Nan Turner
Staff Writer
The VCU Barnes & Noble bookstore felt more like the 2010 Winter Olympic Games in Vancouver on Tuesday night when a crowd of over 300 waited to see eight-time medalist Apolo Ohno. Ohno visited the store for an hour to promote and sign copies of his new book “Zero Regrets.”
The book, part autobiography, part self-improvment, chronicles Ohno’s life but focuses on his relationship with his father who raised Ohno as a single parent. Readers are taken through all of Apolo’s trials as a teenager and triumphs as he becomes serious about the sport he loves, short track speed skating.
However, he said although he is an athlete, he did not write the book for athletes.
“I wanted to show people kind of the similarities that we all have, within ourselves,” Ohno said. “Although not everybody wants to become an Olympic athlete, I think a lot of us still have Olympic level dreams. I just want people to see inside my life and how I came to be the person who I am.”
Although Ohno has been speed skating since he was 12 years old, and is the most decorated American Winter Olympic athlete, the accomplishment he is most proud of is the training regime he implemented for the most recent Olympics.
In 2002 Ohno weighed 165 lbs. and could leg press about 1500 lbs. In 2006, he weighed about 157 pounds. and could leg press 1400-1500 pounds. For the games in Vancouver Ohno wanted to be 147 pounds, he had not competed weighing less than 150 pounds since he was 14 years old. The goal was to leg press the same amount at the lower weight. This pushed Ohno into a rigorous training schedule and diet.
“It was the only way for me to truly realize my dreams whether I stood at the podium or not,” Ohno said. “You train four years of your life for essentially 40 seconds on the ice. So I needed to make sure that mentally and physically I could be happy when I walked off the ice regardless of the outcome.”
Ohno ended up making his goal weight and being able to leg press around 2000 pounds.
The signing attracted a large crowd, with some people getting to the bookstore as early as 1 p.m. in hope of seeing Ohno.
Nicola Gilmore, a freshman at VCU, got to her spot in line at 3:30 p.m. She watched Ohno frequently during the Winter Olympics and heard about the event when her mother saw it on the university’s website. She thinks Ohno’s story could be beneficial.
“I think it can teach students not to give up and to pursue your dreams because anything can happen,” Gilmore said. “I think he’s a role model for anybody.”
Landon Hatfield, a Richmond resident, is currently in full-time training for speed skating. Hatfield once raced against Ohno and has been participating in the sport for nine years. He is one level below the World Cup level of skating (the World Cup level is directly below the Olympics) and hopes to be competing in the Olympic Games within the next few years.
He said he thinks the book will bring attention to a sport that is sometimes overlooked.
“All sports are really hard but speed skating is physical, mental, everything has to be precise,” Hatfield said. “There’s just so much hard work that athletes put into everyday. It’s an everyday thing, it’s constant, and you have to be on top of your game.”
Ohno’s wisdom not only applies to those on the ice. He said any young person has the capacity to reach their goals; they just need to set a detailed plan. His philosophy is to have a focal point and then work backwards from it. He said to realize the steps that are going to be necessary to achieve your dreams, and ask yourself if you are doing every single thing in your power to reach that goal.
He stresses not becoming distracted, always make sure the goal is in sight, and do not forget to enjoy the journey along the way.
“When I look back on my career I don’t ever remember when I was in first (place) or standing on top of the podium,” Ohno said. “I always remember the times when I was at my lowest, when I was struggling during training, how I overcame some of those obstacles and turned them into opportunities.”
Ohno plans to take an extended break from speed skating following his book tour.