2010 Winter Olympics: Apolo Ohno Is Good, But He'll Never Be the Best American

Apolo Ohno became one of the most successful US athletes in Winter Olympics history on Saturday night when he claimed a silver medal in the final of the men's 1,500-meter speed skating final.

Ohno claimed his sixth career medal in the Olympics, surpassing Eric Heiden for the most Winter Games medals won by an American male. He now has won two gold, two silver and two bronze medals.

With a silver medal performance in the short track event at Pacific Coliseum Saturday evening, Ohno moved into a tie with Bonnie Blair for the most medals won by an American athlete in Winter Olympic Games competition.

But before you get too excited, Ohno is still a long way from being the best of all time.

Blair, with whom Ohno shares the record of six medals, was something totally different. 

She competed in four Winter Olympics between 1984 and 1994, winning five golds and a bronze, including back-to-back-to-back first place finishes in the 500-meter event in Calgary, Albertville, and Lillehammer.

Blair is one of the most decorated Olympians of all time, and unforunately Ohno doesn't really compare. In much the same way, Ohno is also a long way behind Heiden who, at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, won all five events—the 500, 1,000, 1,500, 5,000, and 10,000-meter competition.

Heiden set four Olympic records and one world record and, unlike many speed skaters in history, he was in a league of his own both in the sprints and the longer races.

Simply put, Ohno's six medals in three Olympics do not trump Heiden's five. Ohno needs at least two more gold medals to even be in the same discussion, in my opinion.

While there is an element of luck in the speed skating races just because of the uncertainty of the other racers, Ohno was fortunate to claim his sixth Olympic medal.

After finishing second in his heat, Ohno led briefly in the final, before stumbling on the penultimate lap and seemingly dropping out of medal contention into fourth place.  

But Ohno was the beneficiary of a tumble by two Korean skaters in the final turn to advance from fourth place into second. He crossed the line in 2:17.976, just ahead of teammate and bronze medalist J.R. Celski. The gold medal went to Korea’s Lee Jung-Su, who posted a time of 2:17.611.

Blair and Heiden were dominant in a way that very few Olympians are.

She was the first American female to win five golds, and in 2004, she was elected to the United States Olympic Hall of Fame. Heiden meanwhile showed unmatched dominance in a record-breaking fortnight, carving through the best competitors in the world in short and long track.

The competition today may be a little better than it was 20 years ago, but that shouldn't detract from Blair's achievements.

Ohno is fantastic, and his plaudits are deserved. But he is not even the best US speed skater of all time, let alone the best American Winter Olympian ever.