Ohno Zone > Apolo Anton Ohno Interview, June 2004

Part 2: A look back at the 2003-2004 season 

What made you decide to go on your own* to Prague last winter to compete in World Cup #4?
Since we didn’t go to [World Cup #3 in] Korea, I really thought that I needed more racing. I just needed to compete against these guys, the top guys, because these national competitions are really not helping me improve or prepare for the World Cups.

Originally, we were supposed to go [to Prague]. That’s what we were told by the federation. We were all planning to go, and at the last minute they pulled out. I thought, ‘That kinda sucks, I was really looking forward to going, but that’s ok. I’ll go anyway, I’ll pay my own way.’ And it really set me up for [the final World Cup of the season in] Italy. I was prepared, I was in the zone, I was on the edge, and it really showed in my performance there. I was on point. It was the first time the whole season where I felt like myself again.

So it was very, very important for me to go and I’m very glad that I went. I realized some things about myself that I would not have if I didn’t go.

*Note: Teammate Allison Baver ultimately opted to compete in Prague as well.

The past season had a lot of ups and downs. Is it fair to say that Prague and Italy were the highlights?
Oh absolutely. Absolutely.

What were some of the lows from your point of view?
Obviously Worlds. On paper, from a performance standpoint, the results were not there. I thought I was skating a lot better than the way it showed on paper. There were some mistakes, and I thought I should have adapted to some skaters… this is something I can learn from for the upcoming season. I’m very glad this happened this year. For the upcoming competitions I can really step it up and learn from this stuff. That’s what it’s all about.

As a spectator, the Worlds in Sweden was the worst competition I've attended, from the poor venue to the terrible injuries.
Sweden was embarrassing. I think everybody was embarrassed. The atmosphere was bad. Even people who usually don't say anything about competitions thought, 'This is not good.' Hopefully they can improve on it this year.

What is your take on it (specifically ice surface and injuries)?
I don’t know the details. I’m not really one to point fingers. I just know that [compared to] past competitions, everyone knows it could have been run better. With it being the World Championships, everybody had high hopes. We all think that short track is still up and coming – it’s improving very fast. Everybody who was involved, we just all have to learn from what happened there and improve on that for the next competition, and that’s really the only way to get back in the spotlight and get back to where short track needs to be in terms of attention, and becoming a serious sport again.

Hopefully with some of the new cut-proof [skinsuits] we’re getting and – it’s unfortunate that some of these good skaters got hurt, but sometimes nobody says anything until people get hurt. Hopefully this is going to [benefit] short track [in the future].

Describe what happened in your 1000m semifinal in Sweden.
Well, it was the last day and I knew that I had to pull off something spectacular to still be in contention with those guys, and [I] just kind of shut down in the semifinal. I was feeling pretty good. I thought I made a decent pass. Personally, I thought that I shouldn’t have been disqualified, but obviously from the referee’s eyes or from their angle, they saw something different. I don’t know. I think that some of that aggressive skating, getting the call – I don’t know how the referees want to approach that, or what they want to do about that. It’s hard to go out there and skate [when other] skaters have a bulls-eye on you, and it doesn’t matter what place they get. Their goal is just to make sure you don’t make it out.

It seems like the Koreans perfected team skating last season. Did it seem that way to you too?
Oh yeah, I think they improved a great deal on their team skating. It’s just crazy to me that the whole world knows they team skate but the referees are still like, ‘Nothing’s going on.’ But again, that’s out of my control. I’m not really looking for a call. I’m looking to break that chain.

It’s a very, very hard challenge because you really have to be so much stronger and faster when you’re dealing with team skating. But I think I’m one of the few skaters that can contend with those guys, and I really think that if I can improve some of the things from last year and get back in the right mindset, that I can definitely be a threat again. I thought that at Worlds they were so focused on – not even, ‘What happens if Apolo gets to the final?’ – but more, ‘If he doesn’t get to the final, then we don’t have to worry about him.’ It’s very difficult, but hopefully I can improve.

What can you do to make it tougher for them to get away with team skating?
Physical conditioning, obviously, is big. Mental conditioning – I have to be tough, I have to be solid as a rock. Maybe I wasn’t as solid as I usually feel like I am, last season. I have a lot of improvements I want to make, and that’s a good thing. I thought I skated some really good competitions last year, and I still did pretty well*, considering some guys were having the best seasons of their careers.

*Note: Apolo indeed did pretty well, finishing the 2003-04 season ranked third in the world.

Can you tell us a little about the skate problems you were having at the end of the year?
Oh! I switched boots like five, six times last year, [changed] blades all the time. It was just... not good. I kind of work on my own, sometimes I'll ask some people for their opinions, but it's basically just all on your own.

It's hard when you skate and train all day, and instead of resting in between workouts I was tooling with my skates and making phone calls and seeing if I could get new skates made. It was a hassle.

But I have new skates this year and they feel better already. So hopefully I can really improve.

So what kind of boots and blades are you using now?
You’ll see! [sneaky laugh]

I don't know skates. I won't have a clue when I see them!
That’s okay, you’ll see. They look cool. They’ve got some very cool technology.

So, is it that you don't want to name the brand, or you don't want to describe what they look like?
Both. It’s a little surprise! The guy that I work with, I’m really, really good friends with, and I spent some time with him in the off-season. I actually went to his house and we spent a lot of time on this pair of boots. Hopefully these will be the ones that will help me reach my potential in Torino and beyond, and in this season.

I look forward to seeing them. I know they won't be plain black boots. 
No, no.

Continued - Looking ahead to next season

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