'I Feel the Ice'

Beliefnet's Winter Olympics 2002 coverage is sponsored by Guideposts, a source for true stories of hope and inspiration.

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"I'm going to show you body wisdom," the old man said. "Everything you'll ever need to know is within you; the secrets of the universe are imprinted on the cells of your body. But you haven't learned inner vision; you don't know how to read the body. Your only recourse has been to read books and listen to experts and hope they are right. When you learn body wisdom, you'll be a Teacher among teachers."

That scene occurs early on in Dan Millman's "Way of the Peaceful Warrior," a self-help book based on the story of the author and a man named Socrates, who becomes his mentor. A cult classic two decades ago, "Way of the Peaceful Warrior" is Apolo Anton Ohno's favorite book and goes a long way toward explaining his Olympic quest.

Entering this year's Winter Olympiad at Salt Lake City, Ohno ranks as one of the U.S.'s top medal candidates. He dominated last year's short-track speed skating season--the winner in the 500 meters, 1,000 meters, 1,500 meters, 3,000 meters and the overall championship. Ohno became enthralled with speed skating at the age of 12 when he saw the short-track finals from Lillehammer, Norway, site of the '94 Games. He promptly tore apart his in-line skates and tried to fit them with blades.

At the age of 14, his father, Yuki, shipped him off to train at Lake Placid, a training site for the U.S. short-track team. The move almost backfired as Ohno, a native of Seattle, felt homesick and "caged" by the small town atmosphere. But soon he began to pour his energy into learning to win at short track. It's a pell-mell event where competitors fly around the rink at 30 miles per hour in packs of five. Miss an edge or get nudged off-balance? Too bad, before you know it you'll be sliding into the sideboards. Your medal chances over.

When Ohno talks about his sport, one can hear echoes of Millman's body wisdom.

"I just feel the ice," Ohno says. "I can feel it under my feet. I can feel it under my toes. I feel every ripple in the ice and I feel that's something that contributes a lot to my success.

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