Ohno set to blast off in short track speedskating
Apolo Anton Ohno of United States attends the USOC Short track Speed skating Press Conference. (February 9, 2010) Credit: Getty Images
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - It's near the end of another practice session in preparation for his third Olympic Winter Games when Apolo Anton Ohno toes the starting line for a final trip around the short track.
As the 27-year-old explodes in a flurry of arms and legs, ice shavings flying and light dancing off his skates, everything else in the building seems to pause. Teammates stop gathering equipment as all eyes are drawn to this 5-foot-6-inch whirling dervish as he races around the ice.
It's not the last time Ohno will be the focus of attention in the coming days as the Seattle native will have the world watching when he begins his quest Saturday to become the most decorated United States Winter Olympian in history. He is here to compete in the men's 1,500 meter short-track speed skating event at the Pacific Coliseum.
With two golds (1,500 meter in 2002 and 500 in '06), a silver (1,000 in '02) and two bronze (1,000 and 5,000 relay in '06), Ohno stands tied with Eric Heiden for most medals by a U.S. man. Two more in the four events Ohno is scheduled to race in Vancouver would catapult him past Bonnie Blair's six to top all U.S. Winter Olympians.
Chasing history is not what drives Ohno's these days, however, as he eschews talk of individual honors and focuses on what could be the U.S.'s strongest short-track team in history.
"I'm a competitor," Ohno said Wednesday. "I want a podium. I want to win races. But this being my third Olympics, I'm very, very happy with my performances up to this point. My preparation has been everything I could ever ask for. I'm in the best physical shape of my life and mentally I feel very good.
"We've got a very strong team - a very young team also - coming into these Olympic Games and I think we all have very, very high hopes. Short track is not a sport where you can actually give predictions. But I think that we all would like to stand on the podium, absolutely." Ohno, who gained widespread popularity in America for winning "Dancing with the Stars" in 2007, will also skate individually in the 500 and 1,000 meters and in the 5,000-meter relay. He is the favorite to win the 1,000 and could medal in the 1,500 and relay and is clearly the anchor for a U.S. team that has high hopes on both the men's and women's sides.
