APOLO ANTON OHNO, U.S.
When the kid they call "Chunky" isn't break-dancing, listening to hip hop or the blues or challenging someone to a mean game of badminton, he's busy enhancing his reputation as America's top male short-track speedskater. Just 19, Ohno, a Seattle native now making his home in Colorado Springs, was the U.S. short-track champion in 1997, 1999, 2000 and 2001. On Dec. 3, 1999, he became the youngest American to win a World Cup when he beat the international field in Chang Chun, China. He calls the Chang Chun breakthrough his proudest moment so far "because it was never done by any person my age from the U.S." Ohno bagged second overall in the 2001 World Short Track Championships and finished first overall in the 2001 World Cup standings.
RUSTY SMITH, U.S.
Rusty Smith, 22, went ice skating with his mother one day in 1992. He's been hot for the cold stuff ever since. The Sunset Beach, Calif., kid turned to speedskating and bloomed quickly in elite competition, becoming a member of the junior national team in 1995 and taking first in the U.S. Junior Short Track Championships. He went on to make the U.S. Olympic team in 1998 in Nagano, the same year he took first, overall, in the U.S. Short Track Championships.
DANIEL WEINSTEIN, U.S.
Growing up in Brookline, Mass., Weinstein, 20, fell under the same spell many Beantown area kids do — ice hockey. But as a member of the Greater Boston Junior Bruins Select Team, he found he "enjoyed the skating more than the stick-handling." His love of the ice translated to speedskating in 1990. His hard work earned him a spot on the 1998 U.S. Olympic team in Nagano. But he considers his greatest achievement medaling three times in the 2000 Worlds, where he was fourth overall, and taking overall in the 2000 U.S. Short Track Championships — all while juggling a full course load at Harvard University.
RON BIONDO, U.S.
Perhaps the strongest up-and-comer for the United States, this 20-year-old native of Broadview Heights, Ohio, in early October set an American record in the 500 meters, gunning 41.686 seconds to erase the old mark of 41.916. Not bad for a guy who almost gave up the sport. After beginning skating in 1988, he took the 1999-2001 season off, but proved to himself he belonged by placing fourth in the 2001 U.S. Short Track Championships, then skating a leg on the 2001 U.S. World Short Track 5000-meter championship team.
AMY PETERSON, U.S.
Among the United State's most decorated athletes, this 29-year-old, seven-time (and reigning) U.S. Short Track champion, four-time Olympian and three-time Olympic medalist came by her interest in racing naturally. Her mother, two sisters and two brothers were speedskaters in Maplewood, Minn., and her uncle, Gene Sandvig, was on the U.S. Olympic speedskating team in 1952 and '56. After her 1996-97 rankings dropped dramatically as she battled chronic fatigue syndrome, Peterson put together her greatest achievement, in her eyes, coming back strong to win the 1998 U.S. Olympic Trials and finishing fourth in the 1,000 meters in the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano.
JULIE GOSKOWICZ, U.S.
It was track and field that attracted Goskowicz, 21, during high school in Maple Grove, Minn., where she set records in the 800 meters, 1,600 meters and 2,400-meter relay. She began her speedskating career in 1987, after a trip to the Olympic Rink in West Allis., Wis. Goscowicz competed for the U.S. team in the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, but she considers her greatest accomplishment to have come earlier that season when she placed second in the 1998 U.S. Junior Short Track Championships, six scant weeks after having suffered a fractured spine.
MARIA GARCIA, U.S.
Just 16, Garcia has tasted sweet success in her on-again, off-again relationship with speedskating. She took up the sport as early as 1992, but preferred figure skating. The Carson, Calif., native rediscovered an attraction for speedskating in 1996, as well as competing in track and field at Palisades (Calif.) Charter School. She credits coach Wilma Boomstra for inspiring her to take second overall in the 1999 U.S. Junior Elite Trials, finish ninth in the 2000 U.S. Short Track Championships and then boom to first overall in the 2001 U.S. Junior Short Track Championships.
ERIN PORTER, U.S.
Her favorite book is Dr. Seuss' "Oh, The Places You'll Go," and, oh, the places Porter's been and seen in speedskating. That all began at age 5, when she took up the sport because two older brothers skated. The captain of her high-school soccer team in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., Porter, 22, has had to kick off the effects of three broken ankles to make her mark in speedskating. By 1997, she had won the U.S. Short Track Championships overall title. She was first in the 1988 U.S. Olympic trials at 500 meters, second in the 1,000 and skated for the U.S. in the '98 Winter Games in Nagano.
KIM DONG-SUNG, KOREA
Kim Dong-Sung won an Olympic gold medal in 1998 in the 1,000-meter and a silver in the relay. He dominated the World Championships in 1997, taking first overall, as well as the gold in the 1,000-meter and the relay and second in the 500-meter. An injury in the 500-meter at the World Championships in 2000 held him back, but he's ranked number one overall this season. A university student and music lover, Kim is 21 years old.
MARC GAGNON, CANADA
Four-time World Champion Marc Gagnon won an Olympic gold medal in the men's relay in 1998 and a bronze medal in the 1,000-meter in 1994. The 26-year-old computer science student was born in Quebec and started skating at the age of 3. He now trains in Calgary. He enjoys reading, golf and playing with computers.
LI JIAJUN, CHINA
At the 1998 Olympics in Nagano, Li JiaJun won a silver medal in the 1000-meter and a bronze in the relay. He was first overall at the 2001 World Championships with a gold medal in the 500-meter and 1000-meter. The 26-year-old was born in Changchun, China.
YANG YANG (A), CHINA
Yang Yang (A) has all but dominated the sport of speedskating for half a decade. She has been the overall World Champion for the past five seasons and also won a silver medal in the relay at the 1998 Olympic Games in Nagano. Yang is 25 years old and enjoys knitting in her spare time.
YANG YANG (S), CHINA
Yang Yang (S) shares a name with her teammate, but the two are not related. The younger Yang is 24 years old and was born in Changchun, China. She won a trio of silver medals at the Olympics in 1998 in the 500-meter, 1,000-meter and relay.
EVGENIA RADANOVA, BULGARIA
Evgenia Radanova is called Jeni by her friends. The 23-year-old college student is a two-time European champion and was the gold medalist in the 500-meter at the Goodwill Games in 2000. She has been ranked in the top three among ladies speedskaters for the past three seasons and holds the world record in the 500-meter. Radanova lives in Sofia, Bulgaria, and says shopping is her favorite pastime.