Ohno plans to compete in 2010 Olympics
Vancouver Games ‘in my back yard,’ says ‘Dancing With The Stars’ winner
 Carol Kaelson / AP Apolo Anton Ohno and his partner, Julianne Hough, won "Dancing With the Stars." Ohno says he wants to compete in the 2010 Winter Olympics. |
Apolo Anton Ohno can add a mirror-ball trophy to his cache of gold, silver and bronze Olympic medals. The soul-patched one slid his way to victory on “Dancing With the Stars,” showing off moves as sleek on the ballroom floor as they are in his crash-and-burn sport of short-track speedskating.
Hours after he and partner Julianne Hough beat out former ’N Sync singer Joey Fatone to win the ABC reality show on his 25th birthday Tuesday night, Ohno was still trying to catch his breath.
“Wow! I don’t know what day it is,” a tired but enthusiastic Ohno said on a conference call Wednesday. “It felt like somebody was punching my eye sockets all night.”
He joins last season’s “Dancing” champion, NFL all-time leading rusher Emmitt Smith, as the only athletes to win the crown.
After their victory, Ohno and Hough caught a redeye flight from Los Angeles to New York, where they danced on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and made the media rounds.
“It’s a whirlwind, very similar to how the post-Olympic whirlwind is,” he said, “but it’s different because we’re talking about dancing.”
Ohno demurred about the possibility of launching a Hollywood career, although he said various offers are pouring in.
“I want to make sure whatever I do is authentic and it’s true to who I am,” he said.
Talk quickly turned toward the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, British Columbia. Ohno confirmed that he plans on being there, and most likely in a skintight racing uniform.
“My eyes are still set on 2010. I’m staying in shape,” the Seattle native said. “It’s in my backyard. I’m still young enough, my body is still very healthy and I’m still blessed to go out and perform well.
“There’s many, many people who would be disappointed if I did not go, along with myself.”
He said he’s put down a deposit on a house in Salt Lake City, where he plans to relocate his training base from Colorado Springs, Colo.
Ohno could make history in Vancouver.
He and speedskater Eric Heiden each own five medals, tying them for second-most in U.S. Winter Olympics history behind speedskater Bonnie Blair with six. Ohno became a star at the 2002 Salt Lake City Games, winning a gold and a silver. He added a gold and two bronze medals at the 2006 Turin Games.
Ohno’s experience trading slippery ice for a smooth ballroom floor “was much more than just a dancing show.”
“I was able to go out and show my true personality,” he said. “Being athletes, we’re in this bubble. If I don’t know someone, I’m just more reserved. I was able to see transformation from the beginning of the show until the end. This show has given me that type of confidence.”
Being on the show exposed Ohno to millions of viewers who never saw him tear around a short-track rink at the Olympics.
“When I first signed up for the show, I was really skeptical,” he said. “After the first few weeks, we started getting so much buzz and attention, unlike anything I had ever experienced before. I had no idea so many people didn’t watch the Olympics, but watched the show. They saw me in a different light.”
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“Internationally, I have a lot of love from people,” he said. “The speedskating world has really benefited from this, and that’s all the more merrier.”
Ohno took a year off after the 2006 Olympics, then resumed training in January. In March, shortly before he began rehearsing 12 hours a day for “Dancing With the Stars,” Ohno won a gold and two bronze medals at the world short-track championships.
“I’m skating because I love it,” he said. “It feels good.”
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