Short track speed skating
The once obscure sport of short track got glamorous at the Salt Lake 2002 Games, thanks in part to American athlete Apolo Anton Ohno, who illustrated the high-stakes, thrills-and-spills nature of his event by flinging his skate-sliced body across the finish line for the silver in the men’s 1000 m after a last minute crash with China’s Li Jiajun. Ohno, wearing his signature “soul patch” beard that inspired many mimicking fans, would also win gin in the men’s 1500m. Teammate Steven Bradbury, who won the gold in the men’s 1000 m after Ohno and Li crashed, said of short track: “Anything can happen. Sometimes it’s a very cruel sport, and other times it’s a sport that you smile a lot about.”
International Skating Union http://www.isu.org