| From stumbles to victory, Apolo Ohno emerged as | | | | meet, where he won two gold medals, as well as the |
| one of America's first and greatest Olympic speed | | | | overall title. |
| skaters | | | | Ohno got off to a rocky start in the 2006 Winter |
| Apolo Anton Ohno was born on May 22, 1982 in | | | | Olympics in Turin, Italy, stumbling during a semifinal |
| Seattle, Washington. His father, Yuki Ohno, was a | | | | heat. He finished last in the 1500 meter, but went on |
| Japanese-American and his mother, Jerrie Lee, was a | | | | to win the bronze medal in the 1000 meter, a gold in |
| white American. They divorced when Ohno was still a | | | | the 500 meter, and another bronze in the men's 5000 |
| baby and he was raised by his father. | | | | meter relay. |
| Ohno's father was concerned with his son's | | | | So far in 2007, Ohno won his 8th U.S. National title in |
| unsupervised time and got him involved in | | | | February, placing first in every event. During the |
| competitive swimming and in-line skating, both of | | | | World Championship in March, he won a gold and two |
| which he excelled at. Ohno became interested in | | | | bronze medals. On April 23, he announced that he will |
| short track ice skating after seeing the sport on | | | | be competing in the 2010 Winter Olympics in |
| television. When he was 14 years old, his father sent | | | | Vancouver, British Columbia. |
| him to the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center to | | | | On a personal level, Ohno was inducted into the |
| train full-time. After training for just six months, he | | | | Asian-American Hall of Fame on April 26, 2007. This |
| claimed his first overall title at the U.S. Championships. | | | | honor is given to Asian-Americans who have |
| In the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Ohno finished | | | | contributed to their heritage by breaking new ground |
| last in the trials, but went on to become the first | | | | or achieving excellence in their field at both a national |
| American to be the overall World Cup champion | | | | and international level. |
| during the 2000-01 season. Four years later, he | | | | 2007 also saw Ohno as a contestant on ABC's |
| qualified for the U.S. team in the 2002 Salt Lake City | | | | popular Dancing with the Stars. He and his partner, |
| Olympics. Ohno quickly emerged as a popular athlete | | | | Julianne Hough, received the first perfect score of 30 |
| among U.S. fans for his cheerful attitude and casual | | | | for their samba on the April 16th show. Ohno and his |
| style. He became the face of short track speed | | | | partner eventually reached the show's final round, |
| skating in the U.S., which was a relatively new sport | | | | alongside Laila Ali and Joey Fatone. Ohno and Julianne |
| at the time. Ohno earned two medals during the | | | | were named the season 4 winners on May 22, |
| 2002 games, a gold and a silver. The gold medal was | | | | Ohno's 25th birthday. For some other great |
| won after the leader, Kim Dong-Sung from South | | | | biographies see: free online calendars, free 2008 |
| Korea, was disqualified for blocking Ohno. This | | | | calendars and free meeting templates. |
| decision resulted in a hailstorm of negative | | | | Born: May 22, 1982 |
| statements and even death threats from South | | | | Died: -- |
| Korean fans. | | | | Famous For: American short track speed skater. |
| Ohno decided not to participate in the 2003 World | | | | Key Accomplishments: Five-time Olympic medalist; |
| Cup short track event in Korea for security reasons | | | | Reigning U.S. short track champion since 2001; Holds |
| stemming from the 2002 Olympic games. He did, | | | | eight U.S. men's titles; Youngest American to win a |
| however, go to South Korea for the 2005 World Cup | | | | World Cup Event (at age 17). |