Apolo Ohno Joins 2014 Olympics … Coverage

You’ll be seeing decorated Olympian Apolo Ohno in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, though not likely on the ice.

This week, we learned that Apolo Ohno has a Sochi gig — but with NBC, covering Alpine skiing and snowboarding as the winter games commence next year.

In February, Ohno will join the NBC Sports team in Sochi to, in a non-skating capacity, use his experience in the games to give an analyst’s perspective in 2014.

On Saturday, Apolo Ohno confirmed his role in the 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, saying at the Television Critics Association meeting:

“Hopefully I can give people a good show.”

Ohno indeed gave people a good show back in 2010, when he won eight medals in three Olympic games. Since retiring, he admits he misses the sport “every day,” but adds:

I don’t want to get in that skinsuit.”

Ohno has worked with NBC in the past, and says of the summer games and his role in reporting that the first transitional step was really, really hard:

“That was my most difficult moment because you feel like you can do it one more time… I’ve lived it. I’ve been there day in and day out. I can share that and gain that trust with other athletes.”

But when it comes to being on the other side of the mic and whether he’d have a problem holding former fellow athletes’ feet to the fire with tough questions, Apolo Ohno seems assured that he can take on the role:

“You have to… At the end of the day I have a job… Olympic athletes have to find a job right after they’re done competing.”

He continues:

“You’d like people to remember you for these great times on the ice. In reality, you want them to forget because you’re doing something new and better. This is the new me.”

Will you be looking forward to Apolo Ohno’s new role as the Sochi games approach in February?