Simon Cho (born October 7, 1991) is a retired

Korean American Korean Americans () are Americans of full or partial Korean ethnic descent. While the broader term Overseas Korean in America () may refer to all ethnic Koreans residing in the United States, the specific designation of Korean American impli ...

short track speed skater Short-track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating, ice speed skating. In competitions, multiple skaters (typically between four and six) skate on an oval ice track with a length of . The rink itself is long by wide, which is the s ...

who was a member of the US Olympic Team for the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. He is currently the head coach at Potomac Speed Skating Club. Since Cho has become head coach, Potomac Speed Skating Club has been one of the top ranked clubs in the United States with evidence pointing from their Short Track National Club Championship 2016–2017 in March 2017 and a back to back team championship performance at the Buffalo Short Track Championships on October 21–22, 2017.

Early life

Cho was born in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

and moved to the United States as an undocumented immigrant with his parents at the age of four and settled in Chicago. He remained an undocumented immigrant until he reached the age of 11. Growing up, Cho recounted that life was financially difficult as an undocumented immigrant, stating, "My parents left for work before I woke up and came back home after I went to sleep. We had financial difficulties and there were times when we had no water or electricity for a few days because we weren't able to pay the bills. Other daily activities that others take for granted such as having a drivers’ license was difficult for my father". Due to a display of skill in speed skating, his parents sold their business and spent their savings to move to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...

to train Cho for the sport after he graduated from

junior high school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes ...

. Simon Cho now resides in Rockville, Maryland and when he is not coaching, he enjoys watching sports, documentaries and attending concerts.

Career

Cho began skating at the age of 3. He trained in Salt Lake City but moved back to

Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the county seat of Prince George's County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population within the town limits was 652, although Greater Upper ...

a year before the U.S. Olympic Trials, initially quit speed skating after failing to qualify for performance grants from the U.S. Olympic Committee and U.S. Speedskating which would have offset the unaffordable costs of $40,000 for training. About his chances of making the Olympic team, Cho said, "When I say nobody thought I would make the team, literally nobody thought I would make it...Not even me". However, at the age of 18, Cho qualified for the 2010 U.S. Olympic team.

Apolo Ohno Apolo Anton Ohno (; born May 22, 1982) is an American retired short track speed skating competitor and an eight-time medalist (two gold, two silver, four bronze) in the Winter Olympics. Ohno was inducted into the International Sports Hall of Fa ...

noted that Cho "basically made this team training on his own". Cho cites Ohno and

Shani Davis Shani Earl Davis (; born August 13, 1982) is an American former Speed skating, speed skater. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy, Davis win a gold medal in an individual event at the Winter Olympic Games, winning the speedskating 1000 m ...

as mentors who helped him face challenges as being a

person of color The term "person of color" (: people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is associated with, the United States. From th ...

in the sport. At the Vancouver Olympics, he competed in the 500 meter and 5000 meter relay events. Cho earned a bronze medal in the relay after skating in the semifinals. On August 27, 2013, Cho received a two-year suspension from competitions after he admitted having sabotaged his

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

rival's

Olivier Jean Olivier Jean (born March 15, 1984) is a three time Olympian who represented Canada in both short and long track speed skating. Olivier Jean is a gold medalist from the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games in the men's 5000m relay. He is a Canadian short ...

's equipment during the 2011 World Team Championships. Cho claimed that he acted on an order from his coach Jae-Su Chun. The suspension ran through October 4, 2014, which means Cho missed the chance to qualify for the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

. He is now the coach of his home club, the Potomac Speedskating Club, now based in Wheaton, MD.

References

External links

ISU profile at SportResult.com
*
Simon Cho
at

Team USA The United States national team or Team USA may refer to any of a number of sports team representing the United States in international competitions. Olympic teams Additionally, these teams may compete in other international competitions such as ...

(archived) * * * http://www.potomacspeedskating.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Cho, Simon 1991 births Living people American male short-track speed skaters Olympic bronze medalists for the United States in short-track speed skating Short-track speed skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Medalists at the 2010 Winter Olympics American sportspeople of Korean descent South Korean emigrants to the United States World Short Track Speed Skating Championships medalists Undocumented immigrants to the United States 21st-century American sportsmen