A look back at local, national and world events through Deseret News archives.
On Feb. 16, 2002, 19-year-old Apolo Anton Ohno won his won his first Olympic medal by recovering better than anyone else.
And the Salt Lake City Olympics gained a speedskating hero.
The 2002 Olympics was a week old, and there had already been one skating controversy.
Short-track speedskating is made for crashes and controversies as well. The men’s 1,000-meter final was thrilling and included “a topsy-turvy finish with spills, thrills and chills for a pro-American crowd expecting U.S. skater and golden-boy-in-waiting Apolo Anton Ohno to pick up the first of several projected medals,” according to one writer.
In the race, Ohno led a tight pack in the final turn of the race when China’s Jiajun Li attempted a pass that would later be judged as impeding.
Li lost his balance and tumbled, knocking Korea’s Hyun-Soo Ahn off his feet, too. From that point, the competition fell like a house of cards, including Mathieu Turcotte of Canada and finally Ohno.
Australian Steven Bradbury, who had been taking up the rear, was not involved in the crash and crossed the finish line first, a look more of surprise than joy on his face. Ohno, still down, scrambed to throw his blade into second place. Turcotte was third.
The silver medalist Ohno received six stitches to close a slice to his left thigh, per reports of the race.
Ohno was hoping for four medals in Salt Lake City, and finally won a gold a couple of nights later in the 1,500 meters.
In his career, the popular Ohno dominated at the Olympic Oval in Kearns. His gold was the first for an American male in an event that had been almost the exclusive domain of the South Koreans. He would go on to collect, in all, eight medals in three Olympic Games — two gold, two silver and four bronze — making him the single most decorated winter Olympian in U.S. history.
Ohno later won the popular “Dancing With the Stars” competition in 2007 with Utah native Julianne Hough. And whenever he returns to Utah, he gets a hero’s welcome.
Ohno has become an advocate for addressing health issues, including stigma surrounding mental illness and substance use disorders.
He also owns one of the best headline names in sports, as the stories below reflect. Here are some stories from Deseret News archives about Ohno, his career and what he is up to now:
“Oh-no! Slam! Bang! Apolo hits ice and loses the gold”
“Rivals’ bad luck or missteps prove golden for Aussie”
“Best photos of the 2002 Salt Lake Winter Olympics”
“2002 Winter Olympics memories: Ohno went from anonymous to international superstar”
“No medals for Ohno on final night of short track”
“Dancing star shining on Utahn and Ohno?"
“Why Olympian Apolo Ohno’s reinvention includes breaking down stigma of mental illness”