Apolo Ohno has won 8 Winter Olympic medals throughout his speed skating career, which is more than any other American in Olympic history. He has won two golds, two silvers, and four bronze medals. He started out only at the age of 14 years old, because his father thought that keeping him involved in sports would keep him out of trouble. He quickly became the U.S. National Champion in 1997, and kept that title from 2001-2009. In 2008 he won the overall world title at the short-track world championships in South Korea. In 2010 he competed in the Olympic Games in Vancouver where he finally surpassed Bonnie Blair who had until then held the title of having won the most Olympic medals during the winter games for an American. At this point Apolo made the decision to retire from speed skating competitively and became involved in many other activities.
In 2007 Apolo Ohno decided to expand his career off of the ice. He received an opportunity to compete on the television series Dancing with the Stars on season 4 and that’s just what he did. He partnered with Julianne Hough and took home the win. He reappeared on Dancing with the Stars in the “All-Stars” season in 2012, but didn’t go home with another championship. Similar to speed skating, competitive dancing is just as challenging, requiring a lot of time and effort, so for Apolo being able to apply his athleticism and competitive nature was a great opportunity and he is happy with how him and his partner performed.
Since his retirement Apolo has been very active. He’s competed in other athletic events, done philanthropy work, and started his own company. His career in speed skating might be finished but he isn’t remotely finished leaving his mark on the world, it is not the last time we will hear of Apolo. He went on to compete in the 2011 New York City Marathon and he recently completed an Iron man Competition, which was one of his greatest challenges yet. Not only has he kept up his athleticism and competitive edge but he has also ventured into the business realm. He co-founded his business called, Allysian Sciences, with Rod Jao, with the hopes of helping others utilizes their abilities as much as possible. He started with experimentation on himself and once he discovered what worked for him, he wanted to share with the world.
Apolo Ohno - Allysian Sciences 