Ohno, Apolo Anton (1982-…), is a champion American speed skater. He has won eight medals in the Olympic Winter Games, more than any other American athlete in the Winter Olympics. Ohno raced in short-track speed skating, in which races are held on an oval track about 111 meters (364 feet) around.
Ohno won medals in three Olympic Winter Games. In 2002 at Salt Lake City, he won a gold medal in the 1,500-meter race and a silver medal in the 1,000-meter race. At Turin, Italy, in 2006, he won a gold medal in the 500-meter race. He also won bronze medals in the 1,000-meter race and the 5,000-meter relay. In 2010 in Vancouver, Canada, Ohno won three medals—a silver in the 1,500 meters and bronzes in the 1,000 meters and the 5,000-meter relay.
In 1999, Ohno won the World Junior Speed Skating Championships. Ohno won the overall World Cup title in 2001, 2003, and 2005. The World Cup is a series of competitions held annually in various cities throughout the world.
Ohno was born on May 22, 1982, in Federal Way, Washington, to a Japanese-born father and an American mother. His mother left the family when he was an infant, and his father raised him. Apolo began his short-track speed-skating career at the age of 12.
Ohno’s outgoing personality and skill as a skater have made him especially popular with young people. Ohno and his dance partner, the American dancer and singer Julianne Hough, won the television contest “Dancing with the Stars” in 2007.
