Word: tracks
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...things went right for Apolo Ohno during his 2002 Winter Olympic debut. On the ice he won gold and silver medals in short-track speed skating, propelling the popularity of the hypnotically dangerous sport, in which athletes whirl around a 111-m oval with no lane markers while wearing 10-in. razor blades on their feet. Off the ice his wisp of a soul patch and X Games 'tude helped him dominate the event known as Olympic buzz. He was so popular in Salt Lake City that even female fans wore fake Ohno patches; afterward he was named...
...South Korea he became a marked man when he was awarded the 1,500-m gold after Kim Dong Sung was disqualified for obstructing his path. (While trying to pass Kim, Ohno made an exasperated gesture that helped draw the referee's eye to the infraction.) Short-track skating is an obsession in Korea, and had Ohno been, say, Italian, his disputed victory might have made him a target of mere outrage. But at the time, tensions with U.S. soldiers based in Korea were escalating, and the undercurrent of anti-Americanism was hardly ameliorated by the fact that Ohno...
...nearly four years, it wasn't safe for Ohno to skate in Korea, but in October he arrived in Seoul for a short-track World Cup event. At the airport he was greeted by 100 police in riot gear (for his protection), and at the rink he was disqualified for pushing, delighting the packed house. Otherwise, things couldn't have gone more smoothly. "No death threats while I was in Korea nor leading up to the competition," says Ohno. "Actually, a very high-ranking Korean speed-skating official was telling me that I may have sparked a fan club...
Ohno remains a medal favorite in each of short track's three individual events, although he'll face tough competition from Ahn, China's Li Jiajun and Canada's Mathieu Turcotte. Still, in a sport that's dangerous enough, here's hoping the scariest action in Torino stays...
...gloves. The pair, teammates for 10 years, alternate deep breaths. "All right, be aggressive," says Grimmette. "Yup," replies Martin. With that, the U.S.'s best-ever Olympic luge team shoots from the starting block. Now supine on the sled, they hit speeds of 80 m.p.h. on the icy track, Grimmette atop Martin the whole way down...