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.::APOLO'S FATHER, YUKI OHNO::.
Yuki Ohno is the son of a university vice president. At the age of 18, during the early 1970's,yuki rebelled against the academic life in Tokyo. Yuki then moved to the U.S.--defying his parents. While in America, Yuki tried to pursue in accounting. Since accounting did not work out, Yuki then slid into hairdressing. He went to London to study at a Vidal Sassoon Salon. Yuki succeeded in hairdressing and with this, his schedule became very hectic. Yuki did hair shows that required him to travel the globe. He traveled from Europe to New York. Yuki opened his own shop in Seattle called Yuki's Diffusion during 1980. In hopes to slow his busy schedule, Yuki married a caucasian woman by the name of Jerri Lee. Marrying Lee did not actually solve his problem.
.::THE BIRTH OF APOLO::.
Apolo Anton Ohno was born on May 22, 1982 in the city of Federal Way, Washington. Within a year after Apolo's birth, Yuki's marriage with Lee fell apart. Yuki and Lee divorced in 1983.(The reasons for their split is not known to the public). Yuki was left to raise little Apolo on his own. Apolo had no mother to raise him, only the presence of his father, Yuki.
.::THE EARLY YEARS OF APOLO::.
Yuki was still working as well as raising Apolo. Yuki worked 12 hours a day and he had no relatives helping him in raising Apolo. Yuki's hairdresser friends slowly went along and Yuki began changing diapers and making formula for Apolo. Because Yuki was so busy with running his salon, Apolo was left at day care, and other days he would be watching his father cut people's hair at the salon. Apolo was a latchkey kid. Customers at Yuki's Diffusion recall a time when Apolo was dressed in his Halloween costume, waiting for Yuki to finish his work--Apolo impatiently waited--eager to go trick or treat with his father. There were times when Apolo would climb over a fence and eat rocks and dirt while at day care.
.::THE TEEN YEARS OF APOLO::.
During Junior High, Apolo started hanging out with the wrong crowd. Yuki tried his best to keep Apolo occupied, but nothing seemed to work. He tried introducing Apolo to choir, roler skating, and swimming, but Apolo was just a big handful. Apolo hung out with boys who bragged about their time in juvy, and who planned things like blowing up the school toilets. During afternoons, when Apolo was free, he would either spend time by himself or hang out with people nearing their 20's. By the time Apolo was 13, he spent nights at his friends' houses and sometimes would not come home for 3 days. He usually stayed up all night and Apolo was hardly ever at home. Apolo was active in inline skating, but even sports did not help in keping Apolo away from hanging out with gangbangers.
.::APOLO"S FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH SHORT-TRACK SPEEDSKATING::.
It all started when Apolo and Yuki were watching the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic games. Apolo was in awe about how much action there was in short-track speedskating. Apolo new right away that short-track would be his sport. He probably looked at the TV screen and thought,"I can do that." "It is so different. There's risk and people falling. It's pretty much everything you could want in a sport," says Apolo. Soon Apolo became active in short-track. He was a very fast learner. He had natural talent. Apolo won three age group titles in an instance. Yuki drove Apolo all over to go to competitions. He drove Apolo from Cananda to Chicago--hoping that Apolo would be steered away from his gangbanging friends. Yuki hoped that short-track speedskating would occupy most of Apolo's time, so that he would keep out of trouble. Boy was Yuki wrong. Like any normal teen to parent relationship, Apolo and Yuki constantly fought. Yuki even threatened to send Apolo to military school. Yuki could feel losing Apolo to his deliquent friends. Yuki felt that he was losing the battle over his son. "And he didn't know how bad those guys really were," Apolo says. "One guy was in the newspaper every week for the houses and cars he robbed. People got shot, people got stabbed,--or went to jail."
.::APOLO'S WRATH::.
During the junior national team trials in Saratoga Springs, Patrick Wentland, then the development coach for speed skaters, was impressed by Apolo's performance in 1995. Immediately, Yuki, who saw Wentland's interest in Apolo, went to talk to Wentland. Yuki asked Wentland to admit Apolo to the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid. Wentland wanted to, but there was one catch--Apolo was not even 14 and the minimum age to be admitted into the center was 15. This case did not stop Yuki from getting Apolo into the center. Wentland really wanted Apolo to be admitted. He persuaded the USOC to allow Apolo into the center--not knowing that Apolo had no interest in going. In June of 1996, Yuki dropped off Apolo at the Seattle airport to leave for Lake placid. Yuki did not know what Apolo had planned out. "I made a call and I was out," Apolo says. "I had it all planned. Dad told me,'I know what's best for you, you need to listen.' He comes from that Asian background; he's strict. But I'm 14, I don't want to do anything anybody says. So I had a friend pick me up, I was gone." Apolo stayed at his friend's house for a week. Yuki received a call from Wentland wondering where Apolo was. Apolo refused to tell Yuki where he was. At this, Yuki drew the line. He had his ex wife's sister talk to Apolo. Apolo, amazed by his father's attempt to bring him home, returned. Yuki gave it a second chance for Apolo to get to Wentland. To make sure Apolo got there, he went along the flight. There was no escape for Apolo now. When Apolo and Yuki told Wentland that Apolo would purposely cause trouble to get himself booted out of the center, Yuki told Wentland, "Good Luck," and left.
.::APOLO�S STRUGGLE::.
Apolo�s first month at the center did not go well at all. Apolo was not enthusiastic about training. In fact, whenever they had to run 5 miles to the lake, Apolo would sneak into a Pizza Hut and eat pizza. �I hated it there,� Apolo says. �I didn�t want to be there, you know, and it was like, you know, 2 to 3 mile runs in the morning every single day. And my guddy, we�d kinda hang in the back you know jog and uhh, every day we�d jog past this Pizza Hut and we�d you know sneak in there, eat some pizza, and on the way back, you know, cuz no one knew we left. On the way back, they�d come back and we would hop on in the back. And that went on for uhh, 2 or 3 weeks you know before, uhh, the coach found out.� In August, Wentland gave out the result of the team�s fat test. Apolo, not surprisingly, came last. �That got him,� says Wentland. �He came up to me and said, �I don�t want to be the fattest, I don�t want to be the slowest, I want to be the best.� He totally changed every work out from then on, he had to win. I�d never seen that kind of turnaround so fast. Even now, at this level, if he decides one day that he�s not feeling right, he won�t skate well. But if he knows that he can win, I don�t care if all the other skaters are having the best day of their lives, he�ll beat them.� Apolo won the U.S. championship in 1997. He wasn�t even 15 yet. In short-track speedskating, the usual participant peaks at the age of 24. For Apolo, it was different, he had both the skill and determination that made him special. It seemed that he would make the Olympic team for the 1998 Nagano games, but there was a problem. Apolo was still hanging out with gangbangers back in Seattle and he was still fighting Yuki. At the Olympic trials, out of 16 participants, Apolo landed 16th place. He was overweight, tired, and undertrained. Wentland expected not to see Apolo again. Apolo was crushed by the outcome of the Olympic trials.
.::APOLO SEES A NEW LIGHT::.
Apolo and Yuki flew back to Seattle. They drove 2 and a half hours to a cabin Yuki rented in Iron Springs. It was an isolated spot. Yuki told Apolo, �You think it over.� �If speedskating is not what you want to do, let me know.� At this, Yuki left Apolo at the cabin and drove away. Apolo was left for 8 days with no television or phone. It was only Apolo, the ocean, and the rain. Apolo had to face his anger and his confusion. Apolo began to run despite the weather. He ran barefoot over rocky beaches and on highways. He continued to run even when he got a huge blister at the bottom of his foot. When Apolo stopped running, he realized that he didn�t want to end up like his friends. He realized that he had a future in speedskating. He was going somewhere in life. Then, again, he bagan to run.
.::APOLO RISES AND KEEPS RISING::.
The next year, Apolo won the U.S. title. He dominated the Olympic trials of 2002�winning 7 out of 8 competitions. He has only gotten better. His outstanding performance at this year�s Slat Lake City Olympic games has proved that Apolo is an extraordinary athlete. Apolo has proved that anything is possible. Apolo won a silver and gold medal. Apolo�s humility and sportsmanship has touched many hearts of people across the nation.
�He will win, he will lose.
He will rise, he will fall.
But in the end, he will still have his glory.� � Cris
So remember the name: Apolo Anton Ohno. He is truly a legend in the making.
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