Apolo Ohno Becomes Most Decorated in Short Track Speedskating

Apolo Anton Ohno took the silver in the Olympic short-track 1,500-meter speedskating final to equal Bonnie Blair as the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian.

Ohno skated into second place after Korean teammates Sung Si-bak and Lee Ho-suk crashed into one another on the final turn. American J.R. Celski earned the bronze.

Ohno has won six medals in three Olympics, the most of any short track skater.

He also competed in and won the reality TV show Dancing with the Stars in 2007.

It was at the 2006 Olympics in Turin when Charles Hamelin helped Canada’s short track speedskating relay team win silver. He was a 21-year-old rookie then. And though he was slightly disappointed that he had to settle for second-place, that memory still stays with him.

“When I stepped onto the podium in the relay, it was the greatest moment in my life,” the native of Levis, Que. said earlier this week.

Hamelin then added, “For now.”

For now, that will have to remain Hamelin’s greatest moment. The 25-year-old, who had been considered the country’s best chance at winning its first medal of these Olympics, failed to advance to the 1,500-metre final and finished in a disappointing seventh-place on Saturday.

Look, he didn't accomplish this without a bit of luck.

When two skaters ahead of him went sliding into the padding, Ohno stuck his skate across the line and Olympic medal No. 6 was his.

The American who made the soul patch fashionable—even the women were wearin' em—pulled out a silver in the 1,500-meter final when the two South Koreans took each other out on the final turn, allowing Ohno to tie Bonnie Blair for most medals won by a U.S. Winter Olympian.

The Koreans still got the gold, which went to Lee Jung-su . But Ohno had no complaints about being the runner-up, especially when he was fourth with just a few meters to go. It didn't hurt to see 19-year-old American teammate J.R. Celski right behind him for the bronze in his first major event since a gruesome crash at the U.S. trials.

Ohno, who now has two medals of each color, moved past Eric Heiden as the most decorated American male at the Winter Games and also claimed the mark all to himself for most short track medals since the wild-and-wooly sport joined the Olympic program.

Ohno grabbed an American flag, though he had to put it under one arm when he held up his fingers for the crowd—all five on the left hand, and another on the right.

Make it six, and he can pass Bonnie Blair.