SALT LAKE CITY Thrills, spills and crashes, controversy and chaos, protests and lawsuits, Olympic short track speedskating had it all.

From the mayhem emerged an unlikely star, Canada's Marc Gagnon, at 26 a grizzled veteran of short track wars stealing the thunder of current sensation American Apolo Anton Ohno.

Tipped to win four medals, these were supposed to be the oh-lympics.

But Apolo failed to take flight in Salt Lake City leaving with a single controversial gold and silver as Gagnon soared to unexpected heights.

Gold in the 500 meters and 5,000 meters relay on Saturday, combined with another relay gold from Nagano to make the 26-year-old French-Canadian just the second man to win three Olympic gold medals in his career.

Gagnon's resume also includes a pair of bronze medals, one from Salt Lake and another from Lillehammer, making him the sport's most decorated skater, Reuters reported.

"I haven't had time to think about the two golds, I've been working for a long time," said Gagnon. "I'm just glad that it all worked out."

Armed with a can't-forget name, hip young looks, an edgy charm and most importantly immense talent, the 19-year-old Ohno arrived in Salt Lake City as the posterboy for America's Olympic effort but could not live up to the hype.

Even Ohno's one gold medal performance was tainted by controversy.

South Korea's Kim Dong-sung crossed first ahead of Ohno in the 1,500 meters but was later disqualified and the gold controversially awarded to the American.

The ruling outraged the South Koreans, who threatened lawsuits and boycott of the closing ceremony unless the result was reversed.