50 facts about Apolo Ohno: the face of short track in the US since winning medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics

50 facts about Apolo Ohno, retired short track speed skating competitor.

1. Apolo Anton Ohno is a retired American short track speed skating competitor and an eight-time medalist (two gold, two silver, four bronze) in the Winter Olympics.

2. Raised by his father, Ohno began training full-time in 1996.

3. Apolo Ohno has been the face of short track in the United States since winning his medals at the 2002 Winter Olympics.

4. At the age of 14, he became the youngest U.S. national champion in 1997 and was the reigning champion from 2001-2009, winning the title a total of 12 times.

5. In December 1999, he became the youngest skater to win a World Cup event title, and became the first American to win a World Cup overall title in 2001, which he won again in 2003 and 2005.

6. Apolo Ohno on his first overall World Championship title at the 2008 championships.

7. During the 2002 Winter Olympics, there were two controversies associated with Ohno. The first was whether or not he intentionally finished third in a qualification race during the U.S. Olympic Trials to allow Shani Davis to make the team. The second occurred when he won the gold medal in the 1500 m race after the disqualification of the first skater to cross the finish line, South Korean Kim Dong-Sung, for blocking Ohno. The disqualification upset South Korean supporters and has had a lingering negative effect on Ohno's reputation in South Korea.

8. Ohno's accolades and accomplishments include being the United States Olympic Committee's Male Athlete of the Month in October 2003 and March 2008, the U.S. Speedskating's Athlete of the Year for 2003, and was a 2002, 2003 and 2006 finalist for the Sullivan Award, which recognizes the best amateur athlete in the United States.

9. Since gaining recognition through his sport, Ohno has worked as a motivational speaker, philanthropist, started a nutritional supplement business called 8 Zone, and in 2007, competed on and won the reality TV show Dancing with the Stars.

10. Apolo Ohno later became host of a revival of Minute to Win It on Game Show Network and served as a commentator for NBC's coverage of the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

11. Apolo Ohno was born in Seattle, Washington, to a Japanese-born father, Yuki Ohno and a European American mother, Jerrie Lee.

12. Ohno's parents divorced when he was an infant, and he was raised in Seattle by his father.

13. Apolo Ohno has had little contact with his biological mother and as of 2002 had expressed no interest in knowing her or his older half-brother.

14. Ohno's father, a hair stylist and owner of the salon Yuki's Diffusion, often worked 12-hour shifts, and with no family in the United States, found it hard to balance career and family.

15. His father chose to name his son Apolo after the Greek words "Apo," which means to "steer away from" and "lo," which means "look out; here he comes."

16. When Ohno was very young, his father meticulously researched childcare providers to care for his son during his long work hours.

17. As he grew older, his father became concerned his son would become a latchkey kid, so he got his son involved with competitive swimming and quad-speed roller skating at age 6.

18. Apolo Ohno later switched from the instruction of Benton Redford, a National Champion, to a team in Federal Way, WA called Pattisons Team Extreme and became a national inline speedskating champion and record holder himself.

19. His father used Inline Speedskating to fill his spare time.

20. Ohno's days were spent with morning swimming practices, followed by schooling, and finally skating practices in the afternoon.

21. When Ohno was 12, he won the Washington state championship in the breaststroke but preferred inline speed skating over swimming.

22. Apolo Ohno has stated that by the time he turned 13 years of age he attended parties with older teenagers if he did not have competitions on the weekends.

23. His father has stated that it was a struggle balancing his son's desire for independence while helping him reach his potential as a young athlete.

24. When he was 12 years old, Ohno became interested in short track speed skating after seeing the sport during the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer.

25. His father capitalized on this interest by driving him to short track competitions throughout the northwest United States and Canada, and Ohno won several competitions in his age divisions.

26. His father wanted to encourage Ohno to develop his skills and, although Ohno was underage, he got him admitted to the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center in 1996 to train full-time for short track.

27. At 13 years of age, Ohno was the youngest skater admitted to the center.

28. At first, Ohno's commitment at Lake Placid was low until his teammates nicknamed him "Chunky", which motivated him to train harder.

29. In January, he failed to make the 1997 U.S. Junior World Team.

30. Ohno adjusted his training and made a comeback winning the 1997 U.S. Senior Championships overall title, taking a gold medal in the 1500 m, a silver in the 300 m, and came in fourth in the 500 m races.

31. At the age of 14, he became the youngest person to win the title.

32. Apolo Ohno then relocated to the Colorado Springs Olympic Training Center to begin training with the senior level skaters, despite being only 14 years old.

33. However, Ohno would struggle at the 1997 World Championships in Nagano, Japan, finishing 19th overall. After this disappointing defeat at his first appearance at a world championships, Ohno returned home to Seattle.

34. He did not train from April to August 1997, so he gained weight and was ill-prepared for the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics. As a result, he finished last in the Olympic trials and did not qualify for the Olympic team.

35. Because of his losses at the World Championships and his failure to qualify for the Olympic team, Ohno recommitted himself to the sport and returned to junior-level skating at Lake Placid, rather than at Colorado Springs.

36. At the 1999 World Junior Championships, Ohno won first overall, placing first in the 1000 m and 1500 m, and winning silver in the 500 m.

37. Apolo Ohnowon his second senior U.S. national championship in 1999.

38. Apolo Ohno finished fourth overall at the 1999 World Championships and earned a silver medal in the 500 m.

39. Apolo OhnoAt the 2000 U.S. Championships, Ohno was unable to defend his title and finished third overall.

40. In the 2000-2001 season, Ohno won his first World Cup overall title, regained his National title, and finished second overall in the World Championships, losing to Chinese skater Li Jiajun.

41. In the United States, Ohno is credited with popularizing and being the face of his sport.

42. He said it is amazing being a role model to younger skaters. Growing up, he did not have that influence within his sport, but looked up to other athletes outside his sport, such as Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier, and Lance Armstrong.

43. Apolo Ohno studied business at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

44. Believing in healthy eating habits, Ohno worked with his training coach John Schaeffer during preparations for the 2010 Winter Games to develop a nutritional supplement business called 8 Zone.

45. After the 2010 Winter Games, he created the Apolo Anton Ohno Foundation and partnered with the Century Council's Ask, Listen, Learn Program to discourage underage drinking of alcohol and to promote a healthy lifestyle.

46. Furthering his goal of promoting healthier food choices and working with the endorsement of the Washington State Potato Commission, he will be working on a cookbook with top Seattle chefs in 2010.

47. Apolo Ohno has an interest in pursuing a career in the entertainment world.

48. Apolo Ohno participated and won the fourth season of the U.S. reality show Dancing with the Stars. He returned for the 15th Season which features all-star celebrities.

49. Ohno's interests in fashion led him to be a guest judge on the fashion reality show Project Runway in 2008, and to an endorsement deal with Omega, the maker of luxury watches, in 2010.

50. Apolo Ohno has an interest in being a philanthropist. He participated in GAP's campaign to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa by joining Product Red. He helped raise $20,000 for Nikkei Concerns, a provider of care and services for Japanese elders living in the Pacific Northwest.

Source: Wikipedia.org