olympic Winter Games on television. His dad took an interest in short track skating and eventually bought Ohno a pair of skates. Ohno competed in his first U.S. junior championships during the 1995-1996 season, placing fourth overall. The following season, he won his first U.S. national title and appeared ready to qualify for the Nagano Games the following year. But Ohno started that season overweight and never recovered, finishing 16th at the Olympic Trials, well out of contention for an Olympic berth. (BY SALT LAKE CITY 2002)
Apolo still wasn't serious about skating -- his first trip to the center ended before he even got on the plane, he ditched the idea and went to a friend's house. He was a rebellious teen, but Yuki finally managed to get him to the center, this time ensuring his enrollment by flying with him to Lake Placid. In his own words, Apolo says he hated the center and didn't have any interest in training. The change came in August of that year, when the body-fat tests came back and Apolo came in last. That shook him up -- he decided he didn't want to be the fattest skater, or the slowest. He wanted to be the best.
And he is. He has an uncanny ability to decode a race's fast-paced pattern and feels the ice beneath his skates like no other can. He makes every race look effortless, hanging back from the rest of the pack until the final lap, when he'll make his signature move and pull ahead of the others on the inside track. He won the US Championship before he even turned 15, and he seemed fated to make the Olympic team in time for the Winter Games at Nagano. However, he still hung out with the same gang back home and fought with his father, and when he didn't make the team, it was a devastating blow.
Yuki took Apolo to a secluded cabin and left him there for eight days to think over speed skating, to see if it was really what he wanted to do. In that time, he realized that if he didn't want to end up like his friends in Seattle, he had to get serious about his life and his career as an athlete. The next year, he won the US title, and in the 2002 Winter Olympics he has won both silver and gold medals so far.
