www.sltrib.com/ci_10718337Ohno ready to resume quest for Olympic speedskating goldBy Michael C. Lewis
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 10/14/2008 02:03:55 PM MDT
Posted: 1:13 PM- KEARNS - Apolo Ohno hasn't done any dancing lately.
Only skating.
One year after leaping back into short-track speedskating after a hectic summer spent thrilling fans with his performance on "Dancing With the Stars," the five-time Olympic medalist is ready to begin his long build-up to the 2010 Vancouver Games - perhaps his last Olympics - armed with the fitness and confidence that comes with having spent his most recent summer training rather than fox-trotting.
"It was the first time I was able to train for a long time," he said. "There was no offseason, essentially. I trained hard."
That's probably bad news for many of the nearly 200 athletes from two dozen countries who are expected to compete this weekend at the first World Cup event of the season at the Utah Olympic Oval. It's the first international short-track competition since the World Championships last March, and skaters from every country are eager to size up the competition.
"You don't really know where you square up," American Alison Baver said.
Even though he did little preseason training last year, Ohno re-built his fitness during the season and wound up winning the overall title at the world championships for the first time.
But with only 16 months until Vancouver, he turned down several outside opportunities in recent months to concentrate on his offseason training - knowing that "everything is basically built this year. ... It's very hard to make a huge jump, Olympic year."
So Ohno spent long days at the Oval, he said, often arriving before 7 in the morning and leaving after 7 at night after performing three multi-hour workouts, interspersed with short breaks to eat or rest.
"Any athlete at this level, an elite level, knows when they should really turn the light switch on and when they should turn it off," Ohno said. "And it's been on all summer."
That doesn't necessarily mean that Ohno will tear it up this weekend; he said he's "not looking to blow anybody's doors off," but rather to simply start strong, stay consistent throughout the season and experiment with different strategies and tactics against his top rivals.
"It's like chess," he said.
Except faster, of course, and a lot more dangerous.
But Ohno is among the greatest short-track skaters in the world, so the chances are good that he will be on the podium this weekend.
He's not the only one to watch, though; aside from the other top international skaters, the young American team believes it is growing up and positioning itself for a strong showing in Vancouver and beyond. The women earned bronze in the relay at the world championships last year, while the men won the overall team title.
"We are so much closer in the relay this year, to taking home more than a bronze," reigning women's national champion Katherine Reutter said. "We have such a strong women's team. And not only are the girls on the women's team stronger, but we have a deeper team."
Same goes for the men, the skaters said, to the point that others can push Ohno during training - a luxury Ohno hasn't enjoyed since he was a newcomer before the 2002 Salt Lake Games. Part of the reason is the new coaching staff, led by Korean Jae Su Chun, who has overhauled the training program.
"Leading into the 2006 Olympics, Apolo was more or less on his own," said Baver, his former girlfriend and a 2006 Olympian. "Now, it's just a whole lot different."
And this weekend might be among the last times that fans will get to see him compete in Utah.
Though Ohno said the decision whether to retire after Vancouver "hasn't even come into my head," he also hinted that he will be ready to hang up his skates after his third Olympics. He talked about the grueling existence of an Olympic athlete and his eagerness to pursue other endeavors after his skating career, and in describing his sense of athletic maturity that has come with experience, he cited a quotation he recently read.
"It said a lion is at its strongest when it knows it's on its way out," he said.
If Ohno is that lion, then, watch out.
WORLD CUP SHORT-TRACK
At the Olympic Oval, Kearns
Friday, 10 a.m. - Preliminaries & Heats
Saturday, 6 p.m. - Men's & Women's 1,000 Quarters, Semis and Final Men's & Women's 1,500 Semis and Final Men's 5,000 Relay Semifinals Women's 3,000 Relay Semifinals
Sunday, 3 p.m. - Men's & Women's 500 Quarters, Semis and Final Men's & Women's 1,500 Semis and Final Men's 5,000 Relay Final Women's 3,000 Relay Final
) that we have Universal Sports on our cable system now -- I didn't even know! So I'll be able to watch some of the WC1 live this weekend! Woo Hoooooo! 
