Apolo Ohno as NBC Correspondant for 2014 Winter Olypmics
Apolo Ohno, one of the most decorated U.S. Winter Olympians, has declared the he does not anticipate a comeback to speed skating although he may still attend the 2014 Olympics.
Ohno has won eight Olympic medals over his career as a short track speed skater, two of which were gold. While the athlete admitted to having an "amazing" career he revealed in a recent interview that he was ready to move on.
"I think it's pretty sure at this point [that the comeback is] not going to be," Ohno told Sports Illustrated in a telephone interview Wednesday morning. "It was always in the back of my head. I just didn't want to rule it out. I've been very blessed, had such an amazing career, overcome a lot of obstacles in my life. It's time to try some different opportunities."
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Those opportunities include accepting a position as an NBC sports correspondent during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi.
Ohno also recently became the host of Game Show Network's Minute to Win It. Although some have suspected that Ohno retired long ago; he hasn't competed in an Olympic event since 2010, but his decision to officially retire did not come until now.
"I never wanted to officially announce a retirement, never felt I needed to. It works for some people. For me my goal was to be as busy as possible, to make sure my transition after competition went well," he told USA Today, admitting that it was obvious he had made a decision to no longer compete. "I never really mentioned (retirement). It's less than 12 months from the Olympic Games so I thought people would catch on. For me it was pretty much common sense. An Olympic pursuit really takes a full three to four years of Olympic preparation."
