American Apolo Anton Ohno broke his own record Winter Olympic medal haul on Friday night, as part of the team that won the bronze medal in the 5,000 meter short track relay. It's Mr. Ohno's third medal of the Vancouver Games, and the eighth of his
career, making him the most decorated American Winter Olympian ever.Canada took the gold in a clean race that had five teams on the track simultaneously. Korea won
silver. Less than 0.3 seconds separated the first and third.The U.S. was a dark horse in the race, since Mr. Ohno had long been considered the team's only
world-class skater. But Mr. Ohno was helped in the relay by the emergence of a young new American star, J.R. Celski."Our men's team has been absolutely fired up from the beginning," said Mr. Ohno, as he waited for the medal ceremony. "We came here to perform today, and we did."With his medal haul, the 27-year-old Mr. Ohno proved he was not too old to compete seriously at these Games. Earlier on Friday, he nearly came in second in the 500 meter race, but was disqualified after a pile up in the final milliseconds of the race."I'm in the best shape of my life. I feel the best I've ever skated," he said.These Games may mark the end of the road for Mr. Ohno's speed skating career, but he wasn't ready following the relay to discuss what's next. "I'm not thinking anything past tomorrow," he said.
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