Apolo Anton Ohno
Seattle, WA
2002, 2006, 2010 Olympics
Apolo Anton Ohno has become the face of American short track speed skating. The only American to ever win the overall World Cup (2000-01) Title, and the first and only American to win the Junior World Championships Title, he has since gone on to win 5 Olympic medals at two Olympic Games. His two gold medals, one silver and two bronze Olympic medals make him one of the highest medal-winners in U.S. history.Born on May 22, 1982 in Seattle, WA, he showed an early skill for speedskating and at the age of 14 Ohno became the youngest ever U.S. Short Track Speedskating Champion. Ohno currently has won 12 U.S. Championship Titles. Ohno has participated in two Winter Olympic Games and is currently training in Salt Lake City, Utah to prepare for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. At the 2002 Olympics, Ohno took home the gold medal for the 1500m and a silver medal in the 1000m. In Turin, Italy at the 2006 Olympics, Ohno earned three medals with a gold in the 500m and bronze medals in the 1000m and 5000m relay.At the 2008 World Short Track Championships, Ohno became the first and only American to win the overall World Championships title and helped guide the Men’s 5000m relay to victory as the anchor. During the 2009-2010 World Cup season, Ohno won gold in the 1000m, silver in the 500m and 1500m, and was part of the Men’s Relay team bringing home the silver medal in World Cup 4.Away from the ice, Ohno tried his skill at dancing when he competed in and won ABC’s hit reality TV show Dancing With the Stars in 2007. The first Olympic athlete to win the disco ball trophy, he and his partner, Julianne Hough were crowned the show’s winners on May 22, 2007, Ohno’s 25th birthday.
