Apolo Ohno - Five Time Olympic Medalist

From stumbles to victory, Apolo Ohno emerged asto win the bronze medal in the 1000 meter, a gold in
one of America's first and greatest Olympic speedthe 500 meter, and another bronze in the men's 5000
skatersmeter relay.
Apolo Anton Ohno was born on May 22, 1982 inSo far in 2007, Ohno won his 8th U.S. National title in
Seattle, Washington. His father, Yuki Ohno, was aFebruary, placing first in every event. During the
Japanese-American and his mother, Jerrie Lee, was aWorld Championship in March, he won a gold and two
white American. They divorced when Ohno was still abronze medals. On April 23, he announced that he will
baby and he was raised by his father.be competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics in
Ohno's father was concerned with his son'sVancouver, British Columbia.
unsupervised time and got him involved inOn a personal level, Ohno was inducted into the
competitive swimming and in-line skating, both ofAsian-American Hall of Fame on April 26, 2007. This
which he excelled at. Ohno became interested inhonor is given to Asian-Americans who have
short track ice skating after seeing the sport oncontributed to their heritage by breaking new ground
television. When he was 14 years old, his father sentor achieving excellence in their field at both a national
him to the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center toand international level.
train full-time. After training for just six months, he2007 also saw Ohno as a contestant on ABC's
claimed his first overall title at the U.S. Championships.popular Dancing with the Stars. He and his partner,
In the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Ohno finishedJulianne Hough, received the first perfect score of 30
last in the trials, but went on to become the firstfor their samba on the April 16th show. Ohno and his
American to be the overall World Cup championpartner eventually reached the show's final round,
during the 2000-01 season. Four years later, healongside Laila Ali and Joey Fatone. Ohno and Julianne
qualified for the U.S. team in the 2002 Salt Lake Citywere named the season 4 winners on May 22,
Olympics. Ohno quickly emerged as a popular athleteOhno's 25th birthday. For some other great
among U.S. fans for his cheerful attitude and casualbiographies see: free online calendars, free 2008
style. He became the face of short track speedcalendars and free meeting templates.
skating in the U.S., which was a relatively new sportBorn: May 22, 1982
at the time. Ohno earned two medals during theDied: --
2002 games, a gold and a silver. The gold medal wasFamous For: American short track speed skater.
won after the leader, Kim Dong-Sung from SouthKey Accomplishments: Five-time Olympic medalist;
Korea, was disqualified for blocking Ohno. ThisReigning U.S. short track champion since 2001; Holds
decision resulted in a hailstorm of negativeeight U.S. men's titles; Youngest American to win a
statements and even death threats from SouthWorld Cup Event (at age 17).
Korean fans.Significant Quote: "Skating was a gift given to me,
Ohno decided not to participate in the 2003 Worldand it's a sport I love. I go out there every single
Cup short track event in Korea for security reasonsday and there isn't a day I don't want to be out
stemming from the 2002 Olympic games. He did,there."
however, go to South Korea for the 2005 World CupFun Quote: "I'm not a clotheshorse, but I do like to
meet, where he won two gold medals, as well as thelook good."
overall title.John Clark enjoys free lance writing on web topics.
Ohno got off to a rocky start in the 2006 WinterFor readers of this article, he recommends File
Olympics in Turin, Italy, stumbling during a semifinalSharing for Free, Free Printable 2008 Calendars, and
heat. He finished last in the 1500 meter, but went onusing Free Downloadable PDF Format Calendars.