Simon Cho

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Simon Cho
Personal information
Born (1991-10-07) October 7, 1991 (age 32)
Seoul,  South Korea
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 153 lb (69 kg)
Korean name
Hangul 조성문[1]
Revised Romanization Jo Seong-mun
McCune–Reischauer Cho Sŏngmun
Sport
Country  United States
Club Potomac Speedskating Club (Arlington County, Virginia)
Turned pro 2008
Achievements and titles
Olympic finals 1
Highest world ranking 8 (500m) 15 (overall)
Medal record
Men's short track speed skating
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2010 Vancouver 5000 m relay
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2011 Sheffield 500 m
Silver medal – second place 2010 Sofia 5000 m relay
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Sheffield 5000 m relay

Simon Cho (born October 7, 1991) is an American short track speed skater who was a member of the US Olympic Team for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Early life

Simon Cho was born in Seoul, South Korea and moved to the United States as an illegal immigrant with his parents at the age of four and settled in Chicago.[2] He remained an illegal immigrant until he reached the age of 11.[3]

Growing up, Cho recounted that life was financially difficult as an illegal 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".[2][3] Due to a display of skill in speed skating, his parents sold their business and spent their savings to move to Salt Lake City to train Cho for the sport after he graduated from junior high school.[2]

Career

Cho began skating at the age of 3. He trained in Salt Lake City but moved back to Upper Marlboro, Maryland 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.[4][5] 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".[4] However, at the age of 18, Cho qualified for the 2010 U.S. Olympic team. Apolo Ohno noted that Cho "basically made this team training on his own".[5] Cho cites Ohno and Shani Davis as mentors who helped him face challenges as being a person of color in the sport.[2]

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.[6]

In August 27, 2013, Cho received a two-year suspension from competitions after he admitted having sabotaged his Canadian rival's Oliver Jean'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 in Sochi.[7][8]

References

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External links

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