Quotes by Apolo Ohno

“Apolo had a hard time using his ankle, ... The U.S. coaches and USOC doctor unanimously advised him not to skate further events in order to protect his injured ankle and I agree 100 percent that this was the correct decision.”

“I really wanted to set something up. People have questions about what Ive been doing the past couple of years. I want them to know Im excited to be here. I want to put a lot of things on the table. A lot of Koreans are not familiar with me. They only know what they see on the news or what somebody else says. I want to let them know a little bit about me and take it from there.”

“One guy wins and one guy loses, but its not entirely up to him. Our sport is so crazy that on any given Sunday, anybody can win. You can run the same race over and over five times, and youll probably get five different winners. Its wild.”

“On any day, anything can happen.”

“The depth of our whole program, in Marquette and Colorado Springs, has gotten a lot better.”

“No death threats while I was in Korea nor leading up to the competition. Actually, a very high-ranking Korean speed-skating official was telling me that I may have sparked a fan club! How cool is that?”

“People tell me that. I dont think it is.”

“I was ridiculed for my performance. My name was run through the mud.”

“My social life is down to the minimum. I dont go out. I dont drink. My lifestyle is pretty boring.”

“It bothered me a lot. I was really, really bothered by it. I grew up around Asian culture. Im just an athlete. I was trying to finish the race. A lot of it was built up by certain people (whom he declined to identify) using me. I have a lot of friends in Korea who have nothing against me at all.”

Do I feel any pressure as the most decorated Winter Olympian in American history? None at all. The only pressures that I know I face are those of how to pay it forward: How can I continually make a positive impact in peoples lives, help others achieve their dreams, create their own Olympic mindset, creating champions within themselves?

It is not up to me whether I win or lose. Ultimately, this might not be my day. And it is that philosophy towards sports, something that I really truly live by. I am emotional. I want to win. I am hungry. I am a competitor. I have that fire. But deep down, I truly enjoy the art of competing so much more than the result.

We all naturally want to become successful... we also want to take shortcuts. And its easy to do so, but you can never take away the effort of hard work and discipline and sacrifice.

Japan, not only a mega-busy city that thrives on electronics and efficiency, actually has an almost sacred appreciation of nature. One must travel outside of Tokyo to truly experience the old Japan and more importantly feel these aspects of Japanese culture.

With speed skating, its like doing one-legged squats over and over again, with that one leg absorbing more than 80 percent of your weight. It takes an enormous amount of strength, and youre in such a weird position.

It starts with your diet and then to your exercise... you have to make the right decisions as a consumer and learn about carbs and proteins as well as watching your portion control, and from there you have to stay active as much as possible.

My go to workout is called the Asylum from Beach Body. Its intense training with lots of intervals, core work. Its hard! I travel a lot, so I can take it on the road with me and do it in a hotel room.

My father is 100% Japanese and came to the United States when he was only 18 years old. My grandmother still resides in Japan, which has allowed me to travel to the roots of my ancestors with my father.

I rolled the second car that I ever owned, a Toyota 4 Runner. This was winter in Colorado, two weeks before the 2002 Olympic trials. I was driving in the outside lane, and my rear tire caught some black ice, and we totally turned sideways to the point where we were heading right toward the median.

I am a believer in nutrient timing and supplementation, through 8Zone. I love eggs, apples, wild fish, leafy greens, brown rice, pasta, oatmeal, home grown Washington Potatoes, and cooking with coconut and olive oils.