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                                                                    EXHIBIT 31.1

                    CERTIFICATION OF CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
             PURSUANT TO TITLE 18, UNITED STATES CODE, SECTION 1350
      AS ADOPTED PURSUANT TO SECTION 302 OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002


I, Michael D. Siegal, the Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Olympic Steel,
Inc. (the "Company"), certify that:

         (1) I have reviewed this annual report on Form 10-K of the Company;

         (2) Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any
         untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
         necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
         under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
         the period covered by this annual report;

         (3) Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other
         financial information included in this annual report, fairly present in
         all material respects the financial condition, results of operations
         and cash flows of the Company as of, and for, the periods presented in
         this annual report;

         (4) The Company's other certifying officer and I are responsible for
         establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
         defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14) for the Company and we
         have:
         (a) designed such disclosure controls and procedures to ensure that
         material information relating to the Company, including its
         consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
         entities, particularly during the period in which this annual report is
         being prepared;

         (b) evaluated the effectiveness of the Company's disclosure controls
         and procedures as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of
         this annual report (the "Evaluation Date"); and

         (c) presented in this annual report our conclusions about the
         effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures based on our
         evaluation as of the Evaluation Date;

         (5) The Company's other certifying officer and I have disclosed, based
         on our most recent evaluation, to the Company's auditors and the audit
         committee of Company's board of directors (or persons performing the
         equivalent function):
         (a) all significant deficiencies in the design or operation of internal
         controls which could adversely affect the Company's ability to record,
         process, summarize and report financial data and have identified for
         the Company's auditors any material weaknesses in internal controls;
         and

         (b) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
         other employees who have a significant role in the Company's internal
         controls; and

         (6) The Company's other certifying officer and I have indicated in this
         annual report whether or not there were significant changes in internal
         controls or in other factors that could significantly affect internal
         controls subsequent to the date of our most recent evaluation,
         including any corrective actions with regard to significant
         deficiencies and material weaknesses.

         By: /s/ Michael D. Siegal
             ---------------------
         Michael D. Siegal
         Olympic Steel, Inc.
         Chairman & Chief Executive Officer

         March 26, 2004