Ahn Hyun-soo Looks to Resurrect Career
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
Ahn Hyun-soo's career as a short tracker is something to rave about.
He became the first South Korean athlete to win three gold medals at the Winter Olympic Games and the first male skater to top the World Championships for the fifth straight year.
However, an unexpected injury sidelined him for more than a year, costing him an Olympic berth, and there have been whispers that his career is over.
But Ahn is brushing them aside and seeking to resurrect his career.
"It is true that there is buzz about my retirement. They say, 'You have achieved everything as an athlete, but how come you had difficulty rehabilitating yourself?'" Ahn said in an interview with The Korea Times on Feb. 9, four days ahead of the beginning of the Vancouver Winter Olympics.
The 24-year-old South Korean claimed three gold medals - the 1,000 meters, 1,500 meters and 5,000-meter relay - at the Turin Games in 2006. And he dominated the World Championships from 2003 to 2007, a record on the men's side and one short of Yang Yang of China, who triumphed at the worlds from 1997 to 2002.
But Ahn hurt his left knee during a national team practice after crashing into a fence in Jan. 2008, and he had to have four surgeries in a 15-month period.
"As I did not have a serious injury before, I did not know how long it would take to recover," he said.
"I hurt my knee, which is the support for the body, so it took longer than expected."
The injury shattered all the hopes of the short tracker who was in his prime.
He had to see his win streak at the World Championships snapped by American Apolo Anton Ohno at home in Gangneung, Gangwon Province in 2008.
To make things worse, the two-time Olympian failed to make the national team for the Vancouver Games.
After being ruled out for more than a year, Ahn returned to the ice at the national team trial last April, which was set to pick the top-five skaters for the ISU World Cups and Winter Olympics, but a rusty Ahn had to settle for ninth in the overall rankings at the tryout.
"Although I tried not to express my disappointment, I was heartbroken,'' he said.
"As I have competed in the Olympics and won gold medals there, it is a pity that I had to watch them on television."
However, Ahn admitted he was not prepared enough to compete at an elite level.
"I fell short of everything,'' he said.
"It was the first contest since I was hit by the injury. I was not game-fit at all because I had the final operation two months before the tryout."
Ahn's failure to qualify for the Olympic squad, along with Jin Sun-yu, the other triple gold medalist on the women's side in Turin, raised controversy in that the Korea Skating Union (KSU) held the trial just once, compared to twice for the 2006 event.
"Sometimes we have two trials and at other times one. It has been a hot issue for discussion for a long time (regardless of my situation),'' he said.
"I am an athlete and not in a position to talk about it, and I have nothing to say because I already knew that there would only be one trial before entering.
"But frankly speaking, I hoped that there would be another."
Currently, the men's short track team has proved South Korea is still a heavyweight in Vancouver, with Lee Jung-su topping the first two events, the 1,000 and 1,500 meters.
However, the squad did not realize the favorable predictions due to an absence of veterans.
Among five representatives, Lee Ho-suk is the only one who has participated in a previous Olympics.
But Ahn does not buy into this opinion.
"South Korean short track is rated No. 1 everywhere. Although it did not have a deep player pool, all the skaters are strong enough to win any international contests," he said.
"But Olympic experience cannot be ignored, either, so if they can handle the pressure and stay fit on game days, they will surely be able to churn out good results."
Ten months after his setback at the trial, Ahn has resurrected his career.
He won three gold medals in the 1,500 meters, 3,000 meters and 3,000 meter relay at the National Winter Sports Festival earlier this month.
"I was able to improve through the competition, even though I'm not up to 100 percent. It was a good opportunity for me to gain self-confidence," he said.
According to him, he is now at 60 to 70 percent of his full strength.
And now, Ahn plans to continue his illustrious career with his sights on contesting at the 2011 Winter Asian Games to be held in Astana and Almaty, Kazakhstan, and further ahead, the 2014 Games in Sochi, Russia.
"I am trying to make the national team tryout for the Asian Games in April. As for the Olympics, it is four years from now, so I would like to say that I will make efforts to stay fit until then and if possible, I want to challenge,'' he said.
"I want to show again that I can represent Korea and win a gold medal in international events.
"Although I am short of fitness now, I think I can make it."