MOSCOW, April 27. /TASS/. Russia’s six-time Olympic Champion in short track speed skatving Viktor Ahn has wrapped up his sports career, Alexei Kravtsov, the president of the Russian Skating Union (RSU), told TASS on Monday.”He sent us a letter stating his decision to wrap up his sports career,” Kravtsov said.This is not the first time, when Ahn, 34, announced his decision to retire. In early September 2018, RSU President Kravtsov stated that Ahn had decided to wrap up his sports career, but in February 2019, the short track speed skater announced his intention to make a comeback with the Russian national team and vie for medals at the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.The RSU head told TASS on Monday that today’s decision of the 34-year-old short track speed skater was expected and did not come as a surprise.”If you should recall it, Viktor voiced the same decision previously, but later decided to make a comeback and this season had to be pivotal for him to make a final decision on whether he would continue with speed skating or not,” Kravtsov said in an interview with TASS.”This season’s Short Track World Championship was scheduled to be hosted by Seoul and he [Ahn] has qualified for the [Russian national team’s] relay competition,” Kravtsov continued. “However, the World Championship has been cancelled due to the [COVID-19] pandemic, it is obviously complicated to remain in shape, and this is why it is an expected decision, considering the age of the athlete.””We truly understand this decision,” the head of the Russian Skating Union added.Viktor Ahn was born in South Korea’s Seoul as Ahn Hyun-soo and initially competed for his native country’s team. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy’s Turin he brought South Korea three golds and one bronze medal in short track.After the 2006 Olympics in Turin, a string of injuries kept him sidelined from major short track competitions and before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Canada’s Vancouver he failed to qualify for the South Korean national team.In 2011, he was granted Russian citizenship and announced his decision to speed skate for Russia at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, where he clinched three gold medals and one bronze medal.He is also the six-time Overall World Champion, winning the titles in 2003-2007 and in 2014.In late 2017, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the membership of the Russian Olympic Committee (ROC) over doping abuse allegations but allowed clean Russian athletes to participate in the 2018 Winter Games under the Olympic flag and in the neutral status of an Olympic Athlete from Russia (OAR).Viktor Ahn was not among the Russian athletes to receive an invitation from the IOC and missed the 2018 Olympics in South Korea’s PyeongChang.
