Regis: He became fascinated with the short-track speedskating after watching the 1994 Olympics and now he’s the first American to win the Gold Medal – won two of them as a matter-of-fact. Here’s Apolo Anton Ohno! Apolo, hey how ya doin’? [Apolo: Good. ] Nice to have you here! Have a seat, Apolo.
Apolo: Thank you.
Regis: Glad to be up from (???) Seattle people up here. Big fans of yours. Watched the (unintelligible).
Apolo: That’s right. (points to them and smiles)
Regis: So, anyway, Apolo [(Apolo clears his throat)]– wow. Two Gold Medals, huh? For a guy…
Apolo: One Gold Medal. One Gold Medal, one silver.
Regis: Oh, I’m sorry, I thought there were two.
Apolo: Do I leave now? (laughs and points offstage, where he came out)
Kelly: Doesn’t he look like a rock star? [Regis: Thank you, Gilman. (sounds pissed)] Look, he looks like a rock star.
Regis: You are a rock star. Looks like the drummer in a rock band. [(Apolo grins)]
Kelly: That was the big thing. I remember like all of the guys going out and growing the – I don’t know what it’s called – on the chin. [Apolo: A goatee? I call – I don’t know. Goatee? They were calling it a soulpatch.] Yeah, a soulpatch [(Apolo does a high-pitched laugh)] right here (she points to her chin). And I remember thinking, you know, I know Apolo looks really cute with that, but I wish the rest of America would shave it off!
[(all three laugh)]
Regis: It’s getting on your nerves. So Apolo, you saw this event in the Olympics in 1990 [Apolo: Four. (i.e. 1994)] four. [Apolo: Unintelligible…with my father.] and you had never skated before, [Apolo: Yeah, I’d never…] or speedskated.
Apolo: Yeah, I’d never ice skated before in my life.
Kelly: You’re kidding!
Regis: You’d never ice skated before in your life. You just were attracted to this and you began training.
Apolo: I just loved it, and I just, well, you know. I started out just locally with my friends, messin’ around on hockey skates and figure skates, and then, asked my dad for a pair of speed skates, and then we pretty much started serious from there.
Regis: And how old are you at this point? Uh, fourteen, something like that?
Apolo: Yeah, well, my first, my first real competitive year when I was fourteen. [Regis: No kidding.] I moved away from home when I was fourteen.
Kelly: That’s - he had to be a natural, though, I mean. I-I-I put on ice skates once, and I fell down, and I took them off, and I walked away.
Regis: It’s really tough.
Apolo: It’s fast. It happened really fast.
Regis: I can’t skate – I can’t skate at all. And, but you do get knocked down in competition as well.
Apolo: Sometimes. Yeah, like at the Olympics I did, in my 1000 Meter.
Kelly: Oh – that was…you didn’t see it (to Regis). I saw it. [Regis: Yeah. ] It was the most heart-wrenching – my husband and I were screaming at the television [(Apolo laughs)] “Get up!” We’re like “Get up oh my God!” Because, I-I couldn’t believe that you were so – you were drag -- it was like they dragged you down with them.
Apolo: Yeah.
Regis: You mean the guy next to you bumped into you?
Apolo: Well, I was in front, coming around the last corner and uh - literally just feet from the line [Regis: Wow.] and the whole pack just (hits hands together)
Regis: Just caved in on you.
Apolo: Yeah, pretty much.
Regis: Awright. But he got up and he won it. And we’ll be right back with more in just a moment. [commercial break and then returns.] Gold Medal winner from the short-track skating event in the Olympics. Uh, Apolo Anton Ohno has written this autobiography (holds up copy). Why’d you write this book?
Apolo: (pauses) I think it was – uh pretty much a dream. I always wanted to write a book after - my Olympic experience. [Regis: (uhm)] I always thought I was gonna go to the Olympics. Um, I wasn’t sure when I was gonna write the book. But uh, you know, people who read the book they tell me - who know me -- they tell me this sounds like my words, my voice. [Regis: Sure.] So, I was happy with that. The writer gave me a lot of [Regis: Absolutely.] leeway with that.
Kelly: Do you think that uhm, after the next Olympics, maybe you’ll write, you’ll update… [Apolo: Maybe, maybe.] you’ll write a sequel? (audience claps) Cuz I was saying, it’s so funny, you’re so young [Apolo: Yeah. ] to write an autobiography.
Apolo: I hope so. I hope so.
Regis: Are you in training for the next Olympics?
Apolo: I am in training. Uhm, aft - you know -- after the Games in February I took a long time to-to really get back into training, I mean, I was outa shape but I was just having fun I mean doing so many appearances - I’d get invited to just be around I mean you know so many famous people.
Regis: Everyone wants to hang around with [(Apolo does a high-pitched laugh)] Ohno! (Apolo and Kelly laugh) We have twelve seconds of film. You know it’s tough to get Olympic film, but your dad was there with his camera [Apolo: Uhm. (nods)] and so he has sent us [Apolo: He sent you footage. ] twelve seconds of film of, of him going across…What’s the matter?
Kelly: Winning the Gold Medal? [Regis: We don’t have it ready now?] Is it winning the Gold Medal?
Regis: I thought it was? [Kelly: Yeah.] We don’t have the film? [Someone off-camera: No - not right now.] (Apolo looks perplexed for a fraction of a second) Not right now.
Kelly: Oh-oh-oh. Oh no. [Regis: You think it’ll be ready…] Ohno!
Regis: Ohno! Maybe tomorrow we could do it? (Apolo and Kelly laugh) How ‘bout next Tuesday? Is that okay? Well, I’m sorry Apolo [Apolo: That’s awright.] we don’t have the film now. But here’s the book right here – called A Journey. [Apolo: Thank you. (waves while audience cheers)] Thank you very much, and we look forward to [Apolo: Thank you.] seeing you in a couple years. [Regis’ last words of the segment are unintelligible.]
