Ohno Zone

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November 4, 2004

Photos from the men's 500m final in Beijing

Apolo Ohno and Hyun-soo Ahn. I assume this is from the start.

all photos courtesy sina.com

Posted by noelle at 9:34 PM | Comments (7)

Men's 500m final in Beijing

Posted by noelle at 9:33 PM | Comments (0)

Apolo leads Monette and Ahn in the 500m final in Beijing

Posted by noelle at 9:31 PM | Comments (1)

Hyun-soo Ahn and Apolo finish 1st and 2nd in the 500m final

Posted by noelle at 9:30 PM | Comments (5)

November 3, 2004

Article in Chinese press about Yuki Ohno

Thanks to Sonia for sending in another translation from Chinese press coverage of the Beijing World Cup:

Dad is Apolo's faithful fan

Even though this is China, American heartthrob Apolo still has lots of fans. The goateed skater won the 1,500M gold medal at the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, and instantly became an idol in America. Apolo, who has competed for two years in a row in China, is also much liked here by ice fans. On the stands, two banners reading "OHNO APOLO" and "Li Jiajun Will Win" hang side by side, demonstrating Apolo's popularity!

Apolo's fans are not only in the stands, but include one Asian gentleman at rinkside. His name is Yuki Ohno. He is Apolo's father. No wonder Apolo has a Japanese last name -- his dad is a Japanese American. Every race season Mr. Ohno accompanies his son to World Cups and the World Championships, camcorder in hand to record his son's glorious moments and to keep track of competitors' performances. But dad's support always comes from quiet attention at rinkside, Mr. Ohno said. Ten minutes of conversation everyday suffices. He does not wish to interrupt his son's routine of practice and racing. He feels that standing on the side watching is enough; excessive words are not needed - they can understand each other just from exchanged looks. Mr Ohno also said because Apolo is part Asian, the 'famed warrior' feels a special closeness to Asia. He likes Beijing and likes competing in Beijing.

Apolo is really blessed to have such a super fan and public relations assistant!

Posted by noelle at 9:00 PM | Comments (9)

November 2, 2004

Korea Times | Short Trackers Return on a High

Ahn and the Korean team received a warm welcome at the Seoul airport when they returned home yesterday:

After putting on a powerful display of their ability by nearly sweeping the second series of the International Skating Union (ISU) World Cup Short Track in Beijing, China, the South Korean national short track team returned home on Monday in a buoyant mood.

South Korean skaters took nine of the 10 titles available at the second stop of the six-event tour with reigning champions Ahn Hyun-soo and Choi Eun-kyung leading the way. Ahn completed a sweep of the five men’s events and Choi added three more titles in the women’s competition.

``I’m happy with the result. I was worried before the tournament because I didn’t have enough training. My ankle was bad,’’ Ahn told Yonhap News Agency. ``It is also meaningful to me that I won in the 500-meter race, where I haven’t done well so far.’’

Asked about beating archrival Apolo Anton Ohno of the United States, Ahn said it is nice to beat Ohno at the series but didn’t want to put too much emphasis on it, saying, ``he is just one of many competitors.’’

``This year’s World Cup is a good opportunity to get some experience before the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, so I will try my best to get good results,” the 19-year-old added.

via Korea Times

Nice to see him put the lie to the poker face!

Marginally related article (what unbelievable meanies!):
Korea Times | Christina Kim Gets Rough Treatment From Reporters

Posted by noelle at 4:18 PM | Comments (37)

November 1, 2004

1500m final in Beijing: Apolo skates amid a sea of Chinese skinsuits

via sina.com

Posted by noelle at 8:40 PM | Comments (11)

1500m final in Beijing: Hyun-soo Ahn, Apolo Ohno, Mathieu Turcotte

via sina.com

Posted by noelle at 8:38 PM | Comments (0)

Apolo skates his 1500m heat in Beijing

via sina.com

Posted by noelle at 8:37 PM | Comments (0)

More photos from the men's 1500m final in Beijing

Click to enlarge:

via sina.com

Posted by noelle at 8:27 PM | Comments (0)

October 31, 2004

Beijing World Cup press roundup

1. US Speedskating | Americans Finish Strong in Short Track World Cup in Beijing

Describing the men's relay final, ST Managing Director Derrick Campbell confirms what we had guessed: "Apolo Ohno made an impressive pass on both the Canadians and Chinese to secure the second place finish."

In addition, Apolo is pleased with his performances after the first 2 WOrld Cups: "It’s nice to work so hard and get good results. I’m happy with the relay and consistent podium performances." Full article

2. Korea Times | Ahn Sweeps Five Golds in Short Track

Lots of gloating over the Korean team's triumphs. Hmph! Although there is no denying it's justified: "South Korea took nine of the 10 titles available at the tournament."

For some odd reason, the Korea Times is claiming the Korean women set a new relay record yesterday, but they weren't even close...

3. The ISU's press release explains what happened in yesterday's women's relay final:

Chinese skater Wang Meng, who skated last two laps for her team, was racing against Kang Yun-Mi from South Korea towards the line when her way appeared to be blocked by Russian and Japanese skaters, who trailed one lap behind. Wang therefore cut off the corner, stepping inside the track. Russia and Japan also failed to clock a time for impeding.

Seems a little unfair to disqualify the Chinese in that situation but I guess rules are rules.

Posted by noelle at 4:14 PM | Comments (14)

Apolo jia yo! USA jia yo!

How do you say 'Lord of the Rink' in Chinese? ;)

via sina.com

Sonia sent a translation from a Chinese press article she read. A column in sina sports news yesterday said:

"Yang Yang A and Li Jia Jun get the loudest cheers. When Chinese team members are not skating, the handsome Apolo Ohno is the one that wins the spectators' hearts: "Apolo jia yo" "USA jia yo". Never mind if Apolo understands Chinese or not. The fans are cheering for him. Yelling, clapping and screaming create a most festive mood."

(Note: Jia Yo is the standard Chinese cheer that means "Add Fuel")

Maybe that's what the banner says?

Hsieh hsieh, Chinese fans!

Posted by noelle at 9:17 AM | Comments (9)

Beijing men's relay podium

The Americans (silver), Koreans (gold) and Canadians (bronze) at the men's relay medal ceremony. Look at Rusty's grin! Too bad we can't see Shani and J.P. too! The Canadian team doesn't even all fit on their stand!

via sina.com

Posted by noelle at 9:10 AM | Comments (7)

Beijing men's 1000m podium

Apolo Ohno (USA-silver), Hyun-soo Ahn (KOR-gold), Kyung-taek Song (KOR-bronze)

via sina.com

Posted by noelle at 9:05 AM | Comments (9)

World Cup Beijing Day 3: Relay silver for American men!!

'What a race!' - FinishLynx

Indeed! How did they do it? How did the American men pull that one out of their hats helmets? That relay looked like a thrilling race, full of passing, and the U.S. team occupied every position at one time or another. However, they most often seemed to be last or third... though in the last 5-10 laps they looked like a good bet for bronze over Canada.

Ohno apparently poured it on in his anchor leg, because when the results flashed up on the board we had a great surprise -- silver for Team USA. Way to go, boys!! Congratulations to the team of Shani Davis, J.P. Kepka, Apolo Ohno and Rusty Smith!

FinishLynx photo: Shani Davis celebrates as the American men win relay silver! Click to enlarge:

In the women's relay final, something extraordinary happened. A triple DQ! Has anything like this ever happened before? The Korean women won, and moments later the scoreboard showed disqualifications for the three other teams: Japan, Russia and China.

So what happens on the podium? Do the Koreans stand alone? Do the two third place teams from the semifinals get silver and bronze? Oddness.

Posted by noelle at 1:44 AM | Comments (13)

3000m: Bronze for Apolo, Silver overall in World Cup #2

And another gold for Hyun-soo Ahn, who looked like he was considering trying to lap the pack. He went out in front early in the race and no one attempted to chase him down -- what was the point? In addition, Apolo's placement in the 3000m race scarcely mattered. Ahn already had first overall locked up, and Apolo was a lock for second overall.

So we'd all like to see Apolo Anton Ohno up there in the #1 spot but second overall following last weekend's first, is awesome. Congratulations, Apolo, on your strong performances in Harbin and Beijing! This is a great start to the season.

Congratulations also to Hyo-jung Kim on her 6th overall finish -- the second in a row for a U.S. woman! She skating strong and consistently this weekend and we'll be seeing big things from her too in the future.

As for Allison, earning disqualifications in all three distances is disappointing, but it's not reflective of her performances. She made it to the 500m final and has begun making her mark at the World Cup level. She's taking risks with her skating and perhaps they didn't pay off this weekend like they did at World Cup #1, but she's shown that she has what it takes to be a contender at this level.

Posted by noelle at 1:12 AM | Comments (6)

1000m final: Silver #3 for Apolo!

The results this weekend have been nothing if not consistent: 3 golds for Hyun-soo Ahn, 3 silvers for Apolo Anton Ohno. It's almost scary how closely matched these two seem to be right now.

The men's 1000m final was another exciting race. German Andre Hartwig
unexpectedly found himself in rarefied company when Jiajun Li and Jon Eley were both disqualified in his semifinal, allowing him to advance to the final.

It looked like Apolo might at last get that win over Ahn when Live CSB showed him in the lead with 1 lap to go. However, Ahn appeared to pull a move similar to whatever Apolo did in his semifinal, and in the final lap moved from third to win the race, with Apolo second. Must have been a thrilling finish!

On the women's side, things are getting kinda boring... such is the state of short track right now that the only x factor anymore seems to be, what will be the proportion of Chinese skaters to Korean skaters? All three Korean women skated in this final, plus the lone Chinese skater, Meng Wang. If anyone could prevail in a situation like that, Wang would be the one, but strong as she is, she finished out of the medals.

I suppose we'll be reading an article in the Chinese press tomorrow where she says she tried her hardest but was no match for the Koreans' team advantage!

Posted by noelle at 12:38 AM | Comments (7)