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American Morning
Speed Skater Apolo Ohno Discusses Olympics
Aired February 25, 2002 - 08:05 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Up front this morning, a Salt Lake spectacular, the 2002 Winter Olympic Games are now history. They went out yesterday with a bang and a memorable closing ceremony.
Sunday afternoon, the American men's hockey team lost to the Canadians, the Canadian men's first hockey gold medal in 50 years.
There was a closing controversy as well as two skiers, one of them Russian, were stripped of their gold medals for evidence they used banned drugs. Overall, it was the best Winter Olympics ever for the Americans, who captured a total of 34 medals to the German's 35.
And U.S. speed skater, Apolo Ohno, was personally responsible for two of those medals, capturing one gold and one silver. He joins us now from Salt Lake City -- good morning and congratulations.
APOLO OHNO, OLYMPIC GOLD AND SILVER MEDALIST: Good morning. Thank you.
ZAHN: I know you set some very high standards for yourself. You were hoping to go home with four. You are going home with two, which is a remarkable achievement. Is there -- I mean, it's hard to say this, but since you set the goal, is there any trace of disappointment in you?
OHNO: No, not at all. You know, definitely I think I came into this with an open mind. I took one race at a time, and I definitely came here and did my best. So you know, I walked off the ice very satisfied at the time, so I was very happy with that.
ZAHN: Let's talk a little bit about what you had to put up with physically. After the South Korean skater, Kim Dong-sung, was disqualified in the Men's 1,500, you instead received the gold medal. And then, the U.S. Olympic Committee received more than 16,000 e-mails with threats. Is it true that everywhere you wandered in Salt Lake City you needed bodyguards?
OHNO: You know, that was pretty much the standard. A lot of the gold medalists got like a personal chaperone just to walk them around, just to make -- you know, make sure they can get to places on time and be safe. Regarding the e-mails, you know, that's something that was a little disappointing to know, you know, but that's just how it goes, I guess. It's kind of a good thing to know that people love short track that much in Korea. But you know, I had a great support staff helping me out, and they just kind of shredded all of those e-mails, so I only read actually one of them.
ZAHN: Well, one death threat is powerful enough, but to receive 16,000 of them...
OHNO: Yes.
ZAHN: ... had to be pretty traumatic. Did you focus in on that at all? Or like you said, you didn't read them and you just let it move on by.
OHNO: Not at all. Definitely, you know, I just had to push it out of my head, because I had to prepare for my next races. So you know, with that being said, you know, I really didn't even have time to read any of the e-mails.
ZAHN: Now, explain to us what happened. You had to get some stitches, didn't you at one point?
OHNO: Yes. Yes, in my left leg. I fell in my first final going the last corner. You know, I was so close to grabbing gold, and then I got clipped by a Korean skater. And I just got -- I actually stabbed myself with my own blade, and I got six stitches on my left leg.
ZAHN: And you know, you can't -- for those of us who don't skate like you do, you can't help but wonder how you didn't allow that to distract you.
OHNO: Yes, it was...
ZAHN: Didn't it hurt?
OHNO: It did, you know, but as soon as I got in that line and people start chanting, I think definitely the pain was gone for sure.
ZAHN: At the age of 19 now, you, of course, have won these two Olympic medals, and what people may not realize is you started as an inline skater.
OHNO: Right.
ZAHN: What a brilliant change on your part. What's next for you?
OHNO: You know, hopefully -- you know, I have definitely got a busy schedule ahead of me now. But hopefully I can, you know, stay with my feet on the ground and just, you know, keep pushing and stay focused for 2006.
ZAHN: How many endorsements have you gotten as a result of your Olympic wins?
OHNO: I have gotten -- you know, I've just -- this is crazy. You know, no words to explain as far as what I have gotten, you know. Definitely I'm just so happy and relieved, you know, the Games are over. But you know, hopefully I can just keep this in my heart for a long time.
ZAHN: Well, I hope you can. I'll tell you, I was watching you at the closing ceremony last night. You looked like you were having more fun than anybody.
OHNO: Definitely.
ZAHN: Final question for you this morning. Short track speed skating was a sport that wasn't very familiar to the American audience. What is it that you want them to understand about the sport, and what it means, and where the sport might go from here?
OHNO: Hopefully, you know, this attention can just -- pretty much just up bring the sport. You know, hopefully more people will start trying it out and more Americans will just start watching it and be more accepted and people will start to love it. You know, I really think there is a lot of potential. All of the thousands of people screaming and you know, in the stands for us when we raced, they definitely -- you know, they definitely enjoyed it. So hopefully, you know, more people can.
ZAHN: And I know you are so proud of the two medals you won and the 34 that the American team won. Of course, it sets a record for the Winter Olympics. Before we let you go, describe to us the pride of the whole American team.
OHNO: Wow! You know, I mean, just to be able to come here and everybody performed, you know, under these circumstances. I think that everybody walks away happy, you know, regardless of the medal. Everybody came and gave their best, and that's all that anybody can really ask for. And you know, I'm must very, very proud to be part of this team.
ZAHN: Well, Apolo Ohno, it is great to see you -- congratulations. Good luck with all of these people that are vying for your attention right now. I hope you get lots of endorsements.
OHNO: Thank you.
ZAHN: Not only a superb athlete, but you sure were a lot of fun to watch. Thanks for your time this morning -- appreciate your getting up so early for us.
OHNO: Thank you.
ZAHN: Take care.
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