The whole article is good, but I’ve just included the parts about Simon.
After Vancouver, US Speedskating keeps winning waysRetirements and semi-retirements have no effect on team's performance
By Paul Newberry / Associated Press | March 3, 2011
Simon skates in his 500M Gold-Medal-Winning race, World Cup 6 - Dresden, Feb 2011 (Photo Credit – AP)…Nineteen-year-old Simon Cho looks like Ohno's heir apparent on the men's side, claiming the overall World Cup title in the 500…
…Cho was an afterthought on the short track team in Vancouver, where the spotlight was squarely on Ohno as he set the U.S. Olympic record by claiming three more medals.
Through it all, though, the teenager was picking up some valuable pointers.
"There weren't many expectations for me," Cho said. "So last season was a really good opportunity for me to sit and observe, see what the successful skaters were doing compared to what I was doing. For me, the hard work has always been there. I just felt like I was missing something in the equation."
Mostly, he had to change his mindset.
"It was quite an adjustment for me to go from being the team's little brother and mascot to trying to be one of the main guys on the team," Cho said…
Read More:
www.universalsports.com/news/article/newsid=521912.htmlTags: Simon Cho / Katherine Reutter / Travis Jayner / Apolo Anton Ohno / Short Track Speedskating
+++
Apolo Ohno is moving merchandise. Chad Hedrick is enjoying retirement. And Stephen Colbert is taking aim at other comic fodder.
No matter.
Despite an overhaul at the top and the perpetual struggle for adequate funding, U.S. speedskating is doing just fine a year after the Vancouver Olympics, piling up medals on both the long and short track.
"It has been somewhat of a surprise," said Ryan Shimabukuro, coach of the long-track team. "But we knew we had a few skaters, based on how they progressed last year, who were right there ready to take their turn on the international scene. It bodes well for the future."
Ohno, the biggest star in short track, put his skating career on hold -- maybe for good -- after setting a U.S. Winter Olympic record with eight medals. He's written a book, launched a nutritional supplement business, served as grand marshal for a NASCAR race and even started training for the New York City Marathon.
Clearly, though, the Americans were more than a one-man team.
After winning two medals in Vancouver, Katherine Reutter underwent hip surgery. She came back stronger than ever, winning World Cup titles in both the 1,000 and 1,500 meters, as well as finishing the season ranked No. 1 overall -- the first U.S. woman ever to win a short track season championship.
Nineteen-year-old Simon Cho looks like Ohno's heir apparent on the men's side, claiming the overall World Cup title in the 500.
"Now that Apolo has stepped away, and we don't really know if or when he's going to come back, it really has given the rest of us a chance to shine," the 22-year-old Reutter said. "I guess people figured that once Apolo was gone, this sport would just kind of die out for the Americans."
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Shani Davis remains the stalwart of the long-track team, winning four golds and eight medals overall during the World Cup season. He has plenty of support, too, even with five-time Olympic medalist Hedrick hanging up his skates after Vancouver.
Heather Richardson -- a former inliner from North Carolina -- has produced a breakout season with two golds, three silvers and three bronze medals on the World Cup circuit. She just missed another podium spot in the World Sprint Championships, settling for fourth by one-hundredth of a second.
"It's only going to get better from here," the 21-year-old Richardson said.
Four other skaters also have claimed World Cup medals: Trevor Marsicano (two golds, one silver), Tucker Fredricks (one gold, one silver, one bronze), Jilleanne Rookard (one gold) and Jonathan Kuck (one silver).
"That's definitely something we can build on," Shimabukuro said. "It's tough to win medal counts when you only have one or two potential medalists."
The host of "The Colbert Report" stepped in to support the long-track team after its main sponsor went bankrupt shortly before the Olympics, bringing unprecedented attention to the program. Colbert is no longer around, rekindling the usual financial challenges this sport has always faced.
At least it gained some new fans.
"I think a lot more people know what speedskating is," Richardson said. "A lot of my friends understand it now and still follow it."
Cho was an afterthought on the short track team in Vancouver, where the spotlight was squarely on Ohno as he set the U.S. Olympic record by claiming three more medals.
Through it all, though, the teenager was picking up some valuable pointers.
"There weren't many expectations for me," Cho said. "So last season was a really good opportunity for me to sit and observe, see what the successful skaters were doing compared to what I was doing. For me, the hard work has always been there. I just felt like I was missing something in the equation."
Mostly, he had to change his mindset.
"It was quite an adjustment for me to go from being the team's little brother and mascot to trying to be one of the main guys on the team," Cho said.
Ohno, who hasn't decided if he'll return to competitive skating, has been keeping up with his old teammates from afar.
"We had incredible momentum from last season," Ohno wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "Both Katherine and Simon had breakthrough years this season, with the veteran Travis Jayner being so consistent. (Even with) this being an ‘off year,' the team is showing their strengths."
With spring approaching, the season wraps up with two more major meets on both the big oval and the short track.
Davis, Richardson and the rest of the long-track team is in the Netherlands this weekend for the World Cup championship, then finish up with the World Single Distance Championships in Germany the following week.
Reutter, Cho and Co. will be in Britain next weekend for the world championships, then finish up March 19-20 with the world team championships.
Both squads are looking for a big finish to a most promising year.
"Sochi is still three years away," Shimabukuro said. "There's a lot of work to do. We'll take the medals we won this year, but you definitely have to keep pushing forward and not get comfortable with the results you have."[/img]