Apolo Anton Ohno (/əˈpɒloʊ ˈæntɒn ˈoʊnoʊ/; born May 22, 1982) is an American retired[6] short track speed skating competitor and an eight-time medalist (two gold, two silver, four bronze) in the Winter Olympics.

[13][14][15][16] Since gaining recognition through his sport, Ohno has worked as a motivational speaker, philanthropist, started a nutritional supplement business, and won the 2007 season of Dancing with the Stars.

[17][18][19] Ohno's father, a hair stylist and owner of the salon Yuki's Diffusion, often worked 12-hour shifts, and with no extended family in the United States, found it hard to balance his career with raising a child.

[24] Ohno adjusted his training and made a comeback winning the 1997 U.S. Senior Championships overall title, taking a gold medal in the 1500 m, a silver in the 300 m, and came in fourth in the 500 m races.

[18] Because of his losses at the World Championships and his failure to qualify for the Olympic team, Ohno recommitted himself to the sport and returned to junior-level skating at Lake Placid, rather than at Colorado Springs.

[27] During the hearing, Davis was never accused of being at fault and Smith made the statement: "Any allegation that there was a fix, conspiracy, or understanding between Apolo and me, or anyone else, to let Shani win the race is completely false.

[29] After the dismissal, Ohno stated, "I am thrilled that the arbitration process has officially vindicated me... As I've said since the moment of these accusations, they were untrue and I did nothing wrong".

[29] At the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ohno emerged as the face of short-track speed skating among American fans.

During a turn around the final corner, Ohno, Ahn Hyun Soo, Li Jiajun, and Mathieu Turcotte all fell in a series of collisions.

Later on I realized that was built up by certain people and that was directed at me, negative energy from other things, not even resulting around the sport, but around politics, using me to stand on the pedestal as the anti-American sentiment".

[47] At the second event in South Korea, an estimated 100 riot police stood guard at Incheon International Airport to prevent harm from happening to Ohno.

[52] In the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Ohno stumbled during a semifinal heat in the 1500 m.[53] Finishing fifth, he was unable to defend his 2002 gold medal in the event.

"[54] On the same day as his 500 m gold win, he earned a bronze medal in the men's 5000 m relay, with an inside pass on Italian skater Nicola Rodigari on the final leg to put the United States in third position.

[54] Later, during the medals ceremony for the event, the winning South Korean team and the Americans embraced, followed by a group picture featuring the medalists.

[56] Having taken a year off from competitive skating when the 2006 Winter Olympics ended, Ohno returned to win his eighth national title, placing first in every event during the U.S. Championships held from February 23–25, 2007.

[58] From March 9–11, 2007, he competed at the 2007 World Championships held in Milan, Italy, winning gold in the 1500 m due to the disqualification of Song Kyung-Taek, who had blocked a passing attempt made by Ohno.

[62] He was initially met with loud booing by the crowd, but managed to earn their applause with a clean skate in the 500 m.[63][64] In 2009, he won his 10th national title and qualified for the world team.

[79] Bonnie Blair, the former record holder, said she was happy for his accomplishment, adding: "It's a great feat for him, U.S. speedskating, and the United States of America.

[81] The team, consisting of J. R. Celski, Simon Cho, Travis Jayner, Jordan Malone, and Ohno, were in the fourth position for the majority of the race.

[82] With a strong push from Celski with two laps to go, Ohno as the anchor leg was able to pass the Chinese team for third place; Canada won the gold and South Korea took silver.

[82] Using his recognition and fame from his sport, he has accumulated a list of sponsors that includes McDonald's, General Electric, The Century Council, Vicks, and Coca-Cola.

[86] Capitalizing on Ohno's fame, Alaska Airlines was his primary sponsor for the 2010 Winter Games and designed a Boeing 737-800 jet with his image on the side.

[87][89] In an email to Time, he wrote it was "a bit embarrassing that our leadership couldn't secure other sponsors three months before the Olympic Games" but credited the show's host Stephen Colbert for "his willingness to help out our nation's greatest athletes".

[12] After the 2010 Winter Games, he created the Apolo Anton Ohno Foundation and partnered with the Century Council's Ask, Listen, Learn Program to discourage underage drinking of alcohol and to promote a healthy lifestyle.

[93] In November 2014 Ohno sponsored a speedskating race in Salt Lake City, Utah, that featured the four top men and women skaters from the US, China, Canada and the Netherlands.

[95] He says the book will "...pull back the curtain, in a sense, and showcases all the inner workings that go into making an Olympic athlete and then also the other side of what happens after day 17 of the Games when you're no longer competing.

[97] Besides working with The Salvation Army and the Clothes off our Back Foundations, he used his fame to help raise funds for a Ronald McDonald House in Seattle after the 2002 Winter Games.

Ohno served as a Special Olympics Global Ambassador ahead of the 2015 World Summer Games in Los Angeles, California.

In 2013, Ohno appeared as the character "Stone" in the Syfy Original Movie Tasmanian Devils,[117] as well as the host of GSN's Minute to Win It.

After retiring from short track, Ohno began traveling between the U.S. and countries in Asia to pursue business in manufacturing, infrastructure development, software and hardware technologies, and health and wellness supplements.