Disqualified in 500, Ohno Wins 8th in Relay

VANCOUVER, British Columbia — For the first two weeks of these Winter Olympics, Apolo Ohno evaded crashes and made late charges and won two medals in his first two

short track speedskating races.His fortunes changed Friday night, in the 500 meters, where Ohno artfully advanced to the final, at one point even balancing on one skate. In the final, where he aimed for his eighth career Olympic medal, Ohno

crossed the finish line in second place, but was disqualified upon review.
All four speedskaters in the final entered the final turn in a tight pack. Ohno appeared to tangle with Francois-Louis Tremblay of Canada, who fell but wound up receiving the bronze. The gold went to his countryman, Charles Hamelin, and the silver was awarded to Sung Si-Bak of South Korea, who also fell.
“I was looking for space,” Ohno said afterward. “There was none.”

What was almost certainly Ohno’s last hurrah in an individual event took place in the same city that his speedskating career started, not far from Seattle, his hometown. He finished what is likely his last Winter Olympics heavy on medals — two gold, two silver, four bronze, a career record for an American in the Winter Games — after the United States took third in the 5,000-meter relay.
Ohno has long defined himself as an Olympian, but instead of medals, he measured his career by moments. Like crawling across the finish line in Salt Lake City in 2002, blood dripping from his thigh. Like his previous 500-meter race in the Olympics, a perfectly run contest that resulted in a delicious gold in Turin in 2006.
Yuki Ohno, Apolo’s father, projected serenity in a text message Friday morning. He described the mood in the Ohno camp as calm and peaceful. Ohno went one step further on his Twitter page.

“It’s time,” he posted. “Heart of a lion. I will give my all — heart, mind & spirit today. This is what it’s about! All the way until the end! No regrets.”

Ohno has not officially announced his retirement from speedskating, but all the signs are there. His teammate, the 18-year-old speedskater Simon Cho, posted on Thursday on Twitter about Ohno’s “final” practice. The message mysteriously disappeared. His United States coach, Jae Su Chun, talked about the difficulty the program faces in replacing Ohno.
But there are speedskaters in America’s future. Katherine Reutter won the silver medal in the women’s 1,000 meters. At 21, she is part of the post-Ohno program.
Ohno mulled retirement after Turin, as he signed with a Hollywood talent agency, made forays into acting and won “Dancing With the Stars.” But the perfect race — the elation and emotion provided by that moment — brought him back. Back to the Olympics and Vancouver, his career circle nearing its completion.
Ohno entered these Olympics finely tuned, 15 pounds lighter than in Turin, but more explosive, fueled by testosterone. His trainer, John Schaeffer, said Ohno’s progress, especially in the final 16 weeks, should be captured in a book as a guide for proper training.