Former S. Korean skater wins Olympic bronze for adopted country Russia - Polidicks

[IMG]http://static01.nyt.com/images/2014/02/10/sports/10ahn/10ahn-master675.jpg[/IMG] [QUOTE]“He was looking at the U.S.A., too, very much,” said Jang, who is coaching Kazakhstan’s short-track team here. “But it was difficult to move to the U.S.A., and also the budget was a problem. He needed some salary, and they could not pay. There is no money there for short-track. The best condition was Russia because they are open and make it good for him.” Jang, who said he still spoke to Ahn often, would not specify how much financial assistance Ahn received from the Russian federation. But he did say that the process for receiving Russian citizenship was “very, very easy,” compared with the layers of paperwork and the residency requirements that would be expected of someone trying to gain American citizenship. Jang also said that the talent pool in both countries was a factor for Ahn. The United States already had several strong skaters, including J. R. Celski, who is a medal contender here. Russia, on the other hand, has won just a single short-track medal (as the Unified Team in 1992). As the host country at this Olympics, the Russians were surely interested in having legitimate competitors in as many sports as possible. “At that time, Russia’s short-track program was very low,” Jang said. “So they were very welcoming to him. The U.S.A.? They did not need him as much.” Ahn’s nationality change has generated a mix of opinions in the skating world, though the practice is hardly unprecedented. Ahn is not the only short-track skater competing in Sochi to switch countries: Anthony Lobello skated on the 2006 United States Olympic team but will skate here for Italy after what he described in a blog post as a “wild ride” with the United States skating federation. Ahn’s move has been more of a lightning rod. Ahn has won five world championship titles, and he claimed three gold medals at the 2006 Olympics, vaulting to the top of the sport. But he sustained a serious knee injury in 2008, and the South Korean skating federation, with which he had a tumultuous relationship for years, did not seem particularly interested in helping with his comeback once he did not recover in time to make the 2010 Olympic team. In Sochi, Ahn will compete in three individual events and skate for the Russian team in the 5,000-meter relay. If he wins, it will certainly be a big moment for Russians, but South Korean fans also figure to be excited. Yoo Jee-ho, a journalist with Yonhap News Agency, said a poll conducted last year in South Korea found that 61 percent of more than 1,200 respondents said that they understood Ahn’s decision to renounce his South Korean citizenship and skate for Russia. “He is seen as a sympathetic figure,” Yoo said. “Here is a guy who’d done so much for the country at the Olympics and the world championships, but injuries and some politics outside his control kept him from returning to his glory days.” Now it appears that Ahn has made it back, even if he had to change his name to do so. So why did he choose Viktor? Ahn had not given interviews leading to the Games, but in a statement on the Russian federation website, he said that part of his inspiration was to pay tribute to Viktor Tsoi, a Soviet-Korean musician who died in a car crash at 28. Ahn also said that he was attracted to a name so closely connected to winning. The name Viktor, he believes, will bring him luck. [/QUOTE] [url]http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/10/sports/olympics/ahn-rejected-us-to-skate-for-russia.html[/url]

She looks really short from that photo.

[QUOTE=Lord Xenoyia;43868739]She looks really short from that photo.[/QUOTE] What do you mean 'she'?

[QUOTE=Lord Xenoyia;43868739]She looks really short from that photo.[/QUOTE] its literally the first word in the article.

Russia was adopted? That's why she's such a shit. Guess you can't blame the kid, though. Usually bad parenting.