Apolo Anton Ohno - Got Apolo? [where's your soul patch?] - An Apolo Ohno fansite

Conan: My first guest won a gold and silver medal in short track speedskating and was one of the biggest stars on the U.S. Olympic Team. Please welcome Apolo Anton Ohno!
[Audience cheers, Apolo enters and puts medals on Conan's desk]
Conan: I can't believe you're giving these to me!
Apolo: [laughs] ...for having me on the show.
Conan: Wow, that's great. I'm gonna sell these on E-Bay tonight. Now, these are actual medals.
Apolo: Yep.
Conan: These aren't...you don't have like, fake ones with chocolate in them, that you carry around?
Apolo: No, no, no, they're real.
Conan: This is amazing, can I just show this to people, I just think it's so cool...these things right here - look at that [shows closeup of medals to camera, audience cheers
]Apolo: They have a little ______ on the back [points].
Conan: [Rubs medals on his face] I'm rubbing your victory all over me so I can become a better host. That was gross, what I just did, uh...yeah. They're actually quite heavy.
Apolo: They are, ya know, they got some weight to them. They got, they're all, I think they're all handmade, they got little individual sports on the inside and stuff.
Conan: Right, oh and they have riddles on the back!! [laughs]
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: That would be funny if they had like little gaggy riddles and stuff. What, uh, now, do you wear these around, you've been wearing them for...I mean, I think when you win a gold and silver medal, you want to wear it for a bit, don't you?
Apolo: Yeah.
Conan: Before it goes to the closet.
Apolo: Yeah, they're under my pillow whem I'm sleeping, for sure.
Conan: Under your pillow? Well, that's cool...
Apolo: Oh yeah, yeah.
Conan: I would put mine on the hood of my car...
Apolo: On like, a chain or something...
Conan: [Motions like he's driving] I'd drive around, I'd be like, "Check it out"! And people would be like, "What a jerk!" They're actually, they kinda make a weapon, ya know [motions like he's throwing one of the medals, hits himself in the temple with it] I mean...
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: If you ever get into a scrape, you could, this could get embedded in someone's uh, these are really, uh...I'm gonna stop touching them, because I'm an idiot, and I should leave those alone.
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: I'm gonna put them, uh, over here [puts medals back on his desk]. Uh, so you keep them under your pillow, are you gonna put them someplace more prominent in your house, are you gonna build a case or something?
Apolo: Yeah, probably. They actually gave us really nice wood cases, they're really nice, and my name is, ya know, engraved on it and stuff, so it's really nice.
Conan: That is so neat.
Apolo: Yeah.
Conan: And so where are you going to keep that, you can't put the case under the pillow, so are ya gonna just...
Apolo: No...
Conan: I'm just curious what people do with their gold medals when they have them.
Apolo: I don't know, some people just throw 'em under the bed, ya know. But I'll definitely display mine, probably in Seattle, back in my home.
Conan: Sure, I think that is so neat. You know I...I...I know what it's like, a little bit, to be you, because I was in [audience laughs]. Wait a minute, I do...because I was, um, first of all, I am a champion of my own, in my own right, uh...spelling bee, fifth grade, second place.
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: I was in Salt Lake and I actually put on one of those speed skating suits. [Audience cheers]
Apolo: [Laughs] Alright....
Conan: Yeah, we actually have - I was in Salt Lake for a couple days, we showed this last night, but this is a quick clip, just so Apolo can see what I look like in the suit. I think I carry it off quite well, yo can roll that any time, Liz...I'll just...[Show clip of Conan skating, wearing the speed suit, with Dan Jansen skating behind him]
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: Look at that!
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: Do you...do you ever...that was Dan Jansen, helping me out.
Apolo: Yeah, I saw that.
Conan: Do you have the zipper, do you ever think about racing with the, uh, you know...
Apolo: No, [laughs].
Conan: Because the ladies like you, you could probably distract your opponents if you had, like, your zipper undone.
Apolo: I don't got the hair that you got, though [motions towards his chest, laughs]
Conan: Well, you could wax, and then just, you know, race along, and it would just be a different look for you. You'd get a lot of attention, I think.
Apolo: I don't know, that'd be a little, extravagant, I think.
Conan: Yeah, probably. I can get away with it, but not everyone can, uh...
Apolo: [Laughs] Yeah.

Conan: Do those suits, I gotta say, I put on one of those suits, and those, they really cling everywhere.
Apolo: They're tight.
Conan: They're quite sensual, I think, if I can say that. I'm wearing one now, underneath here, I don't want to take it off.
Apolo: [laughs]
Conan: Do they really make that big a difference in a race? I understand they're very aerodynamic, do you think if you raced dressed like that [points at Apolo], it would make a huge difference?
Apolo: Definitely, uh, for long track more than short track, I think. But, ya know, I mean Nike, ya know, they did, ya know, a lot of speed tunnel testing, a lot of wind tunnel testing, and uh...
Conan: You didn't have to get in the wind tunnel?
Apolo: No, no...
Conan: Right, they'd have a dummy or something.
Apolo: Yeah, yeah, probably something.
Conan: That'd be great - "Where's Apolo?"..."He got shot out the back...we were trying to test the suit." [laughs]
Apolo: Yeah, I think, yeah, they definitely make a difference.
Conan: Um, let's talk about, uh, it was such an amazing winter Olympics, because so many things happened that people didn't anticipate.
Apolo: Mmmhmm.
Conan: For example, in the 1000m race, there was this, it looked, you were, looked like you were going for gold in that race.
Apolo: Yeah, I thought so too.
Conan: You thought so too. You were very close to the finish line, and you, you, you could taste it, right?
Apolo: Yeah, oh yeah, I definitely could feel it, ya know, and I really thought, I was definitely confident, ya know, but...
Conan: Right. And then there's, uh, this big giant pile-up, we actually have the, the clip. Let's just look at it, I don't know if you find this...
[Shows 1000m clip]
Announcer on clip: He's reaching back for one more gear, trying to hold up lead, they bump, they BUMP, they go DOWN, a TOTAL wipeout, and BRADBURY WINS!!!
Conan: Okay, now I have to ask...
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: Okay, now, I have to ask you - this insane pile-up first of all. One thing that I thought when I was watching it, that I thought was hilarious, was Bradbury, who's a friend of yours.
Apolo: [Laughs] Yeah.
Conan: He's in last place, or second to last place...
Apolo: He was in last, wasn't he?
Conan: Huh? You guys all fall, he was in last - oh, nice of you to point out he was in...
Apolo: [Laughs] ...last place...
Conan: Heard you guys were friends. Anyway, he's way back there, he was eating a sandwich for part of the race...
Apolo: He's on the phone [laughs, motions like he's on the phone]
Conan: And then you guys all fall, and then he skates over and he's like "YES!"
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: That was like, that must have been, if that had been me, I'd have crossed the finish line like "Uh, I guess I win?" Ya know...
Apolo: [Laughs] Umm
Conan: He said, now was that a strategy of his - "I'm gonna stay way back, wait for these guys to fall..."
Apolo: [Laughs] That's what he says, ya know
Conan: He says it like "I had this plan which was, I knew that they'd all fall..."
Apolo: Right.
Conan: "...and so, I'd conserve my energy and come in at the end."
Apolo: Yeah, I don't know, it definitely worked pretty well, I should try that probably, next time [laughs]
Conan: What if that's how he trained, what if he trained for the people and made them fall always - he'd be "Yes, I did it.."
Apolo: Hexed them, or something...
Conan: Um, it is an incredibly, I wasn't, I wasn't familiar with the sport, to be honest, and you got so much attention going into the Olympics, that I think a lot of people really paid attention to this event, maybe who hadn't watched it before, and in watching this event, I think a lot of us were stunned at just how rough this thing is, it's a rough sport, you guys are within centimeters of each other.
Apolo: Right.

Conan: Your crashes are common in this kind of racing, isn't that true?
Apolo: Right. Well, nothing like in the 1000 that we saw, but definitely, I mean if someone goes down, it's not like "Oh my gosh," but...
Conan: Have you ever thought, I mean, I was thinking, maybe what they should do with the race is actually give people weapons, like just go all the way. Like if they're gonna hit and fall anyway, why not - one guy gets a dart gun, one guy gets a cattle prod, and just really go all out. We could air this on Fox, I swear to God...
Apolo: They'd make a lot of money.
Conan: They'd make a lot of money, ya know, I'm just...the commentators would be like... "Apolo has chosen the blunderbust" ya know...
Apolo: [laughs]
Conan: "The Russian skater has a..." Uh, you know, I'm just...every...I don't know, uh. It, were you shocked, I mean you spent, I know it was a shock that you guys all fell during this race, but...
Apolo: Mmmhmm.
Conan: This has happened many, many times, it looks like, I'm shocked that you don't fall, when you're that close to each other and you're skating that fast.
Apolo: Um, well, I mean, being at World Cup level, ya know, World Class level, definitely, you don't expect to fall, ya know. It's not like we go down every race. But, um, this being the Olympics, I think anything can happen, and it showed, definitely, ya know, in the 1000, to have that many people fall in the same race is, that's uncommon. I've never seen that before.
Conan: Right. You were injured in that race, are you okay now? You got a -- you got a laceration...
Apolo: Yeah, yeah, I just had, ya know, six stitches, and they took 'em out yesterday, but ya know, definitely it healed up real fast so I could compete for the next races.
Conan: Now, when that fall happened and you were clearly in the lead and it came out of nowhere, and people had -- people had, uh, the media going into the Olympics had said, "This guy's gonna win 3 or 4 golds"...
Apolo: Uh huh.
Conan: And then there were different, you know, that event took place where you would have had gold, uh, people expected you to be better. People expected this is someone who, he's gonna say, "Well, it's not fair" and there were plenty of people in that Olympics who were, pardon my French, but bitching about a lot of things. You did not do that. You just showed a lot of class [audience applauds and cheers] and grace. Your attitude was...
Apolo: Thank you, thank you very much.
Conan: No, is that...is that how you really felt, or were you like, were you backstage like "GRRRRR" [Conan acts mad] And they're like, "Let's talk to him," "GRRRRR - what are you gonna do?" Ya know, was it, was there, I mean, you'd be honest with me...
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: There's no one watching -- it's very late.
Apolo: [Laughs] Uh, definitely at first, ya know, I was just like, I was, I was more stunned that, ya know, I just couldn't believe what happened, ya know, in my hands, and then [snaps his fingers] the next moment I knew, I was in the boards. But, um, I mean honestly I was just so happy to be able to come to the Olympics and just perform definitely in that race. Under all the pressures, ya know, all...I had, ya know, a couple bad injuries this year and uh, just to go out there and just perform my best, I was extremely happy after the race. Definitely tired, ya know, but I was very, very happy after the race.
Conan: There's also, there's a thing in the media which you've experienced, where they'll find a big talent like you and they'll say "I'll bet he'll get 3 or 4 golds." And then you win and...how old are you?
Apolo: Nineteen.
Conan: You're nineteen years old, I said eleven, we're close.
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: Uh, you come back with a gold and a silver at the age of nineteen and I saw so many interviews where people were saying "Well, but it wasn't the three or four" and I would be watching TV and I'd say like, that's actually a problem with our media today.
Apolo: yeah.
Conan: Is....this person did something amazing which you can be so proud of, and they're like "Well, but we predicted..." and it's like "Who cares what you predicted!"
Apolo: Yeah, I mean, that's...that's not common, I mean, that's definitely common to see.
Conan: Right.
Apolo: They'll pump that up, ya know.
Conan: Right, right.
Apolo: I mean, honestly there was, ya know, a chance of me actually winning four golds. But the probability, was, ya know, definitely slim to none, as you can see in our sport.
Conan: Yes, you've chosen a sport where there's a lot of..
Apolo: Variables.
Conan: Variables, have they ever thought of, I mean, look at me and my stupid ideas, I'm pitching -- I'm not gonna tell you another idea because I just pitched a blow dart.
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: But like having people skate in different lanes, just you have to stay in your lane so you actually get to see who's the fastest skater...
Apolo: Long track...
Conan: Long track....
Apolo: That's long track.
Conan: Now see, that's a good idea for a sport - long track!! [everyone laughs] Well, that made me look pretty gay. Alright, uh. Is there a sport where maybe they have a bat, and a ball, and they hit it? That's baseball...OH! Well, whaddya know! Uh, yeah, I was, I was, I have to say, I was so... [laughs] I was - on a sincere note - I was just, uh, you know, my wife's from Seattle, so she was talking about you long before these events even took place, and she said that Seattle's just so proud, they've gone so crazy.
Apolo: Yeah.
Conan: Uh, over you...and it's such a great town, too. They deserve, they deserve someone like you. And I, I, I, I was very happy with the way you handled everything, and I thought - that's how I like to see America represented, is someone who, great athlete, but also just a very nice person. You really did a good job. [Audience cheers and applauds]
Apolo: [Smiling] Thank you, thank you very much.
Conan: Thank you so much for being here [shakes Apolo's hand] Yeah stay right there.
Apolo: Okay.
Conan: And thank you for these! [holds up medals] I can't...
Apolo: [Laughs]
Conan: Alright everybody, that's Apolo Anton Ohno....