Rosie: I can't even begin to describe the level of joy my next guest brought me during the Olympics. I made a little movie about him, because I just love everything about his spirit, his athleticism, and mostly his smile. Take a look at this...
[Shows the movie Rosie made about Apolo]
Rosie: So cute! Please welcome Apolo Anton Ohno!! (cheering)
[Apolo walks on and shows Rosie his medals]
Rosie: Look at that, look at that Apolo Anton Ohno!
Apolo: Haha.
Rosie: Can you even believe that?
Apolo: Still...still livin' it for sure.
Rosie: I'll bet! I'll bet! Now listen, I spelt your name wrong, didn't I? There's only one 'L'.
Apolo: One 'L'. Haha. I saw that.
Rosie: I have a problem with the...I actually went to the video of when you were skating and they had two 'L's on NBC.
Apolo: Uh oh.
Rosie: Uh oh! ...I'm gonna have to make a call because I felt bad about that. But I was so...everybody was rooting for you it seemed and you sorta came out of nowhere, but you've been skating your whole life.
Apolo: Yeah, since I was about 14. Ya know, started when I was 12, but really came on when I was 14.
Rosie: And where did you ever see it? Because I don't know where if anyone ever sees speedskating like that.
Apolo: Yeah, uh, short track definitely, ya know, is pretty small but I saw it in '94. My dad and I were watching the Olympics and pretty much just tried it out from there.
Rosie: So from watching the Olympics, you thought, "I bet I can do that"?
Apolo: Kind of. Haha. Started for fun...
Rosie: And you started training right then...
Apolo: Mm hmm
Rosie: You didn't make the team in '98...
Apolo: No, I didn't.
Rosie: And was that very disappointing to you?
Apolo: Definitely because, ya know, when I was 14 I won, uh, we have competitions towards the end of the year, right before World Championships. It's all the skaters in the U.S. and uh, to make the world team, and I won even though I was 14. So I had seen the divisions and everybody. So they definitely expected me to...
Rosie: To make the team.
Apolo: Yeah, um
Rosie: And that was crushing for you?
Apolo: Yeah! And I got last! [Apolo laughs at himself]
Rosie: Last!! What happened? Did ya fall?
Apolo: No, just, ya know, I don't think mentally I was in it. I was just too busy having fun, just being a kid.
Rosie: How old are you now?
Apolo: 19.
Rosie: You're 19! So you were just a baby then?
Apolo: Yup.
Rosie: Yeah, so that's alright, it doesn't matter. If you woulda done it then, it wouldn'ta felt I don't think the same as it does now.
Apolo: Definitely not, definitely not.
Rosie: And how happy was your dad?
Apolo: I mean, I dunno, he's just so happy anyway. I mean, he's just happy I made the team and I got to compete.
Rosie: Because watching him watch you was half the fun. To see his eyes so urging you on through every round, ya know? Now, when you fell, with that one, was that...do you think that was an illegal move that the boy did, or no? ...the first...remember...
Apolo: The 1000?
Rosie: Yeah
Apolo: Uh, no. I don't think so, I don't think so, I don't really know.
Rosie: And you cut your leg!
Apolo: Yeah, I cut myself actually.
Rosie: With your own skate.
Apolo: Yeah.
Rosie: Yeah and aren't they talking about making your suits thicker so they can't cut...
Apolo: Yeah, they wanna do some kind of, ya know, so it's safer. Definitely I think it's...it should be in the future, ya know.
Rosie: Had you been able...would you have been able to do another race if it had been recalled?
Apolo: I probably would've. Yeah, I probably shouldn't've, but I probably, most likely. Haha.
Rosie: Now when you won the gold medal, what'd that feel like? Did you know he cut you and you went like "Woah" [Rosie motions with her arms], you went like that, "Woah"....
Apolo: Haha!..."Woah"! Haha.
Rosie: If it were me I woulda been like "WOAH!!!!!" [Rosie REALLY motions with her arms] like that, ya know? (laughter) Much bigger!
Apolo: Haha!
Rosie: But he looked like he totally cut you off.
Apolo: Yeah, um...
Rosie: He did, didn't he? That cheater (laughter)!! No, I don't say that!
Apolo: I thought so.
Rosie: Yea
Apolo: But, ya know, I was just kinda waiting, either way I had a silver medal, so...I was kinda waiting it out to see if the judges were gonna call anything, for sure.
