Ohno, Not Again!

Apolo Anton Ohno is now officially the most hated person in

Korea once again after winning a controversial gold medal in the 500 meter short track race. Let the CIA black helicopter conspiracy theories start yet again:

Ohno made this another Olympics to remember on the final night of short track speedskating Saturday, winning his second Olympic gold medal — and even crossing the line first for a change.

Unlike his disputed victory in Salt Lake City, Ohno didn’t have to wait for the judges to disqualify the skater in front of him.

Sensing victory was his in the 500-meter race, he threw up his arms and screamed, “Yesssss!” A look of pure joy and relief spread over his face.

“To lead from start to finish doesn’t happen very often,” he said. “For me, it was the perfect race.”

Here is where the conspiracy comes into play:

Ohno got to the final on a disqualification, moving up when a Chinese skater was called for impeding.

“Both should have been disqualified or neither should have been disqualified,” said Feng Kai, the Chinese men’s coach. “My mood’s not good.”

Then, after two false starts by other skaters in the final, Ohno either got the ultimate start — or got away with one. Television replays showed him tilting forward ahead of everyone else, and getting to the crucial first turn with a clear lead.
“I thought I timed the start just perfect,” Ohno said. “It worked out well for me.”

It will be interesting to see what the Korean media will do to demonize Ohno and encourage anti-Americanism in Korea over this Olympic race.

Joel already has an early report of the Korean media’s reaction on his site. Here is a sample:

Ohno hung a “gold medal of luck” around his neck in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics after acquiring a gold medal through “Hollywood Action” and yet another when he acquired his first gold medal of this competition by holding his advantaged start and leading from start to finish in the 500 meters.

Read his posting for more.

I could be wrong, but I think it is to bad that the Korean media will probably focus on demonizing Ohno instead of focusing on the fantastic Olympic Games that Korea has had by picking up two more gold medals and one bronze today to move them all the way up to 6th on the overall medal count.

Let the Ohno death threats begin.