Russian short tracker Viktor An announced his retirement. The six-time Olympic champion wrote an open letter to the fans explaining the reasons for his decision. The 34-year-old athlete said that he could not gain physical form due to a knee injury, which did not allow him to fully train.
“During the preparation for the season last year, I worked very hard with the intention of making another attempt to return to sports, so as not to leave room for regrets in the future. Thanks to the care of the Ministry of Sports and the Russian Skating Union, I was able to work out on an individual schedule, which, it seems to me, allowed me to get in good physical shape and perform well at the World Cup stages. Nevertheless, I feel that at the moment the current form is not enough to conduct another season properly, ”An said.
The holder of three Olympic gold medals in Sochi recalled in his letter his sporting career from one of the youngest skaters in the South Korean national team, for whom he played under the name An Hyun-soo, to the real legend of the short track. He also expressed gratitude to Russia for the chance given at the time, which allowed him to extend his career to nearly 20 years.
“Without a short track, there is no An Hyun-soo or Victor An. The short track gave me the love of many fans. Thanks to the short track, a lot of things happened in my life. In 2011, I became a citizen of Russia. In the difficult period of my life, Russia supported me, and I got the opportunity to return to big sport again. My task in Russia, where the short track was not yet developed, was the promotion of our sport. Having achieved good results at the Olympics in Sochi in 2014, we were able to achieve this goal, ”said the athlete.
For world sports, Victor An without exaggeration has become a unique phenomenon, and his career can be called incredible. Short-track, the main winter sport in South Korea, young Ahn Hyun-soo began to engage in elementary school. Soon he came to the attention of Kim Ki-hoon - three-time Olympic champion. The legendary athlete took patronage of a promising teenager and began to develop his talent.
Already at the age of 16, An Hyun Su was at his first Olympics in Salt Lake City and became the hero of one of the main oddities in the history of sports. He sensationally made it to the finals of the 1000 meters distance and claimed the medal until the last lap, but with three other athletes fell right in front of the finish line, which allowed Australian Stephen Bradbury to win gold. An Hyun-soo could not quickly rise from the ice and in the end became only the fourth.
But such a failure was the beginning of a brilliant career. In the next Olympic cycle, An Hyun-soo won more than 10 victories at the world championships, becoming the most titled short-track player among men. At the next Olympics in Turin, he was waiting for a real triumph - he won three gold medals and one bronze. Even then, he deserved to be considered the best in his sport.
Everything suddenly broke off in 2008, when An Hyun-soo suffered a serious knee injury during training. He had to survive three operations, after which it was impossible to qualify for the Vancouver Olympics. The athlete was close to completing a career, but instead decided to change the team.
He chose Russia, where the next Olympic Games were to be held. An Hyun-soo did not know the Russian language, he had to renounce his native citizenship after moving, and his form was still far from ideal. Nevertheless, in order to continue his career, he agreed to accept this challenge and became known in the world of sports as Victor An.
“Firstly, the name Victor is associated with the word victory, which means“ victory. " It turns out symbolically, I want this name to bring me luck. Secondly, I know another Korean named Victor, who is very popular in Russia and well known in Korea - this is Viktor Tsoi. I would like to become just as famous in Russia. And thirdly, they told me that Victor for Russian-speaking people is an easy name and quickly remembered, ”An explained his choice to RIA Novosti.
The appearance of Viktor An in the Russian team gave its development a powerful impetus. Since that time, the short track has become one of those sports in which fans can safely wait for medals in any competition. Many Russian athletes pulled themselves behind An, and he repeated his triumph of Turin at the Olympics in Sochi, now his native city. He again won three golds and one bronze, with victories at a distance of 500 meters and in the relay he won in one day.
After the Sochi Olympics, An continued his career and in 2014 won two more gold medals at the World Championships. Due to injuries and their consequences, he began to appear less often on ice, but continued to be part of the team and could win more medals at the Olympics in Pyeongchang. However, Anu was not destined to speak in her homeland - then the International Olympic Committee tightened the rules for admitting Russian athletes to competitions, and An did not pass the selection. According to media reports, the reason for the inadmissibility was the mention of his name in a report by independent expert of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Richard McLaren, although the athlete was never convicted of violating anti-doping rules.
A year ago, An said that he would continue to perform and try to prepare for the Olympic Games in Beijing. Last season, the athlete demonstrated that he can still compete with young rivals, and won five medals in two stages of the World Cup. In addition, on November 2, 2019, in Salt Lake City, he set his personal record at a distance of 500 meters, having spent 39.961 seconds to overcome it. But at subsequent starts, the hero of the two Olympics in different countries no longer performed due to injuries.