Naturalized athletes to represent Korea

Aleksandr Starodubets

By Baek Byung-yeul

Aleksandr Starodubets and Anna Frolina, two Russian biathlon athletes who were given Korean citizenship, will represent Korea in international competitions.

The Korea Biathlon Union (KBU) announced Monday that the two Russia-born athletes, who became naturalized Koreans on March 31, have been chosen as national biathlon team members.

The KBU said the decision came after concerns were raised that the host country for the 2018 PyeongChang Olympics did not have enough skilled biathlon athletes to compete in the event.

“To be able to earn two automatic berths at the 2018 Winter Olympics, Korea needs to be in at least 22nd place at the end of the 2016-17 season. But as the country is now ranked No. 25, we have decided to include them as national team members,” a KBU official said, Monday.

The biathlon is a sport of skiing where athletes race several laps on cross country skis, interspersed with several rounds of shooting at targets. The sport made its Olympic debut at the 1960 Winter Games. Korea has been struggling with thin prospects as there are merely 50 biathlon athletes nationwide.

The KBU said Starodubets and Frolina, who come from one of world’s biggest biathlon power houses, will help Korea compete in the 2018 Winter Games.

The union expects the 32-year-old Frolina who placed fourth in the women’s sprint event and sixth in the women’s pursuit event at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics still has the potential to be included in the upper rank of biathlon athletes even though she took a two-year break from the sport after having a baby.

“If she uses her experience in world class competitions, we believe she can still perform well,” the official said.

Speaking of Starodubets, the KBU hopes the 23-year-old, who finished seventh in the men’s individual race at the 2012 Biathlon Junior World Championships, will develop his skills not only to compete at the 2018 Games but also at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games.

“Though he doesn’t have Olympic experience, he has been maturing and getting better,” the KBU official said.

Starodubets and Frolina will start practicing with the national team in May.