SALT LAKE CITY -- Threatening e-mails regarding short-track speedskating gold medalist Apolo Anton Ohno have been turned over to the FBI for investigation, the U.S. Olympic Committee said Thursday.

The threats were received following Ohno's first race of the Olympics, when he won the silver medal in the 1,000 meters after wiping out near the finish line, USOC spokesman Mike Moran said.

Another 16,000 e-mails regarding Ohno, mostly from sources in South Korea, forced the USOC to take down its Internet server early Thursday, Moran said. Service was restored almost nine hours later.

Ohno was the second one across the finish line Wednesday night but won gold when South Korean Kim Dong-sung was disqualified for blocking him during the last lap of the 1,500 meters.