A Journey
 Apolo Anton Ohno
 (Reviewed by The Editor - Rebecca Brown)
 2002 Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
  ISBN: 0689856083


The Autobiography of Apolo Anton Ohno Olympic Gold Medalist in Short Track Skating with Nancy Ann Richardson.

Apolo Anton Ohno burst into my world as I watched the Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. I was impressed with what I saw, as were millions of others, so when I had the opportunity to review his autobiography, I was thrilled.

Spare & lean, this young man recounts the adventures of his life with aplomb & humor. Just as he skates around those dizzying circuits of ice on thin blades, Apolo Anton Ohno tells his story with swift, athletic language. Nancy Ann Richardson has not tampered with his way of expressing himself, allowing Apolo Anton Ohno to shine on through.

From his father's beginnings in Japan & the pressures of its school system, to Yuki's emigration to the Pacific Northwest in America, we learn of this son's perceptions of his father's world. For the space of a couple of pages, he talks about growing up without a mother. Do not pity this motherless child, for he is forthright about not missing that which he never had.

I have rarely read a coming-of-age book by a young man, that is so lacking in ornamentation & devoid of sentimentality, coyness or grandiosity. As Apolo Anton Ohno takes us through his early years, when his athleticism garnered him excellence, & aroused the hunger to win, we see a focused, dedicated competitor evolve.

It is when he travels thousands of miles away from home, to be trained at Lake Placid, at the vast age of 14, that this boy learns a whole new set of rules. While he aches for his father's company, misses his school friends, & notices the absence of the violence that plagued his neighborhood, he finds himself in a totally different environment: new school, new people, new contests.

I like that Apolo Anton Ohno decided to include his fall from grace. Being all of 14 years, tied into a schedule of training that would daunt an adult, he broke. In in his recounting of those dark times when he resisted pushing the rock up the hill, only to watch it tumble down again, we watch the mettle of a champion being tempered.

His father comes to his side, & takes this young man to a retreat from the media, the coaches, the competitors, from his resounding defeats. In an isolated cottage on the Washington coast he goes into his cave, & sees what makes him tick, what he really wants to do with his life. He also begins a journal!

Back on track, ready to win, our hero is plagued with ailments, the most serious of which is a bulging disk in his spine. He trains, he keeps focused, he nurses his injuries, expending only enough to make the Olympic Trials. & then the unthinkable happens, foul rumors become lawsuits, & our hero finds himself armpit deep in the muck of the “Haters.”

During this time, the Cosmos brings him a woman to be his companion, & Apolo Anton Ohno learns about balancing his life, about broadening his love, about authenticity.

A Journey is a breath of fresh, icy air. It is also the story of the making of a machine, a warrior & a fine young man.

Apolo Anton Ohno's A Journey is as much a biography of a modern, unassuming hero as it is a tribute to a father's job well done.

A rare & satisfying memoir, here & there it got a bit technical for me -- then I'm not an athlete. Overall, a memorable & impressive effort.

Also available: All About Apolo! -- The Ultimate Apolo Anton Ohno Scrapbook.
(12/08/02)

Rebecca