Ahn Hyun Soo, now known as Viktor Ahn, is a retired South Korean-born Russian short-track speed skater. He graduated from Shinmok High School and later obtained a bachelor's and master's degrees in Physical Education, both from Korea National Sport University.

He began skating in 1993 and was trained by legendary short-track speed skater Kim Ki Hoon with a strict 10-hour schedule every day. He made his international debut at the World Junior Short Track Speed Skating Championships in 2002, winning 3 gold medals. At age 16, he participated in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, where he finished without a medal but exposed a corrupt selection system inside South Korea. As speed skating is a highly competitive sport, athletes were selected for the national team based on recommendations from senior athletes. These recommendations often were based on loyalty, being from the same university, or being trained by the senior, instead of being based on world rankings.

In 2005, he refused to compete for the South Korean team after he was assaulted by senior skater Seo Ho Jin at the 2005 Winter Universiade. This caused a scandal inside the country as more reports of corruption, bribery, and allegations that a coach facilitated the assault were made public. He trained with the women's team and still won gold medals at the 1000 m and 1500 m events at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin. He continued to dominate the sport despite the many conflicts between him, his father and the South Korean Skating Union. He was injured in 2009 and missed the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Then, he began acting as a whistleblower and revealed many of the scandals inside the sport, but was ostracized by many of his colleagues as a result.

In December 2011, he became a Russian citizen after being offered the possibility to train "in peace" in Moscow. He represented Russia at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, winning 3 gold medals and one bronze medal and giving the country its first-ever medals in short-track speed skating. After Sochi, he could not compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang as the Russian Olympic Committee was banned from participating due to multiple doping cases. He opted to retire in 2020 and became the coach of the Chinese national team, leading to several medals for China at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing.

He served as a coach for multiple skaters in the 2023–24 season for the South Korean national team trials, but still faces major opposition from several retired skaters and members of the South Korean Skating Union.

(Source: kisskh) Edit Biography