MAIN Sports Sports Stars Apolo Anton Ohno

Born May 22, 1982 in Seattle, Washington to an American mother and Japanese father, Apolo Anton Ohno has been in the spotlight since his early teens as an athletic prodigy.

At 14, he became the youngest speed skater in history to take the title of U.S. champion in short track. A year later, he was competing at the Winter Olympics in Nagano where he finished last in the trials.

Four years later, at the Salt Lake City Games, he became the first American to take the men's title in Olympic speed skating, winning Olympic gold in the 1500 m event and a silver medal in the 1000 m.

Both medals were awarded amid much controversy, however, after Ohno won gold by placing second in the 1500 m event - after popular favorite, Kim Dong-sung, was disqualified for cross-tracking. It was a judgement which many critics claimed was the outcome of Ohno's attempting to disrupt his opponent's performance on the track.

A week later, and equally noteworthy, was Ohno's award of the silver medal for the 1000 m event following a spectacular spill in which the American regained his footing and raced to come in second at the finish.

Since then, Ohno has continued to maintain his standing year after year as World Cup champion in the sport. He was a favorite to repeat his success at the 2006 Olympic Games in Torino, ultimately taking home a gold medal in the 500m and two bronze medals in the 1000m and Relay (and tying him with skater Eric Heiden for the most medals of any U.S. male Winter Olympian.)

Off the ice, Ohno has been linked romantically to fellow-skater Allison Baver. He has also become a media darling of sorts with photo spreads appearing in Cosmo and Esquire.

In March 2007, the skates come off when the 24-year-old Olympic champ paired with professional dancer Julianne Hough to compete as the youngest contestant in the lineup of celebrity dancers in the ABC hit series, "Dancing with the Stars." His moves on the dance floor proved to be every bit as good as his performance on ice as he waltzed off with the show's championship trophy.

In 2010, Ohno is currently competing in the Vancouver Olympics where he needed one more medal to become one of the most decorated American winter athletes.

Sure enough, the skating superstar made history on February 13 when he won the silver medal in 1,500 meter short-track speedskating. Although the gold eluded him, he was tied with Bonnie Blair for the most Winter Olympic medals won by an American, with six.

Taking bronze in the 1000 meter race in Vancouver, Ohno overtook Blair as the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete ever on February 20.

Later, while competing in the 500 meter race, Ohno pushed Canadian skater Francois-Luis Tremblay at the finish, resulting in Ohno's disqualification and forfeiture of his silver medal. Closing out the games in Vancouver, however, Ohno led the American team to a bronze medal in the short-track relay.

Now with two gold, two silver, and four bronze Olympic medals to his credit, "Apolo 8" is the nickname that has been bestowed upon Ohno by an adoring US public.

More about Apolo Anton Ohno around the Web:

Apolo Anton Ohno.com - The official site complete with bio, photos, competition schedule, news & updates, Q&A, wallpaper, screen savers, downloadable posters, related links.

Apolo Anton Ohno [Ohno Zone] - Frequent updates on the athlete and related news & photos from the world of short track speed skating.

Apolo Anton Ohno News - The latest feature stories, headlines news, tweets, blog entries, and forum discussions from around the Web.

also see -> Ice Skating | Olympics

Olympic Short Track Speed Skating