Vancouver, British Columbia » Fans have watched him race to victory, grapple with controversy, dance on television and set an American record for medals won at the Winter Olympics.
But the long and wild ride appears set to come to an end tonight for Apolo Anton Ohno.
The superstar short-track speedskater, who already has set an American record with seven career medals at the Winter Games, takes to the ice one last time at the Vancouver Olympics tonight in the men's 500 meters and the 5,000-meter relay. It probably will be his final competition; he has hinted strongly that he will retire after his third Olympics.
"I have a nice cake and it just keeps getting sweeter, with more frosting," he said.
Ohno, who lives in South Jordan while training at the Utah Olympic Oval in Kearns, is a strong medal contender in both events. He's the defending Olympic champion in the 500, and already has won a bronze medal in the 1,000 meters that broke the American medal record.
"I've been blessed to stand on the podium many times," he said.
His story has been an inspiration.
Raised by his single father in Seattle, he found speedskating as a way to stay out of trouble. He quickly showed promise in the sport, but not the proper dedication. He failed to make the U.S. Olympic Team for the 1998 Nagano Games, a moment he has called "devastating" but ultimately crucial, because it motivated him to dig deeper and throw himself into training.
"Looking back," he said, "it was the best thing to have happened to me."
Since then, it has been one success after another.
He won two medals at the 2002 Salt Lake Games -- including his first gold, in a race marred by controversy because the Korean skater who beat him was disqualified -- and three more four years later at the Turin Games. His count in Vancouver -- practically in the backyard of his hometown -- stands at two.
Along the way, Ohno also has won 23 medals at the world championships, and nudged himself into the mainstream with his commercial appeal and appearance on ABC-TV's "Dancing With the Stars." Lately, he has been working in his Salt Lake City office on launching a nutritional supplement company.
And he swears he appreciates it all, all the time.
"I've been celebrating internally by continually competing," he said. "I truly love what I do. I've poured everything I have into these Olympic Games. To me, it goes much, much deeper than just standing on the podium and smiling because you're happy. Every day I'm here, I feel like I'm celebrating."
West Jordan's Simon Cho also is entered in the 500, which will start tonight with the quarterfinals. Salt Lake City's J.R. Celski and West Jordan's Travis Jayner are expected to join Ohno in the relay finals, while Katherine Reutter, of Kearns, races the women's 1,000 meters, two nights after her unlikely bronze medal in the team relay.
