Ohno makes history by collecting his seventh medal

VANCOUVER, British Columbia – When Apolo Anton Ohno imagined his surge into Winter Olympic history, it didn’t look much like this.

Ohno still carried the dream of greatness and immortality that was spawned as a cocky youngster until recently, even when it became an apparently inevitable reality. He sometimes allowed his mind’s eye to paint a picture of a glorious and golden leap into the record books.

Instead, as Ohno moved past Bonnie Blair with the most medals for a Winter Olympian in United States history with the bronze in Saturday’s 1,000 meters to make it seven medals, it resembled a smash-and-grab raid – after the fates conspired against him at the Pacific Coliseum.

Nothing can be taken for granted in this most unpredictable of sports, yet Ohno looked in trouble at the midway point of the 1,000, arguably his strongest event. Lurking on the heels of Canadian Charles Hamelin, he was set to pick the pockets of the home hero and take an iron grip on the race.

Then a single missed step bumped the American backward, robbing him of momentum, allowing South Korean duo Lee Jung-su and Lee Ho-suk to immediately seize their chance. The Koreans disappeared into the distance with a blur of blue, blazing into a lead that they would never surrender. Lee Jung-su took gold in what appeared to be a token fight between teammates.

Ohno’s comeback from last place was spectacular, roaring around the outside of both Charles Hamelin and his brother Francois with a spectacular force of will and silkiness of technique.

It was enough to turn Blair’s achievement from record to statistic. But not enough for gold.

“It feels amazing to have the record,” Ohno said. “In our sport it is amazing to win one medal so for me to be here having won seven and broken the record feels incredible. There are not many athletes that go back-to-back Olympic Games and medal. I am very blessed to have done it three in a row.”

Perhaps karma was catching up with Ohno. He was the beneficiary in the 1,500 meters last Saturday, when another pair of Koreans wiped each other out on the final turn to spoon-feed him a silver medal.

And even though Ohno’s career haul, which began with gold and silver at Salt Lake City eight years ago, is guaranteed to set off any metal detector in passable condition, there is a sense that he feels it just isn’t enough.

“I would have loved to have gold in the 1,000 meters and I thought I was going to get one tonight,” Ohno said. “With two and a half laps to go, I thought the race was mine. But I am proud of myself and can’t wait to watch the tape to see how I came from last place to winning a bronze. I’m proud to be up there and still seen as one of the greatest in the world of all time.”

Ohno is not to everyone’s taste. Some find him smarmy and plastic. However, he is an entertainer and a personality and he has done wonders for a sport that would have floated under the American radar without him, despite its omnipresent thrills and spills.

If he is to add to his Olympic collection, it will likely need to be in the 500 meters on Friday. Ohno is a sensational practitioner of this sport but there are no guarantees he will be able to lift a young and inexperienced USA team to glory in the 5,000 meter relay.

Ohno has delivered a huge boost to short track and is both a crossover star and a marketing man’s dream, as illustrated by the countless headbands and fake soul patches in the stands on Saturday night.

“He is great for the sport,” Blair said. “If the record had to go, I am glad it went to a speedskater. He lifts the profile of the sport and makes it more relevant to the general public. Purely as an athlete, it is a wonderful achievement, too.”

As the sport’s biggest star, Ohno also has had to operate with a giant X on his back whenever he steps onto the ice. There was some mild gloating from champion Lee soon after the 1,000 that indicated the Korean took just as much pleasure in defeating Ohno as winning gold.

“To win a gold medal is a dream,” Lee Jung-su said. “To have Korea first and second is another dream. And to keep Ohno behind is very satisfying.”

The most significant moment of the night may have come when 19-year-old American J.R. Celski was disqualified from his semifinal after a collision. The young man from Federal Way, Wash., would certainly not have laid down for his older colleague, but Ohno would have rather seen Celski alongside him than the Korean and Canadian double acts.

Even so, it could have been different if not for that stumble, that fleeting moment that melted gold into bronze.

As Ohno crossed the line following an unforgettable final lap, where he swept around the Canadians as if they were backpedalling, the regret on his face was palpable, the smile wry.

Yet despite the mixed feelings one thing was certain: The record was his.

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