VANCOUVER, B.C. – U.S. speedskater Apolo Ohno won his record 7th Olympic medal yesterday but it didn’t come easy. After a slip caused him to fall to last place with only three laps remaining in the short-track 1,000-meter final Saturday, Ohno knew he had to make the move of a lifetime.

“When I moved up into second place, in my head I thought that the race was mine and I felt great,” said Ohno. “Then I slipped and lost all my speed again. I saw everybody flying by me and I’m like, ‘Oh boy, there’s not a lot of time. I’m going to have to kind of crank it up.'”

Well behind the South Koreans and two Canadian brothers and knowing the gold and silver were clearly out of reach, Ohno made one final push and squeezed past Charles and Francois Hamelin to win the bronze.

That bronze made Ohno the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympian. “I really had to fight,” said Ohno. “I can’t wait to watch the tape and see how I came back from last place to win bronze.”

Prior to the race, Ohno was tied with female speedskater Bonnie Blair. Ohno’s collection now contains two gold, two silver and three bronze medals in his three Olympic appearances.

“I’m very happy for Apolo’s accomplishment,” Blair said after watching the race. “It’s a great feat for him, US Speedskating, and the United States of America. We hope that more kids will see his accomplishments and want to try our great sport that has been so good to us and taught us so much about what it takes to be successful in life.”

Olympics swimmer Michael Phelps also watched the race. Over two Summer Games, Phelps won a total of 14 gold medals.

Ohno skated a victory lap carrying an American flag and congratulated his South Korean rivals. During the medal ceremony Ohno put his arm around the South Koreans for photos, a sign that the animosity between the opponents may be a thing of the past.

“My goal was to come out and put my heart and soul into the Olympic Games and I’ve done that.”

Ohno has the 500 and the 5,000 relay remaining.

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