Chinanews.com client Beijing, April 28 (Wang Hao) On the evening of the 27th, Beijing time, six Winter Olympic gold medal winner Victor An (formerly An Xianzhu) decided to retire again due to injury. As one of the greatest players in the history of short track speed skating, he has a strong dominance in the arena, but outside the arena was once bearing the infamy of the "traitor".
Looking back on his ten years of sports career, it is like a sad and joyful human drama.
Screenshots of foreign media reports.
Scenery and loneliness
The story of genius usually has an extraordinary start. In January 2002, An Xianzhu, who was only 17 years old, unexpectedly won the championship at the World Youth Short Track Championship.
This scene was also seen by Quan Mingkui, the coach of the Korean short track speed skating team in the stands. So, he immediately decided to use An Xianzhu to replace another injured member of the national team, the latter began his Korean national team career.
A month later, An Xianzhu participated in his first Olympic Games-Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. However, he was still immature and he failed to win the medal at the Winter Olympics. The best result was the fourth place in the men's 1000 meters.
The frustration of the first appearance in the World Series did not make An Xianzhu sink. In the next four years, he became more and more courageous and won many world championships. The young An Xianzhu grew rapidly and gradually showed his talent to the world.
On January 19, 2014, the European Short Track Speed Skating Championship was held in Dresden, Germany. An Xianzhu (blue) in the game.
In 2006, An Xianzhu climbed to the top of the podium three times in the men's 1000m, 1500m and men's 5,000m relays at the Torino Winter Olympics. For him, standing on the field and then winning seems to be a matter of course.
But behind the overwhelming applause of the audience and the flashing lights of the media, this talented young man had an unknown gray experience.
The Korean short track speed skating team has always been one of the strong teams in the world. But within such a master of the king, there are clear factions within it, and there are constant disputes. Even in some major international competitions, there have been scenes of public infighting among players.
At that time, An Xianzhu was caught in the factional struggle. Some media reported that during the preparation for the Torino Olympic Games, An Xianzhu was isolated in the men's team and could not eat with them, but could only train with the women's team, and even once reported that An Xianzhu encountered in the team The news of beatings.
In the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics short-track speed skating men's 1000m final, Russia won the runner-up, An Xianzhu (right) won the gold medal with 1 minute 25 seconds 325, and Grigrev won with 1 minute 25 seconds 399 silver medal. Photograph by China News Service
In addition to the parties involved, the details may be difficult for outsiders to understand. But one thing is for sure, An Xianzhu, a genius player in the history of short track speed skating, was not able to sail smoothly outside the field when he was in the field.
Contradictions and betrayal
No matter how long time passed, when people talked about An Hyun-soo, there were two things they couldn't get around. One was his legendary playing field experience, and the other was that he changed his nationality and became a "traitor" among some Korean populations.
After the Torino Olympic Games, An Xianzhu was attacked by injuries and severely fractured his left knee. The injury stopped for two years. In the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, young South Korean player Li Zhengxiu won gold in the short track speed skating men's 1000m and 1500m events. The former overlord An Xianzhu could only watch this happen silently in front of the TV.
The bad luck didn't end there. When An Xianzhu recovered from injury and was ready to return to the arena, his club disintegrated due to financial problems. The Winter Olympics champion was also unable to win a place in the national team with gangs and hierarchies because of his "self-employed" status.
On January 19, 2014, the European Short Track Speed Skating Championship was held in Dresden, Germany. An Xianzhu (blue) in the game.
At this time, the contradiction between him and the Korean Skating Association became increasingly fierce and became publicized by the media.
In 2011, An Xianzhu announced his renunciation of Korean nationality and naturalization in Russia on the grounds that he did not have the training environment he wanted in South Korea. The media reported that this decision made him sleepless for a month, and An Xianzhu said: "Making this decision is much harder than winning three gold medals."
One stone stirred up thousands of waves, and from then on, he carried the infamy of "treason" and began the next journey of his life in the far north.
After naturalization in Russia, An Xianzhu changed his name to "Victor-Ann". There are two interpretations of this name. One is that Victor has the meaning of "victory", and the other is that the name is derived from the Soviet Korean Korean rock star Victor Cui.
In fact, no matter what kind of interpretation, it is destined to be entangled with "nationality" and "race field" in his future life.
In the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics short-track speed skating men ’s 1000m final, Russia won the first and second runner-ups, An Xianzhu (first from right) won the gold medal with 1 minute 25 seconds 325, and Grigriv won with 1 minute 25 seconds 399 Won the silver medal. Photograph by China News Service
An Xianzhu and Victor-Ann
Before Victor Ann joined, the Russian short track speed skating team was not a strong team, they never won a gold medal in the Winter Olympics. This may also be an important reason for Russia's eagerness to recruit him.
But in the early days after joining Russian nationality, Viktor-Ann's condition was not good. The media reported that in the 2011 Russian National Championships, Victor Ann unexpectedly got out in the qualifiers.
Suffering from serious injuries and long-term stay away from the field, the former talented teenager An Xianzhu had to start from Victor-Ann after turning into Victor-Ann. Fortunately, he received more goodwill in Russia.
"When I came here, the entire Russian team was very friendly and united. My teammates and I learned from each other, which is why Russia's short track speed skating has improved so quickly." Victor-Ann said.
In 2014, Victor Ann finally fulfilled his wish to stand on the stage of the Winter Olympics again. In the Sochi Winter Olympics, he once again achieved the feat of winning 3 gold on behalf of the host Russia.
In the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics short-track speed skating men's 1000m final, Russia took the first and second place. An Xianzhu won the gold medal with 1 minute 25 seconds 325, and Grigrev won the silver medal with 1 minute 25 seconds 399. The picture shows An Xianzhu kissing the ice after victory. Photograph by China News Service
The South Korean men ’s team not only performed poorly in this Winter Olympics, they also appeared dangerous behaviors when they surpassed on the field and were penalized for fouling other players.
An Hyun-soo, who helped the South Korean flag rise again and again in the Winter Olympics, became Viktor-An who helped Russia win gold. This made many Korean audiences feel complicated. Some people continued to call him a "treason," while others began to reflect on what went wrong in Korean short track speed skating.
"No pain No gain" (No pain, no gain), this is a sentence Victor-Ann once printed on the helmet. During the cold nights in Russia, did he shed sweat, tears or even blood? Maybe, but fortunately Jin Cancan's gold medal in the Winter Olympics gave him the sweetest and most complicated compensation.
Olympic champion and daughter slave
Victor Ann, who completed the "vengeance", did not choose the perfect curtain call, but hoped to continue to fight in the Winter Olympics. After all, the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics was held in his former homeland, South Korea.
At the closing ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics, the flag of the Winter Olympics was passed to the next host, Pyeongchang, South Korea. On the same day, the closing ceremony of the 22nd Winter Olympics was held at the Fischte Olympic Stadium in Sochi, Russia. China News Service issued Liu Guanguan photo
But perhaps neither An Xianzhu nor Victor Ann can escape the destiny of sorrow. While he and his teammates were preparing for the final sprint for the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, the IOC Executive Committee decided to ban the Russian delegation from participating in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.
Although the IOC allows clean Russian athletes to participate in a neutral role, Victor-Ann is not on the list of allowed players. He once wrote to the IOC to fight reasonably, but eventually failed to appear in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics Speed skating arena.
Wang Meng, one of the greatest female players in the history of short track speed skating, once said that after seeing Victor Ann ’s experience, he felt sad, "I think he is a legend on the ice rink. He contributed to the world pattern of short track speed skating. "
In September 2018, Victor Ann, 32, announced his retirement. But in the past five months, he announced his comeback and won two gold medals at the World Cup Salt Lake City Station in November 2019.
Screenshot of Victor-Ann Social Media.
The 2022 Beijing Olympic Winter Games are getting closer and closer. At this time, Victor Ann announced his retirement, which is somewhat unexpected. Russian media reported that permanent knee pain and other injuries were the reason he decided to stop the game.
Looking through Victor-Ann's social media accounts, you will find that the most appeared is not training, competition, but his daughter. In 2014, after the “Return of the King” at the Sochi Winter Olympics, he married his wife, and the arrival of his daughter made the family more warm.
This is especially true of his wife ’s social media, where the vigorous Victor Ann has become a daughter slave who can only laugh.
Screenshot of Victor-Ann's wife's social media.
Under the news that he announced his retirement, many people regretted his experience, but one comment said: "I will be a good father of Jiren in the future." Jiren is the Chinese translation of her daughter. The little girl is lively and cute, and is popular among fans like.
Yes, despite so many setbacks in the game, the sports career that should have been infinitely beautiful was torn into two parts, but fortunately, whether it was An Xianzhu or Victor Ann, he had gained happiness in his life. So from now on, please continue to be so happy! (Finish)