Apolo Anton Ohno

Ohnos ice skates from the 2002 Winter Olympics

Apolo Anton Ohno (born May 22, 1982 in Seattle , Washington ) is an American short track runner.

Career

Ohno is the son of Jerrie Lee and Yuki Ohno, who was born in Japan . His father, who owns a hair salon, separated from his wife when Apolo was a child and raised him alone. At this time Apolo began swimming, but also inline speed skating , which brought him to the short track .

At the age of 14 (1997), Apolo Ohno became the youngest short track runner to become US champion and thus made it into the national team. In 1998 he took part in the Olympic Games in Nagano and was last. In 2002 in Salt Lake City , Apolo Ohno won the 1500 m race and thus also his first Olympic gold medal. In the 1000 m race he won another medal, this time silver.

His gold medal caused a lot of discussion, as there had been a brawl with the South Korean Kim Dong-sung during the race . The Korean crossed the finish line first, but the jury disqualified him for obstruction. Since it is not possible to protest a referee decision on the short track , South Korea , the leading nation on the short track at the time , felt betrayed.

In the 1000 m race, Apolo Ohno led the group out of the last corner, Li Jiajun , who was behind him, stumbled and knocked the entire field including Apolo Ohno to the ground. The only rider who was not brought down was Steven Bradbury , who followed behind the field and won the gold medal. Apolo Ohno crossed the finish line in second and won silver.

Apolo Ohno developed into one of the most successful athletes in the United States. He was the first American to win the Short Track World Cup. He won in the 2000/2001 season, as well as in 2002/2003 and 2004/2005. In addition, Apolo Ohno has won almost all US championships since 2001.

At the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin , Apolo Ohno fell in the semifinals of the 1500 m while trying to overtake the Chinese in first position and failed to reach the final. So he could not defend his gold medal from 2002. In the B final he was third. In the 1000 m race, Apolo Ohno reached the final and won his third Olympic medal there. He won the bronze medal behind the two South Koreans Ahn Hyun-soo and Lee Ho-suk . He won gold over 500 m on the penultimate day of the games.

Apolo Ohno is also committed to the Special Olympics , for which he is the global ambassador.

Web links

Commons : Apolo Anton Ohno - Album with pictures, videos and audio files

Official website of Apolo Anton Ohno (English)
Apolo Anton Ohno in the Sports-Reference database (English; archived from the original )

Individual evidence

↑ Annual Report of the Special Olympics. Retrieved March 13, 2017 .

personal data
SURNAME	Ohno, Apolo Anton
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American short track runner
DATE OF BIRTH	May 22, 1982
PLACE OF BIRTH	Seattle , Washington , USA

[1] Annual Report of the Special Olympics. Retrieved March 13, 2017 .