Apolo Ohno -- Scores Million Dollar Pad for Soul Patch

Apolo Ohno dropped $990K on a sick LA condo recently -- a ridiculously low price, considering it's a fraction of what the pad went for in the past ...TMZ has learned.

The Olympic speed skater snapped up the 2,500 sq. ft. spot a little earlier this year, and can thank the housing crisis for the MASSIVE discount he got -- the place previously sold for $1.5 million in 2006 and again for $1.55 million in 2008.

Between 2 bedrooms and 4 baths, Ohno has plenty of wall space to show off his medals -- 2 gold, 2 silver and 4 bronze -- plus, the pad's got a pool and it's only blocks from Beverly Hills ... prime locations to show off his lower-lip fur.