{"id":16924,"date":"2014-02-25T01:02:58","date_gmt":"2014-02-25T01:02:58","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2025-10-15T14:16:23","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T14:16:23","slug":"viktor-ahn-became-a-prominent-asian-face-of-sochi2014","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=16924","title":{"rendered":"Viktor Ahn became a prominent Asian face of #Sochi2014"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that the 2014 Sochi Olympics are over, I’m really missing the excitement of competition.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I really loved the stories NBC featured about the Olympians. I really loved the story behind Viktor Ahn.<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old Seoul-born skater switched nationalities in 2011 after competing for South Korea as Ahn Hyun-soo in Turin. A career-threatening knee injury in 2008 and multiple surgeries kept him from producing results for his skating club and he didn’t have enough time to qualify for the 2010 Vancouver Games.<\/p>\n

Ahn’s team soon disbanded and other teams were already full, leaving him at a loose ends<\/p>\n

“I was feeling bad and sad,” he said. “My goal was to participate in another Olympics.”<\/p>\n

The shy redhead eventually found a new home in Russia. South Korea law prevents men from holding dual citizenship, so he had to find a new national identity, too.<\/p>\n

“I made a decision and I have no regret,” he said. “I would like to thank Russia.”<\/p>\n

Ahn carefully avoided saying much about his former South Korean teammates during the games out of respect to them.<\/strong> He said he and his father have argued about inaccurate interviews the elder man has given about his son’s departure.<\/p>\n

“I don’t want there to be too much controversy in Korea about me,” he said.<\/p>\n

Viktor Ahn was already a Russian citizen. At the Sochi Olympics, he was embraced as a national hero by his adopted country.<\/p>\n

Fittingly, Ahn capped his four-medal performance in Sochi with gold in the relay, a medal he wanted the most as a way to unify the team he joined after forsaking his native South Korea.<\/p>\n

“I’m so happy to be able to smile in the end with my teammates,” he said.<\/p>\n

Source AP<\/em>
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