In his Olympic debut, Apolo Anton Ohno -- who sported the unique look of long hair, a bandana and a soul patch -- drew international attention en route to winning two medals at the 2002 Salt Lake Games. The short-track star earned his first Olympic jewel in the 1000m (watch video). Ohno led the race heading into the final lap, but his advantage evaporated when he was involved in a four-skater crash. The American recovered to finish second after Australia's Steven Bradbury (who was so far behind the leaders he was not affected by the fall) won the gold. Ohno was a part of another controversy in the 1500m. The Seattle native initially finished second to South Korea's Kim Dong-Sung, but Ohno was awarded the gold when Kim was disqualified for interference

The controversy over Ohno's 1500m gold at the Salt Lake Games grew after the race. Within five hours of the event, more than 16,000 angry e-mails (which Ohno's father later learned came from only a couple of individuals) from South Korea fans crashed the USOC Internet Server in the Olympic Village. Over the next year Ohno received death threats. The controversy even crossed over to soccer when at the 2002 World Cup in Daegu, South Korea, South Korean Ahn Jung-Hwan celebrated a goal against the U.S. by imitating a short track speed skater. The bad blood between Ohno and South Korea intensified, and in November 2003 the short-track star announced he would not compete at a World Cup event in Dechoun, South Korea, because of security issues. Ohno returned to South Korea in October 2005 for a World Cup stop.

Ohno continued his success after the Salt Lake Games, winning the 2002-03 World Cup title, finishing fourth overall at the 2003 Worlds and earning his fifth U.S. crown. The Seattle native slipped in the 2003-04 season, finishing third overall in the World Cup standings and ninth overall at the 2004 Worlds, but still remained the top American short tracker when he swept all seven events at the 2004 Nationals. Ohno returned to top form for the 2004-05 season when he won four of the six World Cup events to grab his third overall title, earned his seventh national crown and won the 1000m and non-Olympic 3000m titles to finish second overall (behind South Korean Ahn Hyun-Soo) at Worlds.

Although Ohno didn't begin his short track career until 1995, it took him less than two years to become the best short-track skater in the United States. At 14, after training under Pat Wentland in Lake Placid for just six months, Ohno claimed his first overall title at the U.S. Championships. Ohno's success made him a likely candidate to make the 1998 U.S. Olympic team, but the American struggled with his fitness throughout the 1997-98 season and finished 16th at the Olympic Trials. Ohno committed himself to making the 2002 Olympic squad, and by the 2000-01 season he was one of the world's best skaters. The Seattle native won the World Cup title in the 500m, 1000m and 1500m en route to winning the overall crown, making him the first American to win a World Cup title at any distance.

--NBC