Published : Dec. 29, 2011 - 17:45
Ahn Hyun-soo (left) celebrates with Lee Ho-suk after winning the 1,500 m race at the 2006 Winter Olympics. (File photo)
Olympic medalist Ahn Hyun-soo plans to compete as Viktor Ahn for Russia at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.
The Russian Skating Union announced Wednesday that the three-time Olympic gold medalist has applied for Russian citizenship and is expecting to receive a Russian passport in January.
“After the New Year’s holidays Ahn will receive a Russian passport,” Aleksei Kravtsov, head of the Russian Skating Union, said in a statement on its website.
The skating union also posted a scan of the document showing Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s signature granting Ahn Russian citizenship.
The name was chosen after Russia’s legendary rock musician Viktor Choi, and also because of its resemblance to the word “victory,” according to Ahn.
Ahn was considered one of Korea’s premier skaters. The 26-year-old won five successive world titles from 2003-2007, as well as three gold medals for Korea in the men’s 1,000 m, 1,500 m and 5,000 m relay at the 2006 Turin Olympics.
But after injuring his knee in 2008, Ahn struggled to recapture his form, and failed to make the Korean national team for the 2010 Winter Olympics. He then claimed the reason for his ouster was a conflict with the Korean Skating Union.
Ahn has been training in Russia since failing to qualify for the Vancouver Olympics last year. The former Olympic champion announced in August that he had decided to represent Russia in international competitions.
“I had no choice but to apply for the citizenship in order to skate in Russia. Since I’ve attained the citizenship, now I can focus on training here,” he said on Wednesday.
Ahn said he could make his debut for Russia at the European championships scheduled for Jan. 27 in the Czech Republic.
“My aim is to compete at the 2014 Winter Olympics and win a gold medal again,” he said.
By Oh Kyu-wook (
596story@heraldcorp.com)