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The Pull of the Physical...

Wednesday, 22 October 2014 00:10

ED. Many of you know that Olympic Short Track Speed Skater Apollo Ohno did this year's Hawaiian Ironman World Championships. Posting impressive rookie splits--1:00:29 - 5:07:15 - 3:36:41--he rocked a 9:52. In case you didn't read the interview he gave  that posted on the eve of the race, here it is:

The Olympic speed skater gets personal on the eve of the IRONMAN World Championship, his first IRONMAN.

by Lee Gruenfeld

When Apolo Anton Ohno entered the Lake Placid Olympic Training Center in 1996 to train full-time for short track speed skating, he was 13, making him the youngest skater ever admitted. A year later he won his first...

major title and became the youngest national champion ever. He went on to become the first American to win the overall World Cup title, which he did three times, then he won the overall World Championship title, followed by eight Olympic medals, and too many other major events to count.

But here's the thing: String all of his race times together since he was 13 and they wouldn’t add up to a single IRONMAN race. I'm not sure they'd even add up to the run. So you have to wonder: Why is this skating superstar determined to pour more energy into a single-day triathlon than he's expended over 20 years' worth of short track speed skating?

We caught up with him to find out.  READ MORE