Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

For one Filipino-American, to be able to skate at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver was a childhood dream. Getting a bronze medal in this Olympic debut was just an icing on the cake.

John Robert Sabado Celski was 12 years old when he watched Apollo Anton Ohno win the gold at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake . He was an inline skater back then but seeing Ohno inspired him to try and transition to speed skating as well.

He trained hard and at the age of 15, barely made it to Team USA to the Olympics in Torino because he was underage by 17 days. Celski went back training and for more than a couple of years, he gained more confidence. He won two gold medals and two bronzes at the world championships last year and by September, he made it to Team USA , and he was on his way to his dream to compete in the Vancouver Games.

Unfortunately, he faced yet another hurdle. Celski had already qualified for the 1,500, the 1,000 and the relay but during one of the Olympic trials in Michigan , he fell and cut his leg an inch from his femoral artery when his skate lodged in his left thigh.

"I had to pull it out," JR said as he recalled the accident. "I saw my femur. It’s not fun seeing things you don’t normally see in your body."

The harrowing and gruesome injury didn’t just put his Olympic dreams on hold, his coaches wondered if he’d be able to walk again because of the extent of his injury.

"I thought my whole career was over," Celski told the media at a press conference in Vancouver. "I thought at one point that I might die that night."

Celski wasted no time and after the surgery, he underwent aggressive therapy and thus began his arduous path to recovery. His Olympic dream may have been dashed but his drive remained steady. His goal was still the same: to skate in the Olympics.

On Saturday, February 13, JR Celski’s lifelong dream happened.

He skated in the Olympics, and when the dust settled after the pileup, he found out that he won the bronze medal in the short-track speedskating’s 1,500 meters. His colleague and idol, 27-year-old Apollo Anton Ohno won the silver and South Korean Lee Jung-Su won the gold. With this bronze medal, Celski solidified his position as America ‘s next great short-track skater.

Celski will also skate in the 1000m and the 5000m relay in Vancouver . The 1500m was his first competition since the accident.

"Right when I got back on the ice I was really hesitant, especially going fast. Yeah, I had flashbacks, of course," he said. "I actually fell on the ice in practice. I needed that to mentally prepare myself for what could happen in the future."

But he had no fear Saturday night.

"I didn’t think about my leg the whole time," he said. (with AP wire reports)

( www.asianjournal.com )

( Published February 18, 2010 in Asian Journal Las Vegas p. A1 )