Viktor An facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Viktor An

Ahn in 2016
Personal information
Birth name	Ahn Hyun-soo Hangul: 안현수
Born	(1985-11-23) November 23, 1985 (age 39) Seoul, South Korea
Height	1.70 m
Weight	65 kg
Spouse(s)	Woo Nari ​ (m. 2014)​
Sport
Country	South Korea (until 2011)  Russia (since 2011)
Sport	Short track speed skating
Retired	April 27, 2020
Achievements and titles
World finals	World Championship 2014 Overall 2007 Overall 2006 Overall 2005 Overall 2004 Overall 2003 Overall World Cup 2006 Overall 2004 Overall
Personal best(s)	500 m: 39.961 (2019) 1000 m: 1:23.487 (2013) 1500 m: 2:10.639 (2003, Former WR) 3000 m: 4:32.646 (2003, Former WR)
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 6 0 2 World Championships 20 10 5 World Team Championships 2 3 1 European Championships 8 6 2 World Junior Championships 4 0 1 Winter Universiade 3 0 1 Asian Games 5 1 0 Total 48 20 12 Representing  Russia Olympic Games Gold 2014 Sochi 500 m Gold 2014 Sochi 1000 m Gold 2014 Sochi 5000 m relay Bronze 2014 Sochi 1500 m World Championships Gold 2014 Montreal Overall Gold 2014 Montreal 1000 m Silver 2013 Debrecen 500 m Silver 2013 Debrecen 5000 m relay Bronze 2014 Montreal 3000 m Bronze 2017 Rotterdam 3000 m European Championships Gold 2013 Malmö 5000 m relay Gold 2014 Debrecen Overall Gold 2014 Debrecen 500 m Gold 2014 Debrecen 1000 m Gold 2014 Debrecen 3000 m Gold 2014 Debrecen 5000 m relay Gold 2015 Dordrecht 500 m Gold 2015 Dordrecht 5000 m relay Silver 2013 Malmö 1000m Silver 2015 Dordrecht Overall Silver 2015 Dordrecht 3000 m Silver 2017 Turin 5000 m relay Silver 2018 Dresden 500 m Silver 2018 Dresden 5000 m relay Bronze 2013 Malmö 500 m Bronze 2017 Turin 500 m Representing  South Korea Olympic Games Gold 2006 Turin 1000 m Gold 2006 Turin 1500 m Gold 2006 Turin 5000 m relay Bronze 2006 Turin 500 m World Championships Gold 2002 Montreal 5000 m relay Gold 2003 Warsaw Overall Gold 2003 Warsaw 1500 m Gold 2003 Warsaw 3000 m Gold 2003 Warsaw 5000 m relay Gold 2004 Gothenburg Overall Gold 2004 Gothenburg 1000 m Gold 2004 Gothenburg 1500 m Gold 2004 Gothenburg 3000 m Gold 2004 Gothenburg 5000 m relay Gold 2005 Beijing Overall Gold 2005 Beijing 1500 m Gold 2006 Minneapolis Overall Gold 2006 Minneapolis 1000 m Gold 2006 Minneapolis 1500 m Gold 2007 Milan Overall Gold 2007 Milan 1000 m Gold 2007 Milan 5000 m relay Silver 2002 Montreal Overall Silver 2002 Montreal 1000 m Silver 2002 Montreal 3000 m Silver 2003 Warsaw 1000 m Silver 2005 Beijing 1000 m Silver 2005 Beijing 3000 m Silver 2005 Beijing 5000 m relay Silver 2007 Milan 3000 m Bronze 2005 Beijing 500 m Bronze 2007 Milan 500 m Bronze 2007 Milan 1500 m World Team Championships Gold 2004 St. Petersburg Team Gold 2006 Montréal Team Silver 2003 Sofia Team Silver 2005 Chuncheon Team Silver 2007 Budapest Team Bronze 2002 Milwaukee Team World Junior Championships Gold 2002 Chuncheon Overall Gold 2002 Chuncheon 1000 m Gold 2002 Chuncheon 1500 m Gold 2002 Chuncheon 2000 m relay Bronze 2002 Chuncheon 1500 m S.F. Winter Universiade Gold 2005 Innsbruck 1500 m Gold 2005 Innsbruck 3000 m Gold 2005 Innsbruck 5000 m relay Bronze 2005 Innsbruck 1000 m Asian Winter Games Gold 2003 Aomori 1000 m Gold 2003 Aomori 1500 m Gold 2003 Aomori 5000 m relay Gold 2007 Changchun 1000 m Gold 2007 Changchun 5000 m relay Silver 2007 Changchun 1500 m

Viktor An (Russian: Виктор Ан; born Ahn Hyun-soo (Korean: 안현수) on November 23, 1985), is a South Korean-born Russian short-track speed skating coach and retired short-track speed skater. With a total of eight Olympic medals, six gold and two bronze, he is the only short track speed skater in Olympic history to win gold in every distance, and the first to win a medal in every distance at a single Games. He has the most Olympic gold medals in the sport, three of which he won in the 2006 Winter Olympics and the other three in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Considered to be the greatest short track speed skater of all time, he is a six-time overall World champion (2003–2007, 2014), two-time overall World Cup winner (2003–04, 2005–06), and the 2014 European champion. He holds the most overall titles at the World Short Track Speed Skating Championships, and is the only male short track skater to win five consecutive world titles.

In 2008, Ahn suffered a knee injury and could not regain his health by the time the national qualifiers for Vancouver 2010 came around. His recovery being slow and his South Korean local team dissolved in 2010, Ahn, aiming for his second Olympics, became a Russian citizen the next year and began racing for the Russian team. After winning gold in Sochi, Ahn explained his reasons for joining the Russian team saying, "I wanted to train in the best possible environment and I proved my decision was not wrong." As expected, a gold-winning athlete leaving the national team caused public uproar in South Korea. However, it was aimed not at Ahn, but at the country's skating union. Most South Korean fans in a poll said they understood his decision. Ahn continued his skating career in his adopted nation until 2019 and declared his retirement in April 2020.

In 2023, Ahn returned to Korea as a short track leader. Ahn returned to South Korea and applied to be a coach for Seongnam City's short track speed skating team, despite having renounced his South Korean citizenship when becoming Russian. However, since his change in 2014 he had been increasingly criticized for his work in Russia amid the Russo-Ukrainian War and his coaching position in the Chinese team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Some Korean coaches have formed The Korea Skating Coaches' Union and urged "Seongnam City to appoint a coach that meets the public eye level" and criticized Ahn that he "lied during the naturalization process and betrayed his country". and He was criticized by the public for betraying his country by transferring Korean sports skills to Russia and China. Ahn was eventually denied the coaching position due to significant public opposition.

After being denied his position as Seongnam City Hall coach due to strong public opposition, Ahn explained the controversy he knew about his loss of nationality in advance and receives a full Olympic medal pension prior to Russian naturalization. he said: "I donated every pension I had received prior to naturalization". According to his explanation and a Korean ice skating official mentioned in Chosun Ilbo shortly thereafter, the entire lump sum pension he received was spent on rehabilitating "children who needed heart surgery and Korean junior players". And he make his first start as a Korean Sports leader, being named as a coach in the 2023–2024 national team trials at the request of his juniors. The Korea Skating Union officially announced this through Yonhap News Agency, and the Korean media reported it collectively.

Early life and education

Ahn began skating in 1993 in his first year of primary school. The first time he watched the sport on television was during the 1994 Winter Olympics in Lillehammer where one of his heroes, Chae Ji-hoon, took gold in the 500 m and silver in the 1000 m for South Korea. Incidentally, these were the Games where Russia achieved a national record of 11 Olympic golds, a feat that he himself would help to repeat twenty years later. His coach, Kim Ki-hoon, was a three-time Olympic gold medalist who scouted Ahn and continued to train him. He trained ten hours every day from techniques, speed, and endurance to video analysis.

Career

2000s

Early career and the 2002 Winter Olympics

Ahn made his international debut at the World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in 2002. Finishing first in the 1500 m, 1000 m, and 5000 m relay events, he claimed the overall title.

Ahn then participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. He made the finals for the 1000 m event but returned home without a medal, after a controversial fall involving Apolo Ohno, Li Jiajun, and Mathieu Turcotte that allowed Australian Steve Bradbury to sweep the gold medal. Ahn finished in fourth place, behind Ohno and Turcotte.

After the 2002 Olympics, Ahn finished second to Kim Dong-sung at his first senior-level world championship competition the same year, almost duplicating Kim's feat of winning both the Junior and Senior World Championship titles in 1997.

Ahn began dominating the sport from the 2002–2003 season. As well as claiming four overall and 1500 m World Championship titles in a row between 2003 and 2006, Ahn excelled himself at 1000 m and 3000 m during that period and also starred with the Republic of Korea's 5000 m relay team. In all, he won a total of 23 medals in that prolific spell, and took the 2004 and 2006 World Cup titles for good measure. He also set the world records for the 1500 m in 2003 at World Cup #2 in Marquette and the 3000 m at World Cup #4 in Beijing, which he held for the following eight years.

2006 Winter Olympics

At the 2006 Winter Olympics, Ahn won gold medals in the 1500 m and 1000 m events. He set a new Olympic record time of 1:26.739 in the 1000 m, finishing ahead of teammate Lee Ho-suk and rival Ohno. Ahn also won gold in men's 5000 m relay along with teammates Lee Ho-suk, Seo Ho-jin, and Song Suk-woo. With his patented outside overtaking maneuver, he overtook defending champion Canada to get his third gold medal of the Games. Ahn became the second South Korean athlete ever to win three gold medals in one Olympics, following Jin Sun-yu who had accomplished this earlier on the same day. He also won a bronze medal in the 500 m event. Ahn was the only athlete in Turin to step on to the podium four times.

Ahn became the first short track speed skater to win a medal in every distance at a single Games, a feat unprecedented by any athlete in his sport. He is the first South Korean man to win at least 3 medals in a single Winter Olympics.

Following the 2006 Olympics, Ahn maintained his record at the 2006 World Championships in Minneapolis. Despite being disqualified in the finals of the 500 m and 3000 m events, his victories in both the 1000 m and 1500 m events helped him defend his title with 68 points, followed by countryman Lee Ho-suk with 60 points. He became the first male short track skater to win four consecutive world titles.

After Torino

After the 2006 World Championships, Ahn flew back to South Korea. At Incheon International Airport, Ahn's father had a loud quarrel with the vice president of the Korean Skating Union (KSU), claiming that the coach did not associate with Ahn and conspired with other skaters to prevent Ahn from winning the title of overall champion. The South Korean short track team was split into two groups, in one of which Ahn was being coached by the women's coach due to conflicts with the men's coach. The tensions had risen so high that the skaters refused to dine in the same room, sit next to each other on the plane, or even share the same floor with each other. Ahn and Lee Ho-suk used to attend the same high school together, and even shared a room the previous year in skating camps, but due to the conflict they had begun to rarely speak to each other. Ahn mentioned on his personal website that the pressure was too much for him and he contemplated quitting the sport. Due to the issue, KSU stated that starting next season, the team would be united under one head coach to prevent deleterious rivalries.

In spite of the conflicts, Ahn continued to dominate the sport. At the 2007 World Championships held in Milan, Ahn won his fifth world championship, finishing first in the 1000 m and in the 5000 m relay with teammates Sung Si-bak, Song Kyung-taek, and Kim Hyun-kon. He also won silver in the 3000 m behind Song, and won two bronze medals in the 500 m and the 1500 m. With this victory, Ahn became the first man to win five consecutive world championships. Ahn is the only male short track skater to have won at least three consecutive world championships; Canadian short track legend Marc Gagnon has won four times, but his titles did not come back to back.

Injury in early 2008

On January 16, 2008, the Korean Skating Union (KSU) reported that Ahn had injured his knee after colliding with a fence during national team training at the Korea Training Center in Taeneung. After being sent to the hospital, the injury was diagnosed as a fractured knee.

Due to the injury, KSU announced that Ahn would not be competing in the ISU Samsung World Cup Series #5 and #6 in Quebec City and Salt Lake City, respectively. It was also reported that he would not be competing in the 2008 World Championships in Gangneung or the 2008 World Team Championships in Harbin, China. As a result of the unexpected injury, it was clear that Ahn would be unable to defend his sixth World title, leaving his countrymen Lee Ho-suk, Song Kyung-taek, and Lee Seung-hoon to make up the ground. After undergoing three surgeries, his rehabilitation period was predicted to be around 2–3 months.

After eight months off the ice, a South Korean news article reported on September 5, 2008, that Ahn was back training, undergoing approximately two hours of physical reinforcement and skating along with around five hours of rehabilitation accompanied by muscular power training. The article also reported that Ahn was eyeing the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.

2010s

Naturalization to Russia

In 2009, Ahn finished seventh overall at the Korean national team trials, which was not enough for him to qualify for the Olympic team. Not having fully recovered from his injury, he again was unable to qualify for the national team in the following season. In turn, Ahn served as a commentator for SBS Sports on the season's World Cup series and World Championships.

Ahn last competed as a South Korean citizen at the national team trials in April 2011, where he took gold in the 500 m. Prior to the trials, his local team Seongnam City Hall dissolved due to financial reasons, and therefore Ahn had to train by himself. After the trials, Ahn announced that he will be moving to Russia because he wanted to skate in an environment where he could concentrate in skating, apart from the issues surrounding him.

Heading to Sochi

Ahn participated in the Russian national team trials for the 2011–2012 season and was selected as a relay member for the season. He made his debut as a Russian short track speed skater at World Cup #5 in Moscow.

In the national trials for the 2012–2013 season, Ahn won the 1000 m and 3000 m events, successfully pulling off to the national team. At World Cup #1 in Calgary, he won his first individual gold in the international stage since his knee injury four years ago. He also contributed to Russia's first-ever relay gold at World Cup #5 in Sochi, making an inside pass that reminded of performances in his heyday.

Ahn came through the Olympic season with flying colors, finishing second in the overall World Cup rankings and winning four golds at the 2014 European Championships. While his knee injury did not allow him to top the 1500 m races that he had dominated when representing Korea, his experience, technique, and exclusive training on the 500 m helped Ahn lead the distance in the World Cup rankings.

2014 Winter Olympics

Ahn at the men's 500 m podium at the 2014 Olympics

At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Ahn won the bronze medal in the 1500 m event, which was the first short track speed skating medal that Russia had ever earned. Ahn then won the first Russian gold medal in short track, winning the 1000 m event by leading the first Russian 1–2 finish in short track with Vladimir Grigorev. On February 21, Ahn won his seventh overall and fifth Winter Olympic gold medal when he finished first in the 500 m men's final. With that gold medal, he became the first short track skater to win all four Olympic golds, the 500 m, 1000 m, 1500 m, and 5000 m relay. He also became the short track speed skater with the most Olympic gold medals, with five, which increased to six with a 5000 m relay win later the same day. With that gold, he became the short tracker with the most Olympic medals, at eight, tied with Apolo Ohno; he also became the short tracker with the most Olympic gold medals, at six.

After his victory, Koreans came to an uproar questioning the Korean Skating Union of the reason for Ahn's naturalization, which eventually caused Korean President Park Geun-hye to order an investigation on the issue. Contrary to the public opinion in Korea, Ahn contended that he did not move to Russia because of factionalism. He also added that his father, who had argued Ahn was the victim of faction fight in Korea, was contradicting him, and going to the Olympics was the sole reason why he made the difficult decision to come to Russia. Ahn expressed his concern that though his relationship with the Korean athletes had no problems, the press was making them awkward.

After Sochi

In the 2014 World Championships held a month after the Olympics, Ahn won the 1000 m and finished third in the 3000 m, grabbing his sixth world title by 63 points. He became the only man to win six world championships in the sport.

After his prolific season, Ahn continued his skating career despite a part-move into coaching. He missed the 2015–2016 season due to knee problems and his wife's pregnancy. In an interview after the 2016 World Championships, which he did not take part in but did watch, he told the press that doctors have warned him undergoing extra surgery would jeopardize his career, and thus he is working on adding muscles to relieve the pain.

Ahn continued to win medals at the World and European championships for Russia. He won bronze in the 500 m and silver in the 5000 m relay at the 2017 European Championships, and won silver in the 500 m race at the 2018 European Championships. Although Ahn had planned to retire after participating the 2018 Winter Olympics in his native South Korea, he missed out the Olympics in the wake of the alleged sports doping in Russia. The IOC did not disclose the specific reasons for banning Ahn, only mentioning "lingering suspicions" about doping use regarding the country. Ahn, who had never tested positive for drugs, challenged the decision writing an open letter to IOC President Thomas Bach, but he was not answered.

Retirement

Ahn decided to retire from the sport and return to his home country of South Korea after rejecting an offer to coach the Russian team in September 2018.

After stepping off ice, Ahn starred in the South Korean variety-reality show Real Man 300. He was also noticed working as a player-coach at Korea National Sports University.

In February 2019, Ahn reversed his decision, announcing that he wanted to compete as an athlete. Aged 33, he won silver in the 500 m and 1000 m races respectively at the ISU Short Track Speed Skating World Cup in Salt Lake City and Shanghai before anchoring Russia to gold in the mixed gender 2,000 m relay and men's 5,000 m relay.

In April 2020, Ahn revealed that knee problems were affecting his ability to train and that it was time for him to finally finish his skating career. In his retirement statement, he announced he will continue to work for the sport.

2020s

2022 Winter Olympics

In 2018, Ahn was offered a coaching position for China's national speed skating team by Wang Meng, who had been Ahn's acquaintance since 2002. Although Ahn declined the offer in 2018, he accepted the offer in late 2019.

As the top assistant of Kim Sun-tae, head coach for China's short track team in the 2022 Winter Olympics and previous head coach for Korea's short track team in the 2018 Winter Olympics, Ahn helped Chinese players win two gold medals, one silver medal, and one bronze medal in Beijing. His training style was to skate with the athletes throughout the sessions, so that they could naturally learn how to make steps.

When Korean skaters were disqualified during the men's 1000 m semifinals, arousing short track speed skating controversies, South Korean netizens directed anger and criticism towards Ahn, who was seen congratulating his team for winning gold in the 2000 m mixed relay. Not responding to interview requests during the Games, Ahn shared his thoughts on the issue in March in an interview with the Korean press by saying, "I kept a stiff upper lip because I didn't want to be an irresponsible person. Due to the nature of the sport, judgment problems can occur at any time. All players come to the game with the mindset that they should be careful about decision issues, but the unexpected often happens on ice." Regarding the accusations that were poured on not only him but also his family, Ahn said, "It suddenly occurred to me that if I gave up short track speed skating, this controversy would end," adding, "I thought I had been supported for my passion and games, but it was heartbreaking to see unexpected things lead to criticism." He yet stated that despite the adversities, he won't be leaving the sport.

After the Olympics, Ahn rejected a four-year coaching position and returned to Korea, having not met his family for 19 months due to Covid-19 situations.

Failure to return to South Korea for coaching

In 2023, Ahn returned to South Korea and applied to be a coach for Seongnam City's short track speed skating team. However, he is under huge criticism from the South Korean short track speed skating coaches as he has helped South Korean rival China to gain medals during the 2022 Beijing Olympics. The Korea skating coach union urged "Seongnam City to appoint a coach that meets the public eye level" and criticized Ahn that he "lied during the naturalization process and betrayed his country", avoiding the fact that Ahn was mistreated by the Korea Skating Union after his injuries. In late January, Seongnam City's short track speed skating team announced that no one is qualified to be a coach, meaning that Ahn is unlikely to be coach for his homeland. After Seongnam City has since announced that there are no successful candidates, and the city ultimately decided not to fill the vacant coaching position.

since then, the Korea skating coach union has been known as a close aide to a specific candidate, and suspicions have been raised that the disciplinary history of a specific candidate has not been raised. As a result, some South Korean media outlets suggested that there was a factional power struggle and political involvement in the ice skating world.

Following South Korea's rejection of Viktor Ahn, through TASS, Russian Skating Union president expressed that they would like to appoint Ahn. In 2022, Russia invited Viktor Ahn to become an advisor to the Skating Union, but he refused due to objections by Ahn's wife. While Russia sports media outlet Sport Express urged Ahn to return to Russia as a leader.

On February 7, Viktor Ahn expressed his position on the controversy over Russian naturalization on his social network service (SNS) after "received a lump-sum payment of the athletes' pension," which the Korea skating coach union pointed out as a moral issue. At first, he thought dual citizenship was possible. However, when he found out that he had to give up his Korean nationality, he decided that it was right to return the Olympic medal pension he received. And before naturalization in Russia, he made a full donation to "children in need of heart surgery and junior athletes in need of rehabilitation and treatment." Since then, some of the pensions have been delivered to the family of Noh Jin-kyu, his junior athlete at the Korean National Sport University, according to a South Korean ice skating official. Ahn then said that he would humbly accept the criticism of choosing naturalization for any reason, but he said he would raise speak out when there is misunderstanding.

On February 9, The Hankyoreh pointed out Seongnam City's negligence in administration in that Ahn's coaching support was exposed in advance in connection with the recruitment of the ice skating team at Seongnam City. While the Korea Skating Coaches Union pointed out that it was not the opinion of the Korean ice skating leaders as a whole, and that it was a serious problem for the media to report the opinions of certain unofficial organizations as the opinions of the entire leaders.

South Korean leadership activities

On April 13, 2023, South Korean media reported as follows. Viktor Ahn will participate as a coach for multiple skaters in the 2023–24 season for the South Korean national team trials. He personally coached young skaters at the Korea National Sport University after the 2022 Beijing Olympics. Among them, seven players from high school and Korea National Sport University wrote him as a leader on the application form for participation in the national team trials. This is Ahn's first official South Korean leadership activity.

According to JTBC, Ahn completed the Korea Skating Union's "leader's lesson" in Korea after the 2022 Beijing Olympics. According to the Korea Sports Association and the Korea Skating Union Registration Regulations, which have been changed since April 12, 2021 due to years of "violation of human rights of ice sports" and "ethical controversy of ice coaches" in Korea, even a leader who has obtained a "coach national license" must complete a leader course before he can serve as a leader of the Korea Skating Union.

Conflict with mentor

This issue that has been consistently mentioned due to Ahn's choice of naturalization in Russia is the issues of conflict with his mentor, Jun Myung-kyu, vice president of the Korea Skating Union. According to Korean medias, Professor Jun was the planner of all Ahn's career paths. Jun was Ahn's professor. And he was Ahn's personal coach in 2007. However, Ahn disobeyed the professor Jun's words.

In 2014, his father and Lee Joon-ho, who was the former coach of the national team, said the following. : "Ahn, was set to graduate from Korea National Sport University in 2007. Ahn chose the Seongnam City Hall Short track team that Professor Jun did not want, and the relationship between Professor Jun and Ahn was estranged". During the Olympics, Chang Myung-hee, former president of the Korea Skating Union, also said that Vice-president Jun Myung-kyu had abused his authority, and Ahn was disadvantaged. In fact, the conflict with factional leaders was also mentioned by the South Korean media in 2010. In 2018, Another a Korean skating official commented, "A mere 16 days after Viktor Ahn joined the Seongnam City Hall skating team, he sustained a severe injury during training. Subsequently, Seongnam City Hall suspended the team's operations. Ahn's strained relationship with Jun Myung-kyu, the president of Korea Ice Skating, made it challenging for him to find a suitable place to train and compete within the country."

In March 2014, Professor Jun stepped down as vice-president of the Korean Skaters Union. However, in 2014, Ahn and the Korea Skating Union denied any conflicts or factional issues.

The assault of the women's short track team coach during the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics and the athletes' discord over women's speed skating factions raised the issue of the responsibility of Samsung, which had sponsored the Korea Skating Union and the Korea Skating Union. The Korea Skating Union was investigated by the government, including the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. Viktor Ahn and Professor Jun have returned to the agenda. However, in February 2018, Viktor Ahn sent a text message to South Korean Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee Member of parliament Ahn Min-seok. Ahn Min-seok said that Ahn hyun-soo has a good relationship with Professor Jun Myung-kyu, and released it to the South Korean media.

In March 2022, Viktor Ahn said Yonhap News Agency in an interview that he had never been disadvantaged by the Korea Skating Union.

style

• "Ahn is a master of short track speed skating, particularly in controlling the track during competition." - Wu Dajing

• "In terms of his racing strategy, when he’s following the other skaters, he’s not really just following. He’s always waiting for that perfect chance to pass." - Chae Ji-hoon

• "Viktor Ahn, as he’s now called, is the most beautiful short track skating athlete in the world in terms of his technique and the way he skates." "If there is any athlete that is designed for short track, body-type wise, it is him," "If you watch him stand and jog, his pelvic is tilted forward naturally, which is perfect for a skater. He has incredible technique, tons of experience." - Apolo Anton Ohno

Awards and honors

Representing Korea

Ahn was awarded the Outstanding Player Award at the Sports Chosun Coca-Cola Sports Awards in January 2006. After his victory in Torino, he was selected as Player of the Month by the American Sports Academy. He was also named as honorary ambassador for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics bidding committee with Jin Sun-yu.

In 2008, Ahn was selected as the Most Valuable Player with Lee Kyou-hyuk and Yuna Kim by the Korea Skating Union. In the same year, he also received the Men's Team Award at the Asian Sports Awards. with Lee Ho-seok, Song Suk-woo, Oh Se-jong, and Seo Ho-jin.

Ahn was chosen as the ambassador for the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation in 2009.

Representing Russia

In March 2013, Ahn was named as Merited Master of Sport by the Russian Federation.

After his feat in Sochi, Ahn was awarded the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" from Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Medal "For Strengthening Military Cooperation". He was also selected Most Valuable Player in the Sochi Winter Olympics by NBC, and 2014 Athlete of the Year by the Russian edition of 'GQ' magazine. In light of his status as a South Korean-born Russian, Ahn was further named as honorary ambassador for the 2014–2015 Korea-Russia Year of Mutual Visit in 2014.

In 2016, Ahn received the Proud Alumnus Award at his alma mater. He was also inducted into the Korea National Sports University Ice Rink Hall of Fame as the 2006 Winter Olympics champion and the Sochi Walk of Fame as the 2014 Winter Olympics champion.

Personal life

Ahn is married to Woo Nari (Korean: 우나리), a Korean born in 1983. Nari was a member of Ahn's fan club. Ahn said that her presence and care helped him adapt to Russia. Their daughter was born in December 2015. But his wife, Woo Nari, couldn't endure the life in Russia and missed South Korea, so eventually left Russia. The Russian media reported that his wife wanted to raise their daughter in South Korea, and Viktor Ahn's choice to go to South Korea was influenced by his wife.

Ahn's younger brother is speed skater Ahn Hyun-Jun. He made the Korean national speed skating team for the 2022–23 season. The younger Ahn switched from short track to speed skating in 2021.

Russian citizenship

Vladimir Putin and Ahn after the 2014 Olympics

Ahn trained in Russia and received Russian citizenship to compete for Russia in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Ahn's father stated that the decision was due to lack of support from the South Korean skating association. Prior to moving to Russia, Ahn did not know the Russian language and had no familial ties to Russia. He had considered competing for the United States, but found that the process for gaining Russian citizenship was much easier. He chose "Viktor" as his Russian name as it derived from Victory, and to pay tribute to Viktor Tsoi, a Soviet rock star of ethnic Korean descent.

In South Korea, fury erupted over the loss of Ahn to Team Russia, after his participation in the 2014 Winter Olympics. Several newspapers reported the scorn of the South Korean public and newspaper editors on the actions of the skating federation. Right after the Olympics, the Minister of Sports and President Park Geun-hye of South Korea both promised action in rooting out corruption and feuding at the organization that may have led to Ahn's "defection", in a bid to clean it up in preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea. In September 2018, Ahn announced his retirement from short track and moved back to South Korea. The South Korean public was generally supportive of Ahn in early 2014, but he also received online bashing amidst controversies at Sochi and in later years. In 2023, Ahn sought a coaching position in South Korea, despite having renounced his South Korean citizenship when becoming Russian. He was denied that position due to significant public opposition.

Political issues

In 2011, Ahn's decision to naturalize became a contentious political issue, with some attributing the responsibility to Seongnam Mayor at the time, Lee Jae-myung. By 2014, Lee defended himself by emphasizing that the state-supervised Korea Skating Union should be held accountable rather than the leaders of Local government. A significant development occurred in February 2022 when Won Hee-ryong, associated with Yoon Suk Yeol's People's Power presidential campaign, asserted that Viktor Ahn's choice to become a Russian national was influenced by Lee Jae-myung. Won Hee-ryong further claimed that the halting of operations for the Seongnam City Hall ice skating team was a disguise for bankruptcy and alleged that 30 billion won from Seongnam City's funds were diverted to acquire Seongnam FC in a bid to boost the mayor's re-election prospects. The Democratic Party of Korea refuted the allegations, deeming them false. Concurrently, Korean ice skating officials emphasized the difficulty in isolating a single cause, especially when injuries and team disbandments coincided with ongoing factional controversies within the ice skating community. As of 2022, Lee Jae-myung faces legal scrutiny for allegedly accepting 17 billion won in unauthorized bribes from companies, masked as donations to Seongnam FC.

In the media

In the 2010–2011 season, Ahn served as a short track commentator for SBS Sports. He covered the World Cup series (#3~#6) and the World Championships.

From 2014 to 2016, he guest-starred in three episodes of Russia's late-night talk show Evening Urgant (episodes S3.E90, S4.E104, S5.E157).

From 2017 to 2018, Ahn guest-starred in the South Korean variety-reality show The Return of Superman (episodes 202~204, 237, 241) with his daughter.

In 2018, he starred in the South Korean variety-reality show Real Man 300 (episodes 1~15, 18).

Other television appearances of Ahn are as follows:

• Han Su-jin's Sunday Click (South Korean talk show) - with Jin Sun-yu (episode 49)
• Human Docu Love (South Korean documentary) - with wife Woo Nari (episodes 44, 45)
• Live Talk Show Taxi (South Korean talk show) - with wife Woo Nari (episode 488)

Detailed results

Olympics results

Competition Location	Date	Rank	Event	Video
2002 Winter Olympics Salt Lake Ice Center	13–23 February 2002	13	1500 m
		4	1000 m
		DNS	500 m
		DNS	5000 m relay
2006 Winter Olympics Torino Palavela	February 13, 2006	1	1500 m
	February 19, 2006	1	1000 m
	February 25, 2006	3	500 m
	February 25, 2006	1	5000 m relay
2014 Winter Olympics Iceberg Skating Palace	February 10, 2014	3	1500 m
	February 15, 2014	1	1000 m
	February 21, 2014	1	500 m
	February 21, 2014	1	5000 m relay

World Championships Podiums results

Six-time Overall world champion. 20 world titles. 18 gold medals.

Event	Gold	Silver	Bronze	podiums
Overall	6 x	1 x		7
500m		1 x	2 x	3
1000m	4 x	3 x		7
1500m	4 x		1 x	5
3 000 m	(2)	(3)	(2)	(7)
distances	14 x	5 x	3 x	22 (29)
relay	4 x	2 x		6
Total	18 (20)	7 (10)	3 (5)	28 (35)

Overall points and medals results

Date	Competition Location	Rank	Event
5-7 April 2002	2002 Montreal	2 (42 points)	Overall
		2	1000m
		2	3000m
		1	Relay
19-21 March 2003	2003 Warsaw	1 (89 points)	Overall
		2	1000m
		1	1500m
		1	3000m
		1	Relay
19–21 April 2004	2004 Gothenburg	1 (102 points)	Overall
		1	1000m
		1	1500m
		1	3000m
		1	Relay
5–6 March 2005	2005 Beijing	1 (89 points)	Overall
		3	500m
		2	1000m
		1	1500m
		2	3000m
		2	Relay
29–31 March 2006	2006 Minneapolis	1 (68 points)	Overall
		1	1000m
		1	1500m
9–11 March 2007	2007 Milan	1 (81 points)	Overall
		3	500m
		1	1000m
		3	1500m
		2	3000m
		1	Relay
14–16 March 2013	2013 Debrecen	6 (23 points)	Overall
		2	500m
		7	3000m
		2	Relay
14–16 March 2014	2014 Montreal	1 (63 points)	Overall
		4	500m
		1	1000m
		4	1500m
		3	3000m
10–12 March 2017	2017 Debrecen	7 (23 points)	Overall
		7	500m
		4	1500m
		3	3000m

World Team Championships

Team  South Korea
date	Competition Location	rank
29-30 March 2002	Team 2002 Milwaukee	3
15-16 March 2003	Team 2003 Sofia	2
13-14 March 2004	Team 2004 Saint Petersburg	1
5-6 March 2005	Team 2005 Chuncheon	2
25-26 March 2006	Team 2006 Montreal	1
17-18 March 2007	Team 2007 Budapest	2

World Cup Podiums results

2 times Overall World Cup winner, 6 time individual distances World Cup winner, 67 World Cup victories

World Cup Ranking
Event	1st	2nd	3rd	podiums
Overall	2	3	1	6
500m	2	1	1	4
1000m	2	4	1	7
1500m	2	4	1	7
Total	8	12	4	24
World Cup medals
Event	gold	Silver	bronze	podiums
Overall	7	3	5	15
500m	6	4	2	12
1000m	13	10	5	28
1500m	16	7	5	28
3000m	6	6	2	14
distances	48	30	19	97
Relay	19	7	6	32
medals	67 x	37 x	25 x	129
Total	75 x	49 x	29 x	153

World Cup Ranking Podiums

World Cup medals results

67 Gold medals 1

gold medals
No.	Competition Location	Event
1	2002-03 Chuncheon	Overall
2	2002-03 Chuncheon	500 m
3	2002-03 Chuncheon	1000 m
4	2002-03 Chuncheon	1500 m
5	2002-03 Chuncheon	3000 m S.F.
6	2002-03 Bormio	3000 m S.F.
7	2003-04 Michigan	Overall
8	2003-04 Michigan	1000 m
9	2003-04 Michigan	1500 m
10	2003-04 Michigan	5000 m relay
11	2003-04 Jeonju	1500 m
12	2003-04 Beijing	Overall
13	2003-04 Beijing	1500 m
14	2003-04 Beijing	3000 m S.F.
15	2003-04 Mladá Boleslav	Overall
16	2003-04 Mladá Boleslav	1500 m
17	2004-05 Harbin	1000 m
18	2004-05 Harbin	3000 m S.F.
19	2004-05 Harbin	5000 m relay
20	2004-05 Beijing	Overall
21	2004-05 Beijing	500 m
22	2004-05 Beijing	1000 m
23	2004-05 Beijing	1500 m
24	2004-05 Beijing	3000 m S.F.
25	2004-05 Beijing	5000 m relay
26	2004-05 Budapest	1500 m
27	2004-05 Spišská Nová Ves	3000 m S.F.
28	2005–06 Hangzhou	Overall
29	2005–06 Hangzhou	1000 m
30	2005–06 Hangzhou	5000 m relay
31	2005–06 Seoul	1500 m
32	2005–06 Seoul	5000 m relay
33	2005–06 Bormio	500 m
34	2005–06 Bormio	5000 m relay
35	2005–06 Hague	Overall
36	2005–06 Hague	500 m
37	2005–06 Hague	1500 m
38	2006-07 Changchun	1000 m
39	2006-07 Changchun	1500 m
40	2006-07 Changchun	5000 m relay
41	2006-07 Jeonju	1500 m
42	2006-07 Saguenay	1000 m
43	2006-07 Saguenay	5000 m relay
44	2006-07 Montreal	1500 m (1)
45	2006-07 Montreal	5000 m relay
46	2007-08 Harbin	1000 m
47	2007-08 Harbin	1500 m
48	2007-08 Harbin	5000 m relay
49	2007-08 Kobe	1000 m
50	2007-08 Kobe	1500 m
51	2007-08 Kobe	5000 m relay
52	2007-08 Heerenveen	1000 m
53	2007-08 Heerenveen	5000 m relay
54	2007-08 Turin	1500 m
55	2007-08 Turin	5000 m relay
56	2012-13 Calgary	1000 m
57	2012-13 Nagoya	1000 m
58	2012-13 Shanghai	1500 m
59	2012-13 Sochi	5000 m relay
60	2013-14 Seoul	500 m
61	2013-14 Kolomna	500 m
62	2014-15 Salt Lake City	1000 m
63	2014-15 Salt Lake City	5000 m relay
64	2016-17 Dresden	5000 m relay
65	2019-20 Salt Lake City	2000 m mixed relay
66	2019-20 Salt Lake City	5000 m relay
67	2019-20 Shanghai	5000 m relay

37 Silver medals 2

Silver medals
No.	Competition Location	Event
1	2002-03 Beijing	1500 m
2	2002-03 Beijing	3000 m S.F.
3	2002-03 Saint Petersburg	1500 m
4	2002-03 Saint Petersburg	3000 m S.F.
5	2002-03 Bormio	Overall
6	2002-03 Bormio	1000 m
7	2003-04 Calgary	1500 m
8	2003-04 Michigan	500 m
9	2003-04 Jeonju	3000 m S.F.
10	2003-04 Beijing	1000 m
11	2003-04 Mladá Boleslav	1000 m
12	2003-04 Mladá Boleslav	3000 m S.F.
13	2004-05 Harbin	Overall
14	2004-05 Harbin	1500 m
15	2004-05 Spišská Nová Ves	1000 m
16	2004-05 Spišská Nová Ves	5000 m relay
17	2005–06 Hangzhou	500 m
18	2005–06 Hangzhou	1500 m
19	2005–06 Hangzhou	3000 m S.F.
20	2005–06 Seoul	Overall
21	2005–06 Seoul	3000 m S.F.
22	2005–06 Hague	5000 m relay
23	2006-07 Montreal	1500 m (2)
24	2007-08 Turin	1000 m
25	2012-13 Calgary	5000 m relay
26	2012-13 Shanghai	1000 m
27	2013-14 Seoul	1000 m
28	2013-14 Turin	500 m
29	2013-14 Turin	1000 m
30	2013-14 Turin	5000 m relay
31	2013-14 Kolomna	1500 m
32	2013-14 Kolomna	5000 m relay
33	2014-15 Erzurum	1000 m
34	2016-17 Minsk	5000 m relay
35	2019-20 Salt Lake City	500 m
36	2019-20 Salt Lake City	1000 m
37	2019-20 Shanghai	2000 m mixed relay

25 Bronze medals 3

Bronze medals
No.	Competition Location	Event
1	2002-03 Saint Petersburg	Overall
2	2002-03 Saint Petersburg	5000 m relay
3	2003-04 Calgary	Overall
4	2003-04 Calgary	1000 m
5	2003-04 Calgary	3000 m S.F.
6	2003-04 Calgary	5000 m relay
7	2003-04 Jeonju	Overall
8	2003-04 Jeonju	5000 m relay
9	2003-04 Beijing	5000 m relay
10	2004-05 Spišská Nová Ves	Overall
11	2005–06 Seoul	1000 m
12	2005–06 Bormio	Overall
13	2005–06 Bormio	3000 m S.F
14	2005–06 Hague	1000 m
15	2006-07 Jeonju	1000 m
16	2006-07 Jeonju	5000 m relay
17	2007-08 Heerenveen	1500 m
18	2012-13 Dresden	1000 m
19	2012-13 Dresden	1500 m
20	2012-13 Dresden	5000 m relay
21	2013-14 Shanghai	1500 m
22	2013-14 Seoul	1500 m
23	2014-15 Erzurum	1500 m
24	2016-17 Calgary	500 m
25	2016-17 Shanghai	500 m

National competitions

South Korea National Competitions (1996–2011)
Date	Competition	Rank	Event
Myongji Primary School
16 Feb 1996	1996 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	2	1500 m
09~10 Apr 1996	1996 National Student Short Track Championships	1	500 m
09~10 Apr 1996	1996 National Student Short Track Championships	1	1500 m
09~10 Apr 1996	1996 National Student Short Track Championships	1	Overall
03 Feb 1997	1997 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	1000 m
26 Feb 1998	1998 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	1500 m
28 Feb 1998	1998 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	2000 m
Myongji Middle School
12 Feb 1999	1999 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	2	1000 m
12 Feb 1999	1999 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	3	3000 m
16 Feb 2000	2000 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	3000 m
22 Feb 2001	2001 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	2	500 m
23 Feb 2001	2001 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	1000 m
Shinmok High School
18 Apr 2002	2002-03 National Short Track Championships	1	1500 m
1 Apr 2003	2003-04 National Short Track Championshipsn	1	1500 m
1 Apr 2003	2003-04 National Short Track Championships	2	500 m
2 Apr 2003	2003-04 National Short Track Championships	1	3000 m
2 Apr 2003	2003-04 National Short Track Championships	1	Overall
Korea National Sports University
9 Sep 2005	2005-06 National Short Track Championships	1	1500 m
9 Sep 2005	2005-06 National Short Track Championships	2	500 m
9 Sep 2005	2005-06 National Short Track Championships	2	Overall
15 Apr 2006	2006-07 National Short Track Championships	1	1500 m
16 Apr 2006	2006-07 National Short Track Championships	3	3000 m
16 Apr 2006	2006-07 National Short Track Championships	3	Overall
27 Sep 2006	2006-07 National Short Track Championships	1	1000 m
27 Sep 2006	2006-07 National Short Track Championships	1	Overall
5 Jan 2007	2007 Korea Industrial Skating Federation President's Cup	1	500 m
6 Jan 2007	2007 Korea Industrial Skating Federation President's Cup	1	1000 m
22 Feb 2007	2007 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	1500 m
22 Feb 2007	2007 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	3	1000 m
24 Feb 2007	2007 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	3000 m relay
Seongnam Local Government Team
18 Oct 2009	2009 Korea Industrial Skating Federation President's Cup	1	3000 m relay
22 Feb 2010	2010 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	1500 m
02 Feb 2010	2010 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	3000 m
02 Feb 2010	2010 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	5000 m relay
no Team
14 Feb 2011	2011 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	2	1500 m
14 Feb 2011	2011 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	1	3000 m
16 Feb 2011	2011 Korean National Winter Sports Festival	2	5000 m relay
25 Mar 2011	2011-12 National Short Track Championships	2	1500 m
26 Mar 2011	2011-12 National Short Track Championships	2	500 m
26 Mar 2011	2011-12 National Short Track Championships	1	1000 m
27 Mar 2011	2011-12 National Short Track Championships	3	3000 m
6 Apr 2011	2011-12 National Short Track Championships	1	500 m
Russia National Competitions (2012–2019)
CSKA Moscow
21~23 Mar 2012	2012 National Championships Kolomna	1	1000 m
21~23 Mar 2012	2012 National Championships Kolomna	2	1500 m
21~23 Mar 2012	2012 National Championships Kolomna	1	3000 m
27~30 Sep 2012	2012 National Championships Novogorsk	2	500 m (1)
27~30 Sep 2012	2012 National Championships Novogorsk	2	500 m (2)
27~30 Sep 2012	2012 National Championships Novogorsk	1	1000 m (2)
27~30 Sep 2012	2012 National Championships Novogorsk	1	1500 m (1)
27~30 Sep 2012	2012 National Championships Novogorsk	2	1500 m (2)
27~30 Sep 2012	2012 National Championships Novogorsk	1	5000 m relay
27~30 Sep 2012	2012 National Championships Novogorsk	2	Overall
19~21 Dec 2012	2012 National Championships Sochi	1	1000 m
19~21 Dec 2012	2012 National Championships Sochi	1	1500 m
19~21 Dec 2012	2012 National Championships Sochi	1	3000 m
19~21 Dec 2012	2012 National Championships Sochi	1	Overall
16~18 Oct 2014	2014 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	500 m (1)
16~18 Oct 2014	2014 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	500 m (2)
16~18 Oct 2014	2014 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	1000 m (1)
16~18 Oct 2014	2014 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	2	1000 m (2)
16~18 Oct 2014	2014 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	1500 m (1)
16~18 Oct 2014	2014 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	3	1500 m 2)
16~18 Oct 2014	2014 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	Overall
27~29 Dec 2014	2014 National Championships Kolomna	1	1000 m
27~29 Dec 2014	2014 National Championships Kolomna	1	1500 m
27~29 Dec 2014	2014 National Championships Kolomna	1	3000 m
27~29 Dec 2014	2014 National Championships Kolomna	1	5000 m relay
27~29 Dec 2014	2014 National Championships Kolomna	1	Overall
09~11 Sep 2016	2016 National Championships Moscow	3	1500 m
09~11 Sep 2016	2016 National Championships Moscow	1	500 m
23~25 Sep 2016	2016 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	500 m (1)
23~25 Sep 2016	2016 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	2	500 m (2)
23~25 Sep 2016	2016 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	1500 m (1)
23~25 Sep 2016	2016 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	1500 m (2)
23~25 Sep 2016	2016 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	1000 m (1)
23~25 Sep 2016	2016 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	1000 m (2)
23~25 Sep 2016	2016 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	Overall
27~29 Dec 2016	2016 National Championships Novogorsk	1	500 m
27~29 Dec 2016	2016 National Championships Novogorsk	1	1000 m
27~29 Dec 2016	2016 National Championships Novogorsk	1	1500 m
27~29 Dec 2016	2016 National Championships Novogorsk	1	Overall
11~13 Aug 2017	2017 National League Russia Cup Novogorsk	1	500 m (1)
11~13 Aug 2017	2017 National League Russia Cup Novogorsk	1	500 m (2)
11~13 Aug 2017	2017 National League Russia Cup Novogorsk	2	1000 m (1)
11~13 Aug 2017	2017 National League Russia Cup Novogorsk	2	1500 m (1)
11~13 Aug 2017	2017 National League Russia Cup Novogorsk	1	1500 m (2)
11~13 Aug 2017	2017 National League Russia Cup Novogorsk	2	Overall
31 Mar~1 Apr 2018	2018 Russian Championships Saint Petersburg	1	500 m
31 Mar~1 Apr 2018	2018 Russian Championships Saint Petersburg	2	1000 m
31 Mar~1 Apr 2018	2018 Russian Championships Saint Petersburg	2	1500 m
31 Mar~1 Apr 2018	2018 Russian Championships Saint Petersburg	1	5000 m relay
27~29 Sep 2019	2019 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	2	1000 m (1)
27~29 Sep 2019	2019 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	1	1000 m (2)
27~29 Sep 2019	2019 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	3	1500 m
27~29 Sep 2019	2019 National League Russia Cup Kolomna	2	Overall

See also

In Spanish: Viktor Ahn para niños