Bluegrass State Games, from Lydia, via a Kentucky newspaper. (I'm thinking Statue of Liberty!)

from the way-back files:

Courtesy China Short Track. (Anyone out there read Chinese well enough to translate?)

The Olympian of Washington has named Apolo one of the big newsmakers of 2002: "...a Seattle speedskater who generated an international buzz with his furry chin and his gold and silver Olympic medals..."

Coaches, Ohno make biggest news of '02

Two more reports from Las Vegas follow...

From Kimo, describing his and Jan's experiences in Vegas:

We arrived in Las Vegas on Friday (12/20) afternoon and proceeded to check-in at the Four Seasons Hotel which happens to be right next to the Mandalay Hotel where both Apolo and Yuki were staying as well as where the Skating Spectacular was being held at the Entertainment Center on Saturday evening. I called Yuki on Thursday evening to ask him if we could meet with him and Apolo for a brief moment on Saturday morning because Jan and I had some gifts for them. He agreed and I told him that I would call him around 11am on Saturday.

Well Saturday morning came and I gave Yuki a buzz as promised but he did not answer so I left a message for him letting him know that Jan and I were going to grab a bite to eat. Well, around 1 pm, Yuki called and told me that he was at the skating rehearsal with Apolo. Keep in mind that Janey Miller had left some tickets at the WILL CALL window and when Jan and I went to pick them up on Saturday morning, we were pleasantly surprised that she also included 2 VIP badges for the event. These badges would allow us to attend any and all activities that were associated to the Skating event. YIPEE! Knowing that, I asked Yuki if Jan and I could join him at the rehearsal and he said "Sure"!!! We decided we would "hook up" at 1:30 at the skating arena. Jan and I made our way past some of the skaters to the 2nd row of the arena looking for Yuki and Apolo. No sightings so we just took a seat. About 10 minutes past and then we saw Apolo come out from behind the curtain (where the skaters would enter onto the ice). We some how made eye contact and he waved to us... The vibe for the day was starting!!! Apolo skated around the entire ice very slowly looking for impediments on the ice. Going around the ice a few times, he started picking up speed feeling and getting his "groove" on. We had realized that Apolo would be opening the show skating a few laps before the rest of the skaters would join him. During this time, we spotted Yuki and he came over to have a seat by us. A few minutes later, Apolo made his way towards us, exchanged greetings and hugs for both Jan and I. Jan just melted as he hugged her and said "Hi Jan". During the rehearsal, we just hung out with Apolo and Yuki for about 3 hours while the other skaters went through their routines. Apolo found out that I was taking up Short Track Speed Skating and he thought that was pretty cool. I remember joking with him when he first joined us, that when his Short Track days were over, he could pursue a "figure skating" career and he just busted out with laughter. Yuki then mentioned that I could be Apolo's partner. Burst of laughter from all of us. During the course of our time together, Apolo and I got into some Short Track discussions regarding my pursuit. I had asked him for some advice and we talked about equipment, training and body positioning. Thanks Apolo! Nothing like having him as my personal coach!! AWESOME!!!

Time with the Ohno's just flew by and at 4:30 pm, we told them we had to leave as we were meeting with some fans (Melinda, Abigail, Keiko Miller, Dave, Junko and Elaine) from the OZ for dinner. Met the "gang" at Lupo's for dinner and a great time was had by all. After dinner around 7, we all made our way to the arena and split up to our designated seats. While on our way to our seats, Jan and I ran into Kristi Yamaguchi's agent, Yuki Saegusa (we had met her earlier that day at rehearsal) and she mentioned that there was a private PRESS PARTY after the show and invited us to attend. COOL!! Apolo opened the show as well as the start of the second half, "throwing down" some break dancing moves...the crowd went wild!!!! After the show, we made our way to the party, hungout, nibbled on some hors d'oeuvres and waited for the skaters to appear. As the skaters made their way into the PRESS room one by one, they were greeted and cheered by everyone as people scrambled to get their autographs. Moments later, Apolo entered the room and the place went absolutely CRAAAAAZY!!! He received the loudest welcome and immediately was swarmed by everyone for his autograph no more than 3 feet from the entrance. Jan and I just stood in the background giving Apolo and Yuki their moment and respecting their space.

As time went by and autographs signed, Apolo somehow made his way to where we were standing as we were speaking with Kristi's agent. Unbeknownst to me, he nudged me in the back as to let me know that he was there and wanted to say Hi..."Hi Apolo".... Apolo and I sat down at one of the tables talking about my pursuit to learn Short Track as he cordially signed autographs to whoever asked. When we decided to leave the PRESS PARTY, we walked out with Apolo and Yuki with me playing the part of "security". Yuki then made a comment to me that I could be the "Uncle Kimo". Ha! Ha! Reaching the Casino level, we proceeded to walk back to the room when SURPRISE!!!!... Melinda, Abigail and Elaine appeared, to capture a moment with Apolo and Yuki. Briefly, pleasantries, hugs and autographs were exchanged. I knew Apolo was "dead tired" but the trooper that he was, he spent time with his loyal fans that traveled to Las Vegas to see him.

Apolo then asked his Dad if he was ready and they said goodbye to all. I briefly walked with Yuki and Apolo and thanked them for a wonderful time, wished them a great Merry Christmas and that we would see them in Salt Lake City. They in turn thanked me for coming out to see them.

Getting back with Melinda, Abigail, Elaine and Jan, we walked through the hotel just talking about what just happened. A magical moment if you will!!! I am so glad that they were able to spend a brief precious moment with Yuki and Apolo. After exchanging our "good nights", Jan and I went to the club "Rum Jungle" for a private party. Yuki and Apolo were also invited but I knew that they would not show because Apolo was so tired and he mentioned to me that he just wanted to go back to his hotel room and relax. Jan and I saw some of the skaters as well as Kristi Yamaguchi at the party and stayed a bit.

Well, that was our experience with OZ favorite son in Las Vegas. Wishing everyone a wonderful, safe and healthy 2003!

From Susan in Hawaii:

Merry Christmas & a Happy "2003" from Hawaii! My daughter Chantel & I were also at the "Skates on Ice" this past weekend. If we had known there were Apolo fans at the show who come to this site, we would've wanted to meet all of you and perhaps form a "special cheering section"? Was that all of you screaming "We Love You Apolo?" at the event? We would've loved to join you!

I wholeheartedly agree with Abigail, the show was "superb"! I was also impressed with Apolo's smooth glides on the ice as well as his "impromptu break dancing" (I certainly felt the chill as he touched the ice!). I love figure skating and to be able to watch "Olympians" share their magic in person was a dream come true! They make skating look so easy! Every one of them truly deserve the recognition and warm admiration they've worked so hard for.

We flew in on Thursday and stayed until Sunday at the MGM Grand. When we checked into Mandalay on 12/22/02, who did we see checking out? Apolo and his Dad. No one seemed to have noticed them "nonchalantly" walk to the hotel front desk to check out. Apolo looked very calm and at peace as he followed his dad. He carries himself with confidence, much as I imagined he would in real life. I didn't want to disturb that calm so we didn't approach him or his Dad. I wanted to at least congratulate him on his recent titles and wish him much success in the New Year and to "kick butt" in February at Salt Lake. Maybe one day, we will be able to finally meet Apolo and his Dad as you've all had that opportunity to and meet all of you here maybe? Have a beautiful Christmas and a joyous New Year! Aloha Pumehana, Susan :-)

Mika reminds us that in some markets, the Dateline NBC interview from this past year will be re-run on Dec. 31 Please check your local listings for details!

cool account by Kathy from Las Vegas:


I attended the Brian Boitano show in Las Vegas Saturday night. To give you a preview of what you will see on New Year's day this is how the night went.

Brian introduced the show and at the end of his dialogue, he made the statement that he as a boy loved to skate fast. He then introduced another boy that loved to go fast and at that point, Apolo skated in wearing his gray & red speedskating suit with his helmet on. He really wowed the audience with his speed and technique. He went around as if in a race about 10 times. He then left and join the rest of the skater in the introduction.

After the intermission he again opened the second half of the show but this time he didn't have on his helmet. Just a bandana with his beautiful hair flowing. He again skated around really fast with the audience appreciating his speed and his talent. Then he moved into the very center of the rink and skated in a small circle... then he went down on the ice and flipped to his back and did a break dance spin like he did on MTV way back in the spring. That really brought the audience to their feet. He didn't return until the finale when he skated with all the performers. Trust me, he was faster and smoother than the figure skaters. He looked like he was having the time of his life. He then did a mini interview with Kristi and Nancy Kerrigan. They also recognized to the whole audience that he was a better skater than they were and the audience clapped. At the very end of the skate, they thanks the performers and when
I guess if I had the sum the night up is that the audience truly appreciated Apolo and his talent and he was having a great time skating with these professional ice skaters. You could tell through their interaction that the skaters appreciated Apolo and what he was able to do on skates.

As a side note, after the show was completed, because Brian, Nancy and Kristi had missed jumps, they had to come back out and do the jumps over and over again so they looked completed when the televise this show on New Years. I thought we would be there all night waiting for Nancy to get her triple jump right.

Dear Ohno Zone Family,

I wanted to take a moment during the bustle of this busy season to extend my warmest wishes for a safe, happy and wonderful holiday! At this time of year, I am particularly thankful for all of the positive and joyous things in life. I want you to know that each and every one of you make my life brighter. You inspire me with your energy, warmth, humor, love and dedication. I am so proud of what we have all created here in the OZ, and I am particularly thankful for your continued support of this unique and thriving online community. As I have said from the very beginning, the OZ is not just a collection of pictures and comments, it is an amazing place because you have made it so. Thanks for calling the Ohno Zone home...it means more to me than you know.


In this past year, we have seen startling growth of our own site, and the proliferation and extinction of many other terrific fan sites. The only reason we are standing here today is because of your unwavering support and dedication. Everything we are is because of you...it always has been. You have my unending gratitude.


May the joyous spirit of the season remain with you today and always.

With love,

Todd

Abigail's photos and report from Las Vegas follow!

Abigail and Apolo

Here is Abigail's report from Las Vegas

Greetings Ladies,,,,first of all I hope you ladies have a Merry, Merry Xmas and an awesome New Year,,,,, wish ya the best and looking very forward to meet many of you at
SLC,,,,,but returning to Las Vegas,,,,,WOW,,,,It was totally a pleasure meeting Melinda, Elaine (who is Melinda's friend), I've met Kimo and Jan back in August, Keiko, Dave, Junko from San Diego and Junko from St. Louise,,,,thank you sooo much guys for an awesome weekend and for sharing many wonderful memories.

Ok so I got into Vegas on Friday, Melinda and I exchanged cell numbers so we could hang out together in Vegas. She arrived late on so around 10:00 pm I got a call from her stating that she was in, as well as Kimo and Jan, they were hanging out at Mandalay Bay, and asked me if I wanted to join, which I did. Jan and Kimo did not know that the IAN project's goal had been reached,,,,,so they were impressed and happy for it. After a couple of hrs. of good conversation, Kimo and Jan left, so Melinda, Elaine and myself went to get a bite.

On Saturday was when I met for the first time with Keiko, Junko from San Diego and Dave. We had a great time and took some pics. Around 7 pm we walked to The Event Center to take our seats for the event. We were all scattered through out the center, and we were supposed not to take cameras in, but we did,,,,,could not leave the OZ without pics right??? lol,,,,,anyhow,,,,,we sat and waited for the event to start,,,,finally a voice (which was Brian's) said something like "Sometimes on figure skating you can go fast" or something like that, "but I have a friend that really can catch up some speed" I'm paraphrasing here,,,,,that's when his name was announced and he came out like a bullet around the rink,,,,,he made like 4 or 5 laps and I'm telling ya,,,,,Apolo looking mighty darn hot as always on that gray skinsuit,,,,I took my digital camera which I thought was worthless,,,,,(of course that was before I took the pic of 'Polo) and was not able to take a good pic of him skating,,,,after he did his laps, the rest of the skaters came out and did their thing,,,,On the second half Apolo comes out and does a couple of laps,,,,,then here is the cool part,,,,he gets in the middle of the rink, and starts making a circle and suddenly he spins on his back,,,,,he was break dancing!!!! He gets up,,,,skates towards Kristi and Nancy and they say something like "Apolo we are so glad to have you here,,,,but probably you could only make circles around us",,,,something like that,,,,that's when he gets the mic and starts talking,,,,,a girl yells,,,,, I LOVE YOU APOLO,,,and as soon as she finished I yelled I LOVE YOU TOOOOOOO!!! So if you hear that on the TV show (which I doubt) that will be me!!!! They all introduced En Vogue and he left the rink.

To conclude the event all the skaters and guest came out and of course our golden boy was there with his beautiful skinsuit. Ahhhhhhhhh,,,,but here comes the most thrilling and exciting part of the night. Melinda, Elaine and myself waited outside the center, cuz Jan and Kimo had VIP passes and they were with them. We just wanted to say hi and wish them a happy season. After an hr. or so they came out. Apolo looked beautiful, he had this huge smile on his face. Melinda went up to him and say hi,,,of course she got a hug,,,then Jan was kind enough to introduce me to Apolo and Yuki, stating that I was the chick who got the book signed and sold for the IAN project,,,,,'Polo shook my hand,,,, I think I turned red, yellow, green and all the colors of the rainbow cuz Apolo gave me this huge smile,,,,,I explained what I did and told them awesome outcome we got from the books. BTW, as I mention earlier Kimo and Jan informed Apolo and Yuki about the project, apparently they did not know, so Kimo stated that "Apolo was very touched",,,,too bad I was not there to see 'Polo's reaction,,,but Kimo or Jan, can you feel in for us???? ;) So we chat for a couple of minutes. I asked Apolo if I could take ANOTHER pic with him, and since he is so gracious Yuki took the pic of him and myself. Then I told him, ok Apolo I have to take a pic of yourself cuz the fans need a proof that I was here with you,,,,he laughed and gave that awesome pic!!! Isn't he lovely, stunning and beautiful as always!!!!! While Apolo talking to Melinda, I spoke to Yuki, very briefly, he had his camcorder and I asked him if he videotaped Apolo,, and then I though myself "what a stupid question I just asked",,,,but of course Yuki such a nice Daddy,,,,like father like son,,,,, I did take a couple of pics with him,,, for last 'Polo said something to Yuki (which I cannot recall) we thank Apolo and Yuki,,,,and finally I got to hug him too!!!! I wished him a Merry Xmas and they left to their room. Kimo and Jan left to their hotel and we went for a drink,,,,,we chat and chat and chat for like two hrs. Unfortunately, I had to catch an early fly on Sunday so I had to leave Melinda and went back to my hotel.

That was it, a very nice encounter with the one and only one. I left Vegas with a great memory, great friends and looking very so much forward to SLC. Again thanks to Melinda, Elaine, Kimo, Jan, Keiko, Dave, Junko (SD), and Junko (SL) and last but not least APOLO and Yuki for a wonderful time, I hope this is not the last time we get together (that goes to you to Apolo ;) ). I hope you ladies enjoy the pics and we just have to cross our fingers for more inside from Jan and Kimo. See ya all in SLC!!!

The gang in Las Vegas