Image via WikipediaApolo Anton Ohno was born in Federal Way Washington on May 22, 1982 the son of a Japanese born father and
American mother. His mother left shortly after his birth and he was raised by his father Yuki Ohno. He was named after the Greek words Ap which means, "steer away from" and lo that means "look out here he comes".
As he was growing up his father, who owned a Beauty Salon and considered a talented hairstylist, was very concerned about how Apolo would grow up. Specifically he was concerned about the amount of time he would spend home alone unsupervised due to his father as a single parent working long hours in his Hair Solon. Due to this concern his father got him involved in swimming, where he won the Washington state breaststroke championship at age of 12.
Although he was a very good swimmer, Apolo was more interested in getting involved with in-line skating. It was around this time that Apolo became interested in short track speed skating while watching the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer Norway. His father during this time drove him to short track speed skating meets all over Canada and Northwestern United States. In 1996 he was allowed in the
Lake Placid Olympic Training Center and was the youngest person to be admitted.
His short track skating career did not start off well. His nickname at Lake Placid was Chunky because of his minimal effort at training. He did not even make the 1997 United States Junior world short track Team. He committed to training and then in the 1997 Senior Championships he placed 4th in the 500m, 2nd in the 300m and a gold medal in the 1500m. He then moved to Colorado and started training with older skaters at the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center at only 14 years of age.
Apolo had a terrible start to his winter Olympics career by finishing 19th overall in Japan at the 1997 World Championships. He did not train for several months after returning to his home state of Washington. It was for this reason he did not qualify for the 1998 Winter Olympics. At this time he returned to Lake Placid skating again with junior level skaters. He then proceeded to place 1st overall in the
1999 World Junior Championships and win a second Senior United States National Championship. After finishing just 3rd and 9th overall in the United States and the
World Short Track Speed Skating Championships respectively in 2000, he then came back in 2001 season and finished 2nd in the World Championships, took back his National title, and won his first World Cup short track skating overall title.
In 2002 he was involved in an allegation that he helped another skater win at the Olympic trials so the skater could make the team. After an investigation by the arbitration board of the USOC these accusations were not proven. During the subsequent Olympic Games in Salt Lake City because of his easy going personality and cheerful disposition, he became a fan favorite. It was here that he won 2 medals, silver in the 1000m and then a gold in the 1500m. Unfortunately he was again involved in a controversial race. South Korea's skater was in the lead when Apolo attempted to pass. It was ruled that he was blocked and the South Korean
short track speed skater was disqualified.
In the 2006 Winter Olympics held in Italy Apolo Anton again was a medalist winning gold in the 500m, bronze in the 1000m and powering the United States 5000m relay team to a bronze medal. It was after these games Anton Ohno took a year off from competitive skating. He returned to competition in February of 2007 and won his 8th national short track speed skating title during the
United States Championships in Ohio. Then in December he won his 9th in Salt Lake City. It was also in 2007 that Apolo was chosen to participate in ABC's reality show Dancing with the Stars. Apolo Anton Ohno and Julianne Hough his dancing partner went on to win the competition. This may be one of the best-known accomplishments of Apollo Ono.
Apolo announced in February of 2009 that he would be competing in the 2010
Winter Games held in
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. This was after stating, "I feel like I've been blessed with a gift... And if I'm still able, willing and healthy, then why would I throw that away?" His sponsors for what is officially called the
XXI Winter Olympic Games will be Alaska Airlines and Vicks.
Alaska Airlines has a jet that carries Apolo's image on the side.
Image by ExecGifts via Flickr
