Hyun-Soo Ahn 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.
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61 Facts About Hyun-Soo Ahn
2.
Hyun-Soo Ahn 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.
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3.
In 2008, Ahn suffered a knee injury and could not regain his health by the time the national qualifiers for Vancouver 2010 came around.
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4.
Hyun-Soo Ahn's 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.
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5.
Hyun-Soo Ahn continued his skating career in his adopted nation until 2019 and declared his retirement in April 2020.
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6.
Hyun-Soo Ahn began skating in 1993 in his first year of primary school.
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7.
Hyun-Soo Ahn's coach, Kim Ki-hoon, was a three-time Olympic gold medalist who scouted Ahn and continued to train him.
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8.
Hyun-Soo Ahn trained ten hours every day from techniques, speed, and endurance to video analysis.
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9.
Hyun-Soo Ahn made his international debut at the World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in 2002.
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10.
Hyun-Soo Ahn then participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City.
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11.
Hyun-Soo Ahn 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.
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12.
Hyun-Soo Ahn won gold in men's 5000 m relay along with teammates Lee Ho-suk, Seo Ho-jin, and Song Suk-woo.
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13.
Hyun-Soo 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.
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14.
Hyun-Soo Ahn was the only athlete in Turin to step on to the podium four times.
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15.
Hyun-Soo 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.
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16.
Hyun-Soo Ahn is the first South Korean man to win at least 3 medals in a single Winter Olympics.
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17.
Hyun-Soo Ahn became the first male short track skater to win four consecutive world titles.
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18.
The South Korean short track team was split into two groups, in one of which Hyun-Soo Ahn was being coached by the women's coach due to conflicts with the men's coach.
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19.
Hyun-Soo Ahn mentioned on his personal website that the pressure was too much for him and he contemplated quitting the sport.
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20.
At the 2007 World Championships held in Milan, Hyun-Soo 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.
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21.
Hyun-Soo Ahn 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.
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22.
Hyun-Soo 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.
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23.
On January 16,2008, the Korean Skating Union reported that Hyun-Soo Ahn had injured his knee after colliding with a fence during national team training at the Korea Training Center in Taeneung.
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24.
The article reported that Hyun-Soo Ahn was eyeing the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada.
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25.
In 2009, Hyun-Soo Ahn finished seventh overall at the Korean national team trials, which was not enough for him to qualify for the Olympic team.
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26.
In turn, Hyun-Soo Ahn served as a commentator for SBS Sports on the season's World Cup series and World Championships.
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27.
Hyun-Soo 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.
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28.
At the 2014 Winter Olympics, Hyun-Soo Ahn won the bronze medal in the 1500 m event, which was the first short track speed skating medal that Russia had ever earned.
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29.
Hyun-Soo Ahn 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.
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32.
Hyun-Soo Ahn expressed his concern that though his relationship with the Korean athletes had no problems, the press was making them awkward.
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33.
Hyun-Soo Ahn became the only man to win six world championships in the sport.
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34.
Hyun-Soo Ahn continued to win medals at the World and European championships for Russia.
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35.
Hyun-Soo Ahn 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.
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36.
The IOC did not disclose the specific reasons for banning Hyun-Soo Ahn, only mentioning "lingering suspicions" about doping use regarding the country.
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37.
Hyun-Soo 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.
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38.
Hyun-Soo 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.
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39.
Hyun-Soo Ahn was noticed working as a player-coach at Korea National Sports University.
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40.
In February 2019, Hyun-Soo Ahn reversed his decision, announcing that he wanted to compete as an athlete.
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41.
In 2018, Hyun-Soo Ahn was offered a coaching position for China's national speed skating team by Wang Meng, who had been Hyun-Soo Ahn's acquaintance since 2002.
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42.
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 Hyun-Soo Ahn, who was seen congratulating his team for winning gold in the 2000 m mixed relay.
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43.
Hyun-Soo Ahn was awarded the Outstanding Player Award at the Sports Chosun Coca-Cola Sports Awards in January 2006.
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44.
Hyun-Soo Ahn was named as honorary ambassador for the PyeongChang Winter Olympics bidding committee with Jin Sun-yu.
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45.
In 2008, Hyun-Soo Ahn was selected as the Most Valuable Player with Lee Kyou-hyuk and Yuna Kim by the Korean Skating Union.
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46.
Hyun-Soo Ahn was chosen as the ambassador for the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation in 2009.
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47.
In March 2013, Hyun-Soo Ahn was named as Honored Master of Sports by the Russian Federation.
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48.
Hyun-Soo Ahn was selected Most Valuable Player in the Sochi Winter Olympics by NBC, and 2014 Athlete of the Year by the Russian edition of 'GQ' magazine.
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49.
In 2016, Hyun-Soo Ahn received the Proud Alumnus Award at his alma mater.
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50.
Hyun-Soo Ahn was 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.
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51.
Hyun-Soo Ahn is married to Woo Nari, a Korean born in 1983.
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52.
Hyun-Soo Ahn said that her presence and care helped him adapt to Russia.
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53.
The younger Hyun-Soo Ahn switched from short track to speed skating in 2021.
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54.
Hyun-Soo Ahn was reported to be the victim of senior player Seo Ho-jin's assault at the 2005 Winter Universiade.
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55.
Hyun-Soo Ahn trained in Russia and received Russian citizenship to compete for Russia in the 2014 Winter Olympics.
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56.
Hyun-Soo Ahn's father stated that the decision was due to lack of support from the South Korean skating association.
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57.
Hyun-Soo Ahn had considered competing for the United States, but found that the process for gaining Russian citizenship was much easier.
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58.
Hyun-Soo Ahn 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.
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59.
In September 2018, Hyun-Soo Ahn announced his retirement from short track and moved back to South Korea.
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60.
Hyun-Soo Ahn covered the World Cup series and the World Championships.
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61.
From 2017 to 2018, Hyun-Soo Ahn guest-starred in the South Korean variety-reality show The Return of Superman with his daughter.
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