He's won gold, he's won silver and he's won bronze, and Wednesday night speed skater Apolo Ohno won over a crowd of hundreds at Southern Connecticut State University.
On Wednesday, the most decorated American athlete to ever compete in the Winter Olympics was in Connecticut to share his personal story at Southern Connecticut State University.
On the ice, he's all about speed. On the stage, he's all about inspiration. On Thursday, he was all and people, and telling his story.
When he was a 14-year-old kid, growing up with a single parent in Seattle, he got in with the wrong crowd, he said, and he was not taking his raw talent seriously at all.
“I didn't see it, I didn't get it. I didn't understand that I had a talent,” Ohno said.
But, now the 27-year-old is the most decorated gold medalist in Winter Games history and he wants youth to know they can do whatever they want if they just believe.
“The lessons that I've learned in short track speed skating and Olympic experience and pursuit can be applicable to any diverse area whatever avenue people are trying to accomplish,” Ohno said.
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That's the message the Meadows kids from Meriden are taking home and their father, Joe Meadows, said he is happy he brought Joey and Christina to see Ohno.
“He was driving me nuts, he wanted to come and see this and he kept asking, over and over and over and over and over, until we came” Joe Meadows said.
“I want to ask him to autograph my skate and the poster at the end. Cause they're going to go give me that poster,” Joey Meadows, of Meriden, said.
“I saw Apolo and I wanted to be just like him,” Christina Meadows, of Meriden, said.
After the speech was done. Ohno was all about pizza, and which famed New Haven place to go to.
“We said Pepe's, we said Sally's and Modern Apizza, I think, so I'm not sure which one we're gonna try,” Ohno said earlier in the night. We found out, via Twitter where he went.
We found out, via Twitter where he went.
By the way, ended up trying Pepe's...great choice. Now signing autographs in the car back to NY. Early flight tomorrow...will b in LA soon, Ohno tweeted.
With so many great choices in New Haven, he couldn't go wrong with any of his choices.
