Ohno finally gets gold after another bizarre finish

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ OK, so nothing comes easy for Apolo Anton Ohno. <br><br>If he is not being accused of fixing a race, getting knocked down on the last lap or skating with six stitches in his leg,

Thursday, February 21st 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) _ OK, so nothing comes easy for Apolo Anton Ohno.

If he is not being accused of fixing a race, getting knocked down on the last lap or skating with six stitches in his leg, he's having to dodge a rival speedskater with a half-lap to go.

But it is working out just fine for the teen-ager from Seattle.

Ohno was the second one across the finish line Wednesday night, just like he was last weekend, but he won gold this time when South Korean Kim Dong-sung was disqualified for blocking him during the last lap of the 1,500 meters.

``I'm just so happy,'' Ohno said. ``It's something deep down in my heart I'll keep forever.''

The finish drew plenty of criticism.

``This is far-fetched,'' said Jun Myung-kyu, the South Korean coach for 15 years. ``It doesn't make any sense. The level of the referee was not up to the level of what an Olympic referee should be.''

Added Italy's Fabio Carta, who finished fourth: ``It's absurd that the Korean was disqualified.''

In the women's 3,000 relay though, South Korea did get a gold when its team set a world record of 4 minutes, 12.793 seconds. China won the silver, trailed by Canada.

Choi Min-kyung pumped both fists as she crossed the line, eclipsing the mark of 4:13.541 set by China at a World Cup meet in Calgary last October. She was quickly joined by her three teammates, Choi Eun-kyung, Joo Min-jin and Park Hye-won, who circled the track carrying a South Korean flag while a small contingent from their homeland cheered wildly.

Several minutes later, the South Korean fans were silenced by the disqualification of Kim.

The home crowd erupted in cheers.

Ohno's first attempt at gold ended Saturday night with him sprawled on the ice, taken out by a final-turn crash during the 1,000 meters. He managed to stumble and crawl to the finish line, taking the silver behind Australia's Steven Bradbury, the only skater who didn't hit the ice.

All of this comes after the U.S. trials in December, when Ohno was accused of fixing a 1,000-meter qualifying race so his friend Shani Davis could make the team. An arbitrator ruled there wasn't enough evidence to prove the claim by 1998 Olympian Tommy O'Hare.

``It's something I've come to expect,'' Ohno said. ``People are going to ask questions no matter what the outcome.''

Ohno skated Wednesday night with six stitches in his left thigh, though he didn't seem bothered by the injury. After being last or next-to-last for much of the 13 1/2-lap race, he brought more than 15,000 fans to their feet with a daring pass of three skaters with two laps to go.

He was in second behind Kim, the defending World Cup champion.

``That was my strategy,'' he said. ``I wanted to wait as long as possible because there was a lot of traffic. I made a nice move, came inside real nice and he (Kim) just came over on me.''

Coming off the next-to-last turn, Ohno used a burst of momentum and dipped to the inside to get around the first-place South Korean. But Kim moved into his path, prompting Ohno to throw up his arms _ a cagey move that certainly drew the attention of the referees.

When the chief referee, James Hewish of Australia, skated over to turn in his decision, the crowd gasped in anticipation. Then the announcer revealed it: Kim was disqualified and the 19-year-old Ohno was the gold medalist.

Ohno dropped to his knees at center ice. Kim, who was in the middle of a victory lap with a South Korean flag, slammed down the banner in disgust.

``They can just throw me in the desert and bury me,'' Ohno said. ``I got a gold medal. I'm good now.''

Li Jiajun of China won the silver and Marc Gagnon of Canada took the bronze.

``I waited for the right time to move, and it worked out,'' Ohno said. ``I just did my best, and I shined like a star.''

South Korea's national news agency Yonhap summed up the race this way:

``After several failed attempts to cut in front of Kim Dong-sung, Ohno drew attention of the referees with a 'Hollywood action,' and finally won the gold medal. He should have won an Academy Award for his trick.''

Short-track races are governed by three officials: the chief referee and two assistants who skate in small circles at the center of the track watching the action.

Kim was disqualified for ``cross-tracking'' _ improperly crossing the course to interfere with another skater. The skater angrily declined to comment.

``He definitely came over on me,'' Ohno said. ``Good call.''

Ohno hugged his coaches while being cheered from the stands by his father, Yuki, a hairstylist who raised his son after Ohno's mother walked out of his life when he was 1.

After failing to make the U.S. team in 1998 because he was out of shape, Ohno rededicated himself and became a star even before he arrived in Salt Lake City. He has a cult following, including men and women who wear fake chin hair, mimicking Ohno's trademark soul patch

The games didn't start so well for Ohno.

He was out front in his first event, the 1,000, when a four-skater crash on the last lap sent him spinning into the boards. He cut himself with his own skate blade.

Ohno staggered to the finish, throwing his injured leg over the line to claim a silver medal in one of the signature moments of the Winter Games.