GOOD THINGS UTAH interview, Friday, June 20, 2003

Transcript courtesy Jennifer B.

Reporter: Apolo Anton Ohno, it's so good to meet you.

Apolo: Nice to meet you, thank you for having me.

R: Thank you for coming. Ok before we talk to you, we want to introduce my co-interviewer here, Nickolodeon's sports reporter, one of your biggest fans, John Stockton's son, Michael Stockton, good to have you.

Michael: Nice to be here.

R: Tell us what you're doing in town?

AAO: Uh, actually you know every year since the games, we're trying just to have a week long training camp here the short track speedskaters, and just kinda like a relaxed atmosphere, to kinda reflect back on I guess the stress and the training period we had and just kinda hangin' out and just training.

R: Because we're out of the season, the competitive season right now.

AAO: Right

R: Right now is when you're supposed to relax.

AAO: Right, actually right now just training, you know, getting fit, a lot of pain, uh and then uh, we compete in October, we have 2 world cups, so I'm just getting ready for those.

R: What's it like to come back to the spot where you won your gold medal?

AAO: Feels good, you know it feels good, um I try just to be pretty low key while I'm here, just train and uh just enjoy myself on the ice, uh you know that's my passion and uh just try to have a good time while I'm here.

M: What exactly does the name Apolo mean?

AAO: Apolo, Apolo means, uh my father gave me the name. AP means to lead and the LO mean like away from. and uh it's kinda ironic being in speedskating, and my dad gave me the name.

M: What are some of your hobbies, what are things you like to do other then speedskating?

AAO: I'm into everything. I like you know obviously I love all sports, basketball, football, soccer, golf. I mean everything.

R: You were a swimmer too at one time weren't you?

AAO: I was a swimmer yeah, when I was younger and then uh gave that up for speedskating though.

R: Now Michael how old are you?

M: I'm 14

R: You're 14, you were 13 when you started speedskating.

AAO: Mm hmm, and 14, when I was your age (points to Michael) I moved away from home to start training, by myself and uh....

R: Would you like to do that?

M: I would love to do that!

(Apolo laughs and does hair swipe)

M: Mixed emotions, don't know.

R: How did you get started in speedskating?

AAO: I saw it on uh, just watching the Winter Olympics with my father, that was a fun time, just thought i'd be a good idea. It took some convincing obviously, cuz I wanted to stay home and be with my friends, uh rather than go training. Really turned my life around, but uh dad gave me a little push and I uh just been skyrocketing from there.

R: Alright tell me about your nickname.

AAO: My nickname?

R: Chunky?

AAO: Chunky, uh I've had the nickname since I was probably 6, 7 years old I think, and uh I don't know all my friends had nicknames, everybody who I was around...

R: I know but Apolo you're thin.

AAO: I don't know, it just stuck with me .(laughs)

R: Where that came from?

AAO: It just stuck with me, Chunky.

R: Stuck with you, and that's the nickname.

AAO: Yep.

R: What else do you wanna, jump in here Michael.

M: Sure why not. What kind of dedication does it take to go out there everyday and then eventually to and win a gold and silver medal?

AAO: A lot of dedication, uh a lot of Olympic athletes uh you know, are all just striving to be the best we can be in our sports, you know, we give all, you know we sacrifice so much and we dedicate so much of our lives to this one sport and uh sometimes we even push loved ones away because of the love for our sport. And really just day in, day out training you know. Living, breathing, eating, sleeping speedskating and um, you know for me my dad was a big supporter in everything and all the decisions I made, and I was very lucky to have him to push me and to follow me and guide me through a lot of hard times, and give me I guess the knowledge that he knows best.

R: How has your life changed though, and I'm sure it has, since you won that gold medal?

AAO: Changed dramatically, um I'm still the same person, but just I think the sport has grown. I think 88% within the US, the interest within the US has just exploded.

R: When you and I were talking before, I mean I think we all watched speedskating at the Olympics, because we so badly wanted you to win. Whereas many of us may not have been fans.

AAO: (Laughs) Thank you, that's awesome.

R: How about the fall that we all held our breaths, take us through that.

AAO: Yeah, you know I was just coming around the corner um I thought I was going to win the race, I was confident and then the next thing I knew , just right into the boards.

R: And this happens like often in speedskating.

AAO: Yeah, well in that race, I've never seen a race happen, uh go down like that, ever, in all, in every single one of my races. So it was definitely a little chaotic, but the Olympic games, obviously you got to expect the unexpected.

R: Alright real quickly, we want to talk about your charity. Because you often do a lot of work in the community.

AAO: Right, um well I'm involved with the Ronald McDonald House Charities, originally through Seattle, where I'm from, that they just opened up one of the biggest Ronald McDonald Houses, I think the biggest Ronald McDonald House in the world in Seattle. And um I was involved in that, a lot of my fans who now follow speedskating.set up kinda a donation, a charity, called In Apolo's Name, and they set out a goal to raise over $11,000 for the Ronald McDonald House charities in Seattle to put a room there in my name. And that's just all for the support and the interest of me and my fans. And they're actually doing that in Salt Lake as well. They started a couple of months ago and they're also raising money. So it's just an unbelievable cause, just to know that through, you know I'm an amateur athlete, I train, I just do what I love, and then have people really just appreciate and you know just put forth a portion of their lives to what you do it's really incredible.

R: Well for all your fans out there, how can they find you, I hear you have a new website?

AAO: Right, uh my website's gonna be coming out hopefully launching June 23rd, apoloantonohno.com and uh it's gonna be huge, Microsoft's involved in the website, um a new thing called photo stories that's breaking through......

R: Well good, people can keep track of you, coming June 23rd.

AAO: Exactly

R: Where will we see you next competively?

AAO: Next you're gonna be seeing me in uh Michigan, we're gonna have a world cup there in October, and then another in Calgary, Canada.

R: Well we can't wait to follow your career.

AAO: Thank you, I hope you do.

R: Michael anything else, should we wrap it up?

M: You can do that, I don't have any more questions.

(Everyone laughs)

R: Ok, we're going to wrap it up then Michael, thank you so much, and thank you Apolo.

M: Thank you

AAO: Thank you

R: Nice to meet you and good luck with your career.