KEARNS — For a man who has spent almost as much time perfecting his samba, rumba and Viennese waltz over the past nine months as he's spent tucked in a draft, Apolo Anton Ohno doesn't seem to have missed a beat.

In fact, the Olympic gold medalist turned dancing champion showed he's still the big man on the speedskating stage as he returned to the ice and won the U.S. 1,500 national championship Friday at the Utah Olympic Oval.

"It wasn't too bad," Ohno said after surging to the win with a strong finish. "Physically, I feel OK ... just getting back in the mix."

Ohno was joined by Katherine Reutter as first-day winners in the three-day event which continues today with racing in the men's and women's 500-meter races at 11 a.m.

Friday night, however, Ohno was hoping to prove to his fans, and himself, that the layoff from racing hadn't taken a toll on his capabilities.

With about four laps to go, Ohno began making his move. Tucked safely into the pack, Ohno slipped around a couple of his fellow racers and into second place by the time there were three laps remaining. With two laps to go, he had jumped to the front and didn't look back as he outsprinted Jordan Malone and Jeff Simon to the finish line.

"It worked out well," Ohno said of his strategy to wait for the pack to tire a little before making a charge to the front.

Reutter, likewise, picked her time to take charge. The difference, though, was that she did it fairly early in the race and had to skate defensively as she held off her challengers for her national title.

"Easy is not the right word," the 19-year-old rising star said. "There is no easy path to the front."

Still, she flew on the outside past the field less than halfway through the race and kept experienced racers like Allison Baver and Kim Derrick from passing her over the final few laps despite repeated attempts.

The wins mean Reutter and Ohno are locked into the world championship rosters for the U.S. and will also have spots in World Cup events over the next few months.

"This is a big deal," Reutter said. "You have to be in the top two if you want to skate in March."

The short-track skaters will host a World Cup event Feb. 8-10 at the Oval.

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E-mail: jeborn@desnews.com