Apolo Anton Ohno: The Ice Man

For those who only know the name Apolo Anton Ohno as the winner of Dancing with the Stars, you are missing a big part of this athlete’s story. Apart from being a wonderful dancer, Apolo has also won five Olympic medals including two gold medals in short track speed skating. He is a remarkable athlete with a great personality, and he is just 25 years old.

Iremember first seeing Apolo Anton Ohno during his dazzling show at the Salt Lake City winter Olympic Games in 2002. His compact, muscular frame, his long hair and funky goatee – Ohno cut quite a dashing and unique figure and he definitely stood out. When the gun sounded and he cut the short track speed skating competition to pieces, it was clear that the world was watching a new sports star claiming his place in the cosmos. He would win a gold and a silver medal in those Olympic Games and another gold and two bronze medals four years later at the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy.

Apolo Anton Ohno was born in Seattle,Washington. His mother is American and his father is Japanese.His parents were divorced when Apolo was just a small child, leaving him to be raised by his father who was an avid fitness enthusiast. His father would involve Apolo in competitive swimming and in-line skating. “I remember being interested in sports – individual sports – my whole life,” Ohno says.“Then I saw a short track speed skating competition on TV and I was hooked – the speed and the intensity of the race really excited me.” At 14, Ohno’s father responded to his interest in short track speed skating by enrolling him in full-time training at the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center. Ohno would progress steadily and when it
came time to qualify for the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1998, the 16-year-old would throw himself into it. He would finish last in the trials but was undeterred.

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“It just made me work harder,” says Ohno. “I knew I had some ability and talent, I just had to refine it and gain experience – even finishing last I was still confident.” A year later he would win three gold medals at the World Junior Championship held in Montreal. The following year in Jeonju, he would win the World Championship.

When in training, Ohno keeps to a fierce routine. He often trains alone for strength and endurance. “A place I like to train is called ‘The Incline’ and it is in Colorado Springs,” says Ohno.“It is a strip of dirt that has railroad ties as steps. It goes almost straight up a mountain vertically, so you take this up doing side steps and it is one hell of a workout.” During a World Championship competition in Poland, Ohno raised some eyebrows when he spoke of eating five Snickers bars before going onto the ice. But when seriously asked about his diet regimen he does elaborate a bit: “I have a controlled diet, but I don’t believe in these no-carb diets. I believe people can be much healthier with a bit of carbs, the right kinds of carbs. It is all about
knowledge, it is all about knowing what is right for you and your lifestyle, knowing exactly what you are putting in your body.”

In April of 2007, Ohno announced that he would indeed be returning to the Olympic stage in 2010 for his third Olympic Games.“I feel that I have been blessed with a gift,” says Ohno. “So while I am willing and able and healthy, it would be a shame to just waste that gift.”

Another important date for Apolo Anton Ohno was February 20, 2007.That was the date that ABC television announced that he would be a participant in the fourth season of the very popular reality series Dancing with the Stars. He and his dancingpartner, Julianne Hough, appeared on the show for the first time on March 19th. On the April 16th show, he would dazzle the judges and audience with a samba that would earn the first perfect score in the competition. When all was said and done, it came down to Ohno and fellow competitors Laila Ali and Joey Fatone.The day was May 22, 2007 – Ohno’s 25th birthday – and again they would tear up the dance floor and score another perfect score to win the entire competition. “I feel great,”
said Ohno after the final show.“I love this kind of competition, and I think because of my skating career, my Olympic experience, I had a confidence about this coming in. I love the competition and am used to having to come up with the goods at a specific moment – I live for this kind of competition!”

The future is now wide open for Apolo Anton Ohno. He has already, by his mid-twenties, achieved much more than most do in a lifetime as an athlete, and now he has taken the airwaves by storm as well. But he has earned all that has come to him. No Olympic athlete has anything handed to them – they have to train and train and train some more, then do battle with the best from around the world and the opportunity
to shine is narrow and brief. But what Apolo Anton Ohno brought with him was energy and a charisma that made him an unforgettable character. So what is next for this multi-talented athlete? “I will continue to train for my run at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver – but apart from that I take opportunities as they come and go with my instincts and see where they take me – those instincts haven’t really failed me yet, so I am confident in relying on them.”