Russia’s six-time Olympic Champ Viktor Ahn still undecided about 2022 Winter Olympics

KOLOMNA /Moscow Region/, September 12. /TASS/. Six-time Olympic champion in short track speed skating Viktor Ahn said on Thursday he would make a decision about his possible participation in the 2022 Winter Olympics after the current season.

On Thursday, the famed short track speed skater joined the Russian national team for a training session before the Russian Skating Union (RSU) Open Cup, which will be held in the Moscow Region city of Kolomna on September 13-15.

"It is very pleasant to be back training with the team, the ice is very good and I think that it will be even better tomorrow," Ahn told journalists. "I trained a lot this summer in South Korea, arrived here [in Russia] on Sunday, set off immediately for Kolomna and I have good feelings now."

"I have planned initially to race at the RSU Open Cup in the relay event only, but decided yesterday to race the 1,000-meter distance as well," he continued. "I have also made such a decision because I was out of the competitions for a long time, the process [of speed skating] here will be more important than the eventual result, and only after this tournament I will be participating in the qualification trials of the Russian national team."

In early September 2018, RSU President Alexei Kravtsov stated that Russian national Viktor Ahn had decided to wrap up his sports career. In February, 33-year-old Ahn announced his intention to make a comeback with the Russian national team of short track speed skating and vie for medals at the 2022 Winter Olympics in China.

RSU President Kravtsov later said that Ahn would have to participate in the qualifying tournaments after the RSU Open Cup in Kolomna to earn his place on the national team’s roster.

Asked by journalists about his previously announced intention of competing in the 2022 Winter Olympics, Ahn, who is the most successful athlete in the history of the short track speed skating, said he would decide on this issue after the season is over.

"I am not ready at the moment to say whether I am focused on the Olympic Games as there are still two more years to go before the Games," Ahn stated. "I wanted to test myself this season and will be able to give an exact answer after the season is over."

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 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.