The five-time medalist is back for his third Games, with his eyes set on becoming the most decorated American male ever in the Winter Olympics. Arguably the most well-known US Olympian, Apolo Anton Ohno is currently even with long-track speed skater Eric Heiden, who took home five gold medals in an epic performance at the 1980 Lake Placid Games.
Better Know An Olympic Athlete: Apollo Anton Ohno, The 27-Year-Old Veteran
Ohno won gold in the 1500 m and silver in the 1000 m at Salt Lake City in 2002, and then in Turin took home gold in the 500 m and bronze in both the 1000 m and 5000 m relay. So, why is he still skating? “Because Ohno still can race like a bat out of hell. In 2009, he was part of the gold medal-winning U.S. relay team at the world championships. And he won an individual silver medal in the 1000m.”
Add in the fact that he is returning close to home (he grew up in Seattle), and this could be a very memorable, and historical, Games for Ohno. While he’s just one medal away from supplanting Heiden, two more pieces of hardware and he becomes the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete ever, passing Bonnie Blair, who has six.
“I’ve literally come full circle,” Ohno said recently, recalling those early years shuttling between Seattle and Vancouver and then the Salt Lake and Torino experiences.
He added, looking forward to the 2010 Games, “I have a great -- great fan support. A lot of my friends and family will be there. But I think, more importantly, I’ve come to realize that I have a gift for the sport.” And, he said, “I have a gift for being an Olympian.”
In Vancouver, Ohno will skate in the 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m and team relay. His strongest competition in the individual events will come from a trio of South Koreans -- Ho-Suk Lee, Jung-Su Lee and Si-Bak Sung -- and a pair of Canadians, Charles Hamelin and Francois-Louis Trembley.
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