By Lindsay Larin
llarin@bellevuereporter.com
Apollo Anton Ohno may be the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian in history, but get him in a room full of kids, and his cape of untouchable celebrity quickly fades. In its place is a young man, full of energy and life, who is not afraid to joke around with kids and meet them on their level.
Ohno recently paid a visit to Chinook Middle School in Bellevue along with Attorney General Rob McKenna to spread the message about the dangers of underage drinking. The surprise assembly was a stop on a five-city tour to schools throughout the country for a campaign established by the Apollo Anton Ohno Foundation in partnership with the The Century Council and its Ask, Listen, Learn: Kids and Alcohol Don’t Mix program.
“When I come to a school like this and I feel the energy of these kids – and they can see me, feel me, touch me and hear me – it’s much more interactive and I think the impact, on the long term, is much better,” Ohno explained. “When I give a kid a high five he will remember that a lot longer than if he just sees me on TV. I wish I could visit every school in the nation, but I cant, so we try to pinpoint which ones we can hit to make the biggest impact.”
The Ask, Listen, Learn campaign was launched by The Century Council in 2003 to encourage kids to say “YES” to a healthy lifestyle and “NO” to underage drinking.
Ohno attributes much of his success in speed skating to his father who supported and encouraged him along the way.
“Honestly, if it wasn’t for my dad and if it wasn’t for sports, taking that plunge in the right direction, I probably would have been another fallen statistic,” he said.
He also pointed to determination, hard work, and making good choices when it comes to his health as key components to his success.
“If I didn’t make the right choices in my sport, would I be able to skate as fast as I do now?” he asked the students in the packed Chinook Middle School Gymnasium. “Probably not.”
With eight Olympic medals around his neck, Ohno uses his success as a platform for inspiring others. He handed out encouraging words, autographs, and high fives to the overly excited students at Chinook (and some of the teachers as well).
The students shouted with enthusiasm and clapped loudly whenever Ohno walked by, but quieted down when he addressed them.
“You have to realize it’s not how you start out, whether you are going down the right path or the wrong path, whichever decisions you are faced with, it’s all about how you finish,” he said with sincerity. “It’s never too late to make the right decisions and to move forward.”
The gymnasium erupted with applause and the Olympic athlete made his departure, but not before leaving a lasting impression on a lot of kids hearts.
Lindsay Larin can be reached at 425-453-4602.
To see a full gallery of big photos visit our staff photographer Chad Coleman’s photoblog at Focus Northwest
