Seongnam rejects Victor An as Choi Min-jeong calls for more transparency

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Published: 31 Jan. 2023, 08:29 Updated: 31 Jan. 2023, 09:45

Seongnam rejects Victor An as Choi Min-jeong calls for more transparency

Victor An talks to reporters in Seoul in March, 2022. [YONHAP]

An attempt by Victor An, the Korean-born short track speed skater who’s high-profile defection to Russia in 2011 made him persona non grata in Korea, to return to Korean skating proved unsuccessful over the weekend after his application to coach the prestigious Seongnam City Hall team was rejected.

“Seven applicants, including An and former China coach Kim Sun-tae, applied to coach the Seongnam City Hall ice skating team,” the city said in a statement on Sunday. “An was not one of the two applicants to advance to the next stage of the recruitment process.”

The application process for Seongnam City Hall coach came under scrutiny earlier in January after reports broke that An, still a highly-controversial figure in Korean sports, had applied for the role at the team that he had skated for 15 years ago when he was still based in Korea.

Seongnam is home to one of the strongest short track speed skating squads in Korea with a roster that includes, on the rare occasions when she’s not busy with national team commitments, three-time Olympic champion Choi Min-jeong.

Choi took the unusual step on Tuesday of posting on her personal Instagram page about the recruitment process, calling on Seongnam to hire the best possible candidate for the job, regardless of external pressure. The statement appears to be in response to the announcement that An has not advanced to the next stage of recruitment, a decision Choi and at least some players apparently are not happy about.

"We are athletes from Seongnam City Hall's ice skating team," Choi said in the statement. "The team is currently recruiting a new coach and we hope that the selection process is both fair and transparent, not influenced by external factors.

"The Seongnam City Hall ice skating team has the largest number of former and current national team skaters. In order to lead such a great team, the coach with the best coaching experience, the best competency and the best communication should be appointed."

An was once the darling of the Korean short-track skating scene, and it’s a big scene — Korea has won more than twice as many Olympic gold medals as any other nation in the sport. An was one of the most decorated Korean-born Olympians, winning three gold and one bronze medal at the 2006 Turin Games skating for Korea under the name Ahn Hyun-soo.

After the Olympics and the following 2006 World Championships, An’s relationship with the Korean skating authorities began to break down.

Victor An, then skating as Ahn Hyun-soo, celebrates after winning the 5,000 meters for Korea at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

After returning to Korea from the World Championships, An’s father reportedly argued with the Korea Skating Union’s vice president, claiming the coach was not giving An enough attention. The short-track team was split into two — An was assigned to the women’s coach, and the animosity ran high.

In 2008, An was injured during training and had to undergo multiple surgeries on his knee. The resulting rehab knocked him off his game, sending him from six-time world champion to failing to qualify for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

In 2011, the Seongnam City Hall team, the team An belonged to at the time, was disbanded due to financial issues. Frustrated with his treatment by the national team and the sudden disappearance of his club, an increasingly disillusioned An left the Korean team and defected to Russia.

He became a citizen and quickly began to compete for Korea’s northern neighbor, winning the country’s first medals in speed skating at the 2014 Sochi Games, the same year he regained his world champion title.

Victor An trains with the Russian short track speed skating team in Seoul in 2017. [YONHAP]

An continued to skate for Russia over the following years, but injury disrupted his career again. He had intended to retire after the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics, wanting to skate one more time in his home country, but was barred from competing following the sports doping scandal in Russia. An had never tested positive for drugs.

An retired that year, then unretired himself a year later to win a couple of World Cup medals, before finally retiring again in 2020. He joined the Chinese coaching squad for the 2022 Beijing Olympics and helped lead China to two gold, one silver and one bronze medal, only slightly behind Korea on the medal table.

An has since moved back to Korea to rejoin his family, but the application to coach the Seongnam City Hall team was his first attempt to rejoin the Korean skating scene.

BY JIM BULLEY [jim.bulley@joongang.co.kr]