JUDY WOODRUFF: We are just about
at the midpoint of the Winter
Olympics, and they have been one of

the most unusual and more
controversial Games, given COVID
and China's record on human rights.

Even so, athletes are trying
to compete under enormous
pressure at the highest levels.

Amna Nawaz gets the perspective
of an Olympic great.

AMNA NAWAZ: Judy, this first
week has seen its share of
disappointments for the Americans,

but there have been electric moments
as well, featuring Chloe Kim,

Nathan Chen, and Lindsey
Jacobellis, to name just a few.

And there's also a lot of attention
Eileen Gu, who was born in the U.S.,

but is competing for China,
her mother's home country.

For more on the games from
an athlete's perspective,

I'm joined by former speedskater
Apolo Ohno. He is the most decorated

Winter Olympian in U.S. history with
eight medals, including two goals.

Apolo Ohno, welcome to the "NewsHour."
Thanks so much for making the time.

APOLO ANTON OHNO, Olympic Gold
Medalist: Thank you for having me.

AMNA NAWAZ: So, how does the most
decorated American Winter Olympian

of all time watch the
Olympics? Can you just kick

back and kind of watch? Or are you
screaming at the TV the whole time?

APOLO ANTON OHNO: I watch them the same
way that everyone else watches them,

on the road, like when I'm in
transit, when I'm flying, when I
have access to just consume this

as much as possible. I wake up
in the middle of night sometimes
to watch the events live.

And I cheer and scream and cry and smile
and shout at the screen like I think

everyone else does. I think the
difference now is that I'm no longer,

obviously, on the field of
play. I'm on the opposite side.
So I know what it feels like

pre-competition, when they're
about to go down a slope or do
something. It's pretty spectacular.

So -- but I get involved just
like anyone else. And, by the way,
a lot of this happens when I'm

just alone. And I find myself screaming
at the television, which is really fun.

(LAUGHTER)

AMNA NAWAZ: Apolo Ohno is
just like the rest of us.

So, who have you been watching?
What have been some of the
standout moments to you so far?

APOLO ANTON OHNO: Well, I have
watched everything so far.

I have watched all the
speedskating. I have watched the
snowboarding. I have watched the

skiing. I have watched -- obviously,
because of my bias with short
track speedskating and long track,

in its essence, is something that I
love to see, because, I mean, to me,

these Games are unprecedented.

They're unlike anything that these
athletes have ever experienced before.

And the past two years have been
unprecedented, unlike anything else

all of us have ever experienced
before. And so this is a
dramatically different Olympics.

Obviously, you know as well as I do the
geopolitical tension that exists there,

a lot of different conversations
that are happening around what can

and cannot be said when on the podium
or even there inside a foreign country.

But make no mistake, these athletes
still want to perform their
best. And they're having more

open conversations around how
they feel, how they're performing,
the stress and the pressures

associated, and how the athletes
can really rise to be their
best versions of themselves.

AMNA NAWAZ: I want to unpack some
of those points you just made,
but also to ask you about kind of

another unprecedented moment,
which is just this Asian American
excellence we are witnessing.

You heard me list some of
those names there, Nathan Chen
and Chloe Kim and Eileen Gu.

Why do you think it took until
this moment to have that kind of
representation in these Games?

APOLO ANTON OHNO: That's a great question.

I think that -- and, hopefully,
maybe I had some semblance
of a fraction of a percent to

do with that, when other athletes
were looking and seeing someone
who was biracial, who looked

like them, maybe had a similar
background of growing up in
a single-parent household.

I think, at the end of the day,
this is something that is a
long time coming, right? I mean,

representation, no matter where
you're from, what you look
like, who you identify as,

is a really important aspect of
making sure these athletes are
going there to be their best.

And it does take a few cycles of
the Olympic Games. For example,

when I competed in my first
Games in 2002, eight years
later, in 2010, there were kids

who were on my Olympic team who
started skating because they
watched the 2002 Olympic Games.

And so this phenomena and dream is very
real, where we identify with someone that

looks similar to us, they have
some kind of background and
story that resonates with us,

and/or they just understand that the
Olympic movement is pretty spectacular.

So I think it's important to
recognize what's happening in
terms of the Asian American

representation, but make no mistake, these
athletes are going they're representing as

athletes to be the best
versions of themself.

AMNA NAWAZ: We're hearing a lot
about athletes' backgrounds,
which kind of gives us

much more of a complete picture of them.

But we're also having a conversation
about mental health. And credit where

it's due. After the Tokyo Games and
what Simone Biles went through and

talked about openly and bravely,
it's very much a part of
these Beijing Games as well.

I'm curious if you can
tell us, what do you think

most people don't understand about the
unique pressure faced by Olympians?

APOLO ANTON OHNO: Well, I think it's
challenging to see or understand
why someone would dedicate

five years, 10 years, 15
years of their life for a race
that lasts 40 seconds' long.

And in that race, at a particular Olympic
Games, the difference between first place,

being on the cover of Wheaties, getting
the commercial attributes associated,

being celebrated and recognized
and, effectively, your recognition
being changed overnight,

to being in fourth place, just off of
the podium, no one knows or watched,

no one remembers even a few days
after Olympic Games are finished.

And that difference between
gold and off the podium...

(CLAPPING)

APOLO ANTON OHNO: ... is two claps.

So, this entire pressure around
these athletes who are going to
the Games, everything is riding

on this one moment, and being
so married to the outcome and
the result, is challenging.

I think it is a different time.
We're talking about mental
health. The associated challenges

with microtrauma and trauma that
exists throughout the experience
of a human, whether it's sport

and/or not, is important. And
it's good. And we should be
having these open conversations.

More importantly to me, how we identify
with the word strength and champion,

and what that means to us. And when I
grew up, the conditioning that I had was,

doesn't matter how you feel,
doesn't matter your emotion,

your job is to churn medals
and perform under the highest
amount of pressure possible.

And that is what you have to do, you
have to do at all costs, even if it comes

down to your own internal
unhappiness. And so now we're
moving towards a society that says,

hey, I can be strong, I can be
extremely performant, I can win medals,

and I can also be vulnerable,
show empathy, and show that I'm
actually human, and I have the same

type of insecurities and self-doubts
and maybe missteps that everyone
else does who's watching.

AMNA NAWAZ: Do you ever look back and say,
man, I wish I had that kind of support,

that kind of ability to talk about
all this stuff when I was coming up?

APOLO ANTON OHNO: I mean, it's easy
to say yes to that type of a question.

I think that life has been a gift
to me in every essence. And good,
bad, right or wrong, a fight,

I always stand back up. I do
my best to dust myself off and
recalibrate. And life is hard.

One of my favorite quotes of all
time with these poems is, good
timber does not grow with ease,

the stronger wind, the stronger trees.
And everyone carries their own pain,

their experiences with them throughout
life. But those are just mere chapters.

And the way that you respond and
react to them are really important.

Do I wish I had an outlet to
speak about? I don't know if I
even would have. I don't know

if I was comfortable in my own
skin to be able to even actually
let people into my mind. So

it's easy to say yes, but I
take everything that I have
had with immense gratitude.

And I'm grateful for the challenges
that I have been able to shoulder.

And as I grow and I hopefully
become a more wholesome human,

maybe we can deliver these types
of insights to the next generation,
so they can be better, they

can show up for the communities,
find purpose, and ultimately
show up fully on a daily basis.

AMNA NAWAZ: I can't think of a more
inspiring message to end this week on,

whether you're an Olympian or not.

Apolo Ohno, I can't thank you enough.
Thank you so much for your time.

APOLO ANTON OHNO: Thanks for having me.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Inspiring,
for sure. Thank you.