by Lynette Alice

Created on: February 17, 2010

Apolo Anton Ohno was born in Seattle on May 22, 1982. Ohno was a very active child participating in swimming and his real passion of in-line skating, but it wasn't until watching the 1994 Olympics that his life took a new direction - he discovered speed skating on ice. How he got from that discovery to becoming the man many consider the greatest speed skater ever is quite a story.

Ohno was raised by his father Yuki after he divorced his wife Jerri Lee when Apolo was still infant.  As a single father and successful salon owner, Yuki had concerns about leaving his son alone so often and the way he may be supervised by childcare providers. Unsure of a better option he decided to get Apolo involved in sports programs. Swimming was good as it was year round and could be done indoors or outdoors when the weather permitted. Before Apolo was introduced to inline skating he was quad-speed roller skating. It didn't take long before Apolo decided he preferred skating to swimming and that became his passion.

This lifestyle continued until Ohno was 14 and demonstrated he had something special that might make him a champion. Yuki sent Apolo to lake Placid, New York, where Apolo was to seriously train for a shot at becoming a possibly world class speed skater. The first thing that was evident was that he had as much if not more talent than anyone else. The second thing his coaches quickly learned was he lacked discipline as he took any excuse possible to cut short or skip practices whenever possible. Despite his lack of desire to follow a training regimen in 1997 he won the U.S. Short track Championship. 

Usually a victory like that would motivate an athlete to buckle down, but Apolo went in the other direction and slacked off more, Rather than making the 1998 Olympic team which everyone thought was a foregone conclusion, he turned in an awful performance and was left off the roster completely. His father, Yuki, saw the problem and swiftly took the then only 15 year old Apolo back to Washington where he gave him time to consider what he wanted to do with his life - specifically in regards to speed skating.

After a week or so of being left to himself, Apolo decided he was going to dedicate himself to skating and make a real effort to realize his potential. Satisfied with the sincerity of his son's decision Yuki backed Apolo on his return to skating. Apolo began training harder and listening to his coaches and the results were immediate and resounding - he was as

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