Short-track speedskating is like a sleeper Broadway play. It is the unexpected hit of the season at the 2002 Winter Olympics and, at least for February, Apolo Anton Ohno is as visible as Michael Jordan.
Given Ohno’s star quality and ability, plus the televising of races in prime time, short-track’s prospects were bullish before the Games began. But could a sport that hardly anyone knew about and fewer understood become an overnight sensation? It has.
The 15,000-plus-seat Salt Lake Ice Center is a sellout. And entering Saturday night’s final Olympic racing, when the 19-year-old from Seattle will chase gold in the men’s 500 meters and with the U.S. relay team, short-track has proven worthy of a Tony for drama.
In the men’s 1,000, a collision sent all but one finalist to the ice and Ohno crawled across the finish line to win silver. In the men’s 1,500, Kim Dong Sung of South Korea beat Ohno to the finish but was disqualified because he cut off Ohno in the stretch. Ohno won gold.
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The South Koreans protested, even though short-track’s rulebook stipulates that officials’ judgment calls are final. Officials on site denied the protest, as did the International Skating Union late Thursday. On Friday the South Koreans appealed to the Court of Arbitration of Sport, and they have said they might use the U.S. court system.
Jack Mortell, the U.S. short-track team leader, said, “I hope they waste a ton of energy doing it and lose a lot of sleep because they won’t get a thing done.”
Mortell said he was sure a disqualification was coming, and when he saw Kim pulling out his country’s flag to celebrate, he thought, “I think you’re getting that out a bit prematurely, son.”
The skaters’ speed on a tight 111-meter track, the likelihood of crashes and the NASCAR-like bumping has fascinated fans. They roar constantly during races, especially loud for Ohno.
Although he said he hadn’t noticed, and laughed when told, Ohno has become enough of a cult figure that fans come to the arena wearing imitations of his “soul patch,” the bit of hair between his lip and chin.
There is no doubt Ohno is the acclaimed best lead actor in this theater of racing. But that is a risky comment because Italian racer Fabio Carta called him “a good actor” the other night and didn’t mean it as a compliment. He apparently referred to Ohno’s gesture of throwing his hands in the air and backing off when Kim moved in on him.
“That’s a classic move,” Mortell said. “You put your hands in the air so you don’t get accused of pushing. You’re saying, `I’m not touching him.'”
Ohno shrugged off the criticism and said he is astonished by the remarkable boost in his and his sport’s popularity. At the beginning of the Games, he walked around town freely. Now he can’t go out to eat because he is mobbed, he said.
“This is incredible,” Ohno said. “I personally would like to see people keep watching it. It’s fast, it’s furious, it’s definitely not going to go away. Hopefully it’s just going to blow up.”
Ohno expects the hitherto obscure sport to occupy a larger place in America’s consciousness now.
“As far as just for the racing, people love that,” Ohno said. “Going 35 m.p.h., turning on a dime.”
U.S. Speedskating was counting on a flashy Games presence and set up a Web site, tryspeedskating.com, which association President Fred Benjamin said has received thousands of hits. Many people are filling out beginner applications online, he said.
“That type of sport is attracting young people here–the appearance of recklessness,” the Chicago-based Benjamin said. “They like the action. You never know what’s going to happen until the race is over.”
The Games are Exhibit A. After taking the splashy fall and the silver medal in the 1,000, Ohno has battled to retain his focus after opening a six-stitch cut in his left thigh.
But when U.S. fans scream, the decibel level sweeps him along, he said.
“That pain is gone,” Ohno said. “My legs were shaking. My heart was beating so fast. I took in all the energy and excitement and brought it into me.”