Apolo Anton Ohno
Apolo was born on May 22nd, 1982, in Seattle, Washington to mother Jerrie Lee and Japanese father Yuki Ohno, Ohno’s mother and father divorced when he was a toddler, leaving Ohno’s father to raise him as a single parent. Owner of a Seattle hair salon, Ohno’s father was concerned with how his son would spend his free time as a child, and enrolled him in competitive swimming and in-line skating.
At only 14 years old, Ohno was sent by his father to the Olympic Training Center at Lake Placid to train for short track speed skating. He was featured in Sports Illustrated for Kids as an up-and-coming ‘hotshot’, and it was only the next year that he became the youngest person to ever win the title of U.S. Short Track Speed Skating Champion. At the Nagano Olympics in 1998, Ohno finished last in the trials, however in 2002 at Salt Lake City, he won two medals.
Ohno earned a spot as the fan favorite on the American team at Salt Lake, due to his upbeat attitude and welcoming smile. In the 1000m race, Ohno earned the silver medal after falling in a large crash that included several other skaters. He was able to get to his feet and skate across the finish line for silver, second to another skater from Australia who had managed to avoid the wipe-out.
It was in the 1500m race that Ohno earned his gold medal, after the South Korean skater ahead of him was disqualified for cross tracking. Due to backlash from the results, Ohno declined an invitation to participate in the 2003 short track World Cup event in South Korea. When he attended the event in 2005, he won two gold medals, but had to be guarded by over 100 riot police at the airport.
In the 2006 Winter Olympics at Turin, Ohno won three medals with the American team. Due to a fall in the 1500m race, Ohno did not repeat his championship title, but did manage to earn bronze in the event. In the 500m race, Ohno won gold, followed by a bronze in the 5000m men’s relay later the same day. It was during the medal ceremony for this event that the South Korean and American teams embraced each other, officially putting the events of the 2002 games behind them.
After winning a gold and three bronze medals in the 2007 World Skating Championships in Italy, Apolo Ohno took a spot as participant in the reality show Dancing with the Stars, where he is paired with Julianne Hough as his dance partner.
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