At 15, most kids are studying for a chemistry quiz, taking driver’s ed classes or trying to coordinate plans with their friends for the weekend.
Most kids are not like Apolo Anton Ohno, though. At 15 years old, he was competing in the qualifying rounds for short track speed skating in the 1998 Olympic Games.
Even though he did not end up making the team that year, through extensive training and dedication during the next four years he finally saw the ice in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City and claimed a silver medal and then a gold. He would ultimately win seven more Olympic medals — accumulating two golds, two silvers, and four bronzes throughout three games — and become the most decorated American Winter Olympian.
The Seattle-born athlete visited Yakima's Capitol Theatre on April 24 as a speaker in the Town Hall series to talk about his competitive experiences. Encouraging the audience, young and old, he spoke about his career as a speed skater. He recalled how he was introduced to the sport, when roller skating with friends turned into speed races at the roller rink, and eventually led to an early ice skating competition in Oregon against a couple of kids and an old man.
Ohno would engage in training sessions at empty parking lots before school to enhance his performance and speed. Finding balance in his young life became a struggle.
“There was no Plan B,” Ohno said during a press conference in the theater's Robertson Room prior to his main talk. “It was a definitive choice to pursue the Olympic path, to dedicate all of myself towards something that has no guaranteed outcome.”
Though his social or educational lives were still in the picture, skating became his focus.
“Everything that I did was dedicated to these moments of: Does it make me faster, does it help me recover better, am I getting stronger, and am I more well prepared when it comes to really being on the ice for those moments of perfection.”
Ohno said it was extremely important to synchronize all parts of his life with his sport.
Luckily, he was able to experience a level of success that was resulted in numerous honors, including those two Olympic gold medals.
As local members of the Town Hall audience saw April 24, Ohno now uses his platform and past achievements to inspire young athletes and people around the world to become more confident and comfortable in their endeavors.
• Ellie Suhm is a sophomore at Eisenhower High School.
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