Three-times Olympic champion Ahn Hyun-Soo agrees to compete for Russia

Three-times Olympic short track champion with South Korea, Ahn Hyun-Soo has made a decision to compete for the Russian national team. The Russian Skaters’ Union (SKR) has already applied to the Citizenship Commission under the president of the Russian Federation, submitting a request to grant Russian citizenship to the Korean.

«We have spoken a lot with Ahn Hyun-Soo about his desire to compete for the Russian national team, discussed all the finer details, which we will soon formalize in his contract. It’s by no means a foreigner’s visit who will win as many medals as he wants at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, receive all the material rewards due for them, and return to Korea. Ahn Hyun-Soo has made a well-considered and conscious decision to compete for Russia. He now has to give up his South Korean citizenship to make it all possible.

«Ahn Hyun-Soo has been interested in the Russian culture for a long time, now he took up studying Russian, intends to move to Russia permanently, and sees himself as a coach after the end of his career. However, it’s too early to talk about his retirement – he is only 25 years old.

«Ahn Hyun-Soo has been training with the Russian national team since June. Now he is in Italy with the team and his teammates and coaches are very complimentary about him,» Alexey Kravtsov, head of the SKR, said to the organization’s official site.