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iceangel32's review against another edition
5.0
Great book...It really made me think and want to better. I absolutely loved this book and hope I can apply some of the things he talked about to my life.
jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
3.0
Throughout this book, Ohno reveals himself as strong willed, extremely dedicated to his sport and a fierce competitor. His professional life as a short track speed skater is well documented, and the individual Olympic races that he participated in are given intricate, candid detail. However, I was disappointed that there was only minimal content on his personal life, and only the first chapter touched on his childhood and early teens before he got on the ice. The pictures included feel like an afterthought since the majority of them are snapshots from the last few years. Ohno has an interesting philosophy that works well for his athletic career, but is not entirely feasible for regular people, and didn't provide an intriguing framework for the entire book. Overall this was a fun read about an athlete that I greatly admire, but not particularly memorable.
cjdawn236's review against another edition
4.0
I've loved Apolo since his first Olympics, and I really enjoyed this look at how he trains and his perspective on competition. Ohno truly understands the spirit of the Olympic games.
rlguieb's review against another edition
4.0
I fell in love with Apolo after seeing him on DWTS but love him even more afterreading about his life. I commend his father for raising such an amazing and inspiring young man!
novel_sarahndipity's review
5.0
The book started and ended with his father. I adore and appreciate that. His father plays such a large role in his accomplishments and Apolo doesn't shy away from accepting and celebrating this fact. Some successful individuals either have a hard time with, or completely ignore when a person or support system has helped them achieve what they set out to accomplish. Apolo doesn't have this issue in the least. He gives credit where credit is due and it adds to the story ten-fold.
Short-track speed skating will forever be my favorite Olympic sport. His writing makes reading about short-track speed skating just as interesting and exciting as watching it! During some of his more difficult races or time periods, my heart was actually beating much faster than I would have anticipated while reading about a man skating in an oval. But here I am.
We also need to take just a moment to think about how he talks about dedication, motivation and a love for something you're passionate about. As he prepares for both the Olympics and his time on Dancing with the Stars, he had a similar system. It was such a treat being able to read about how he dedicated not a part of himself to his sport, but his entire self. This is motivation and self-control that a lot of individuals just can't achieve. In the same light Apolo also explains what he had to do to prep for these times in his life, how difficult it was and how he battled his own mind to achieve his goal(s). The motivational page in front of each chapter alone got my mind working.
Apolo is better than yesterday and lives with Zero Regrets, and this is more that just an Olympic Gold Medalist's story. This is a story about what you have to do, what you have to sacrifice & the mindset you have to have to achieve your goals with zero regrets.
I highly recommend.
Short-track speed skating will forever be my favorite Olympic sport. His writing makes reading about short-track speed skating just as interesting and exciting as watching it! During some of his more difficult races or time periods, my heart was actually beating much faster than I would have anticipated while reading about a man skating in an oval. But here I am.
We also need to take just a moment to think about how he talks about dedication, motivation and a love for something you're passionate about. As he prepares for both the Olympics and his time on Dancing with the Stars, he had a similar system. It was such a treat being able to read about how he dedicated not a part of himself to his sport, but his entire self. This is motivation and self-control that a lot of individuals just can't achieve. In the same light Apolo also explains what he had to do to prep for these times in his life, how difficult it was and how he battled his own mind to achieve his goal(s). The motivational page in front of each chapter alone got my mind working.
Apolo is better than yesterday and lives with Zero Regrets, and this is more that just an Olympic Gold Medalist's story. This is a story about what you have to do, what you have to sacrifice & the mindset you have to have to achieve your goals with zero regrets.
I highly recommend.
smiley7245's review against another edition
5.0
I may be a bit biased because I absolutely LOVE Apolo Ohno, but this book was great! It is funny and heart felt and really gives a great insight on how he became who he is. As a pre-teen/teen he was hell on wheels, or ice as the case may be. If it weren't for his Dad, who is absolutely adorable, he would not be where he is today. There are times when he talks about some of his races that he comes across as a complete arrogant jerk, but it's obvious that it's just how he races and who he is as a competitor. Otherwise, he is a charming, nice guy. I love watching him race, I loved him on Dancing With The Stars and I will continue to love him. The only thing he didn't answer, aside from if he will marry me, is if his mother has tried to make contact with him now that he's famous. She was not around when he was a child and I am just curious if she has tried to reach out to him since. He makes it clear that his Dad did a great job raising him and that his Dad is all he needs. I admire the relationship he has with his Dad. Did I mention that I love Apolo? Because I do.
sheamaryfitz's review against another edition
3.0
I really like Apolo Ohno (mostly from when he was on Dancing with the Stars) so I've been wanting to read his book for awhile, but for some reason just haven't been able to get in to it the last couple of times I've checked it out from the library. But I'm glad I kept giving it another chance, because I found it to be pretty inspiring. I didn't know anything about his childhood or much about his family background, which was pretty interesting. It's good to see a kid who could have made a lot of mistakes and ended up in a bad place turn his life around and become an Olympian. Definitely the American Dream personified! I'm not as familiar with Ohno as I am with, say, Michael Phelps (love him!) but I felt like their sports are actually oddly similar. I kept seeing connections between the two of them, especially when it came to training. I was kind of lost during some of the competitions though since I'm not as familiar with what he's done, and I wish he would have given a bit more description of some of his experiences. I felt like the DWTS chapter was kind of just a rundown of his dances, and anyone could have done that. I wanted more of a background on things, like how he felt and what went down behind the scenes.
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