Apollo Anton Ohno

Apollo Anton Ohno, reigning eight time United States Short Track Speedskating Champion and five time Olympic medalist (2 gold, 1 silver, 2 bronze), is very proud to call Seattle, Washington his hometown. Yuki Ohono, Apolo’s father who raised him as a single dad, is respectfully credited as the driving force behind his talented son’s stellar skating career. Today, what stands out most, is Apolo’s dedication and discipline as a means to accomplishing his goals. In 2008, Ohno won his first World Championship overall title, and, in 2007, Apolo decided to join “Dancing with the Stars”, ABC’s hit reality show competition, and even won!

Although Ohno didn't begin his short track career until 1995, it took him less than two years to become the best short-track skater in the United States. At 14, after training under Pat Wetland in Lake Placid for just six months, Ohno claimed his first overall title at the U.S. Championships. Ohno's success made him a likely candidate to make the 1998 U.S. Olympic Team, but the American struggled with his fitness throughout the 1997-98 seasons and finished 16th at the Olympic Trials.

Ohno committed himself to making the 2002 Olympic squad, and by the 2000-01 seasons he was one of the world's best skaters. The Seattle native won the World Cup title in the 500m, 1000m, and 1500m en route to winning the overall crown, making him the first American to win a World Cup title at any distance.



Hurricane Katrina was a massive hurricane that hit the Gulf Region of the United States on August 29, 2005. The hurricane was a category 5 as it approached the coast, and hit land as a category 4.The storm was quite large, with hurricane-force winds extending 105 miles from the eye, and tropical storm-force winds extending over 230 miles.

The hurricane caused extensive and severe damage in Louisiana and Mississippi, but the hardest hit area was New Orleans, Louisiana. Seventy percent of New Orleans lies below sea level and a series of...