Ahn Hyun Soo

The emergence of new national heroes is not a predictable and unexpected process. People who, until recently, had nothing to do with Russia, often become popularly beloved idols.

But truly nationality does not play any role if a person loves the country where he lives and is ready to bring it worldwide fame. A striking example is short-tracker Viktor An.

Victor Ahn was born on November 23, 1985 in the capital of South Korea, Seoul. Victor's name at birth is Ahn Hyun Soo, under which he lived until 2011. At first, the boy grew up as a simple Korean child, until at the age of 8 he saw the broadcast of the Olympics in Lillehammer. The boy was especially impressed by the performances of short track players.

1994 was a period when a passion for this sport arose in the boy's heart. Victor's idol was his compatriot, member of the Olympic team, Chai Ji Un. This athlete won 2 gold medals in Lillehammer and awakened an irresistible craving for short track speed in Ahn Hyun Soo's soul.

Victor An immediately persuaded his parents to enroll him in the classroom. The training bases were already at the highest level at that time, so the boy had every opportunity to develop his abilities.

The sports biography of Victor An began at home. His career in Korea developed rapidly. The boy's early successes interested the eminent coach, former three-time Olympic winner Kim Ki-Un, who without hesitation invited the talented athlete to the elite group.

An experienced leader helped the progress of Viktor An's talent, but the skater himself worked "tirelessly" - up to 10 hours daily. The coach motivated and taught him to run and the habit of constantly analyzing his indicators and the reasons for their changes, by watching videos of performances to improve the skill of the skater.

And I didn't have to wait long. The first high-profile achievement that drew the attention of the country's sports leaders to the athlete was the "golden" performance at the 2002 World Youth Championship. This victory became a lucky ticket for the short-tracker to the South Korean national team, but already to its main, adult squad. But even here the young talent quickly showed that he was not going to remain a beginner.

In the same year, not even reaching adulthood, Victor An won gold in the relay race, and also became the silver medalist in the adult category three times. Together with the South Korean men's team, he took the bronze step of the podium in the team event.

But with the Olympics, this eventful 2002 for him did not work out: Victor An won only 4th place. Although the word “only” is not entirely appropriate - some athletes do not achieve this result throughout their career in sports.

Already the next year, a short, thin athlete (Viktor's height is 172 cm, weight - 63 kg) outstrips all competitors in the world, winning the world championship four times and three times at the Asian short track race.

2004 was the year of Victor An's triumph. He brings 6 world championship gold medals (5 personal, and 1 - for winning a team). His incredible achievements at the Universiade in Innsbruck in 2005 did not go unnoticed either.

But the moment of real happiness and the realization of a childhood dream was the Olympics in Turin. Remembering the failure in 2002, Victor An did his best to prevent his failure from happening again. And he won, having climbed the first step three times and won bronze once. That year, Viktor Ahn bypassed everyone and became the undisputed leader of the world short track speed skating.

Further, the biography of Victor An takes on the features of a Hollywood drama about the ups and downs in a larger sport. It all started because of the conflict between the skater's father and the head coach of the national team, in which the whole team was divided. Soon, the titled athlete even had to train with the women's team.

Either it was bad fate, or someone's intent, but after that Victor An receives a serious knee injury, as a result of which he missed several world championships. He lost his former form and was not included in the Korean national team for the Vancouver Olympics.

It would seem that the career is over. But it was not there. The decision of the Russian Olympic leadership to strengthen the composition of the short track team by inviting athletes from other countries helped.

Moving to Russia, change of citizenship and name in 2011 gave Ahn Hyun Soo a second wind in life and sports. He chose a new name, Victor, to quickly feel like a citizen of a great country, to feel at home. As Victor An likes to emphasize in an interview, this choice was due to two reasons - the meaning of the word "victory" and respect for another famous Russian Korean, Viktor Tsoi.

Whatever it was, Victor An gave the Russian team hope for awards in this sport and immediately began to show "medal" results for the national team at the world championships. In addition to sports training and outstanding performances, the skater took up intensive study of the Russian language. By agreement with the coaching staff of the Russian national team at the 2014 Olympics, he was supposed to give interviews in Russian.

The Sochi Olympics became a test for Viktor An and an opportunity to prove to himself and others that he is one of the world leaders in short track speed skating.

Former colleagues in the Korean national team were already nervously biting their lips as they watched his debut performance at a distance of 1500 meters. On February 10, Viktor An brought the first bronze medal to the treasury of the Russian Federation. Note that Russia had never received Olympic medals in individual short track competitions before.

But Victor An was not going to stop there. On February 15, 2014, Russian short track players received 2 awards at once. At a distance of 1000 meters, Victor An won a gold medal. Never before has the Russian national team achieved such results.

But that's not all. Fortunately, the Olympics has a large number of distances, which allows athletes to take their own. Victor took advantage of this.

On February 21, the final took place in the short track at a distance of 500 meters. And there was no equal to Victor An. He again climbed to the top step of the podium, winning the 8th medal for Russia.

But Victor An did not stop at the second gold in Sochi. The athlete also won the 5000 meter team relay race along with Semyon Elistratov, Vladimir Grigoriev and Ruslan Zakharov. At the last stage, Victor An not only finished first, but also managed to break the Olympic record. It was not just a victory, it was a real sensation.

A new marble star has appeared in Sochi in honor of the famous short tracker and 6-time Olympic champion Viktor An.

The public reaction to the victory brought to the treasury of a foreign country by a compatriot in South Korea was stormy. The Korean mass media unleashed a barrage of criticism at the Republic's Skating Union. The Minister of Sports and the President of the country even promised to root out corruption and civil strife in sports, as well as how to prepare for the 2018 Olympics.

In general, Victor Ana is loved and supported at home, understanding the reasons for his emigration.

After the 2014 Olympics, Viktor An remained in Russia, where he continued to defend the honor of the country. The Olympic champion was presented with a 3-room apartment in an elite building in St. Petersburg. The house is part of the comfortable complex "Prince Alexander Nevsky". In addition, the athlete received a gift of apartments in Novogorsk and Odintsovo.

6-time Olympic champion Viktor An competed at the European Short Track Speed ​​Skating Championships, which took place in Turin in January 2017. The skater did not manage to give all his best, he came 3rd after two Dutch athletes Shinky Knegt and Dylan Hoogerwerf.

During the Olympics, the world media flew around frames in which his girlfriend cried, rejoicing at the results and achievements of her beloved. The name of the eastern beauty is U Na Ri, or simply Nari.

The journalists had previously filmed the couple during their walks around Moscow. Those short hours of free time between workouts that fell out to the athlete, he tried to spend with his beloved.

The couple met a few years ago. Nari is a longtime fan of Victor An, a member of his club. She closely watched his career and rejoiced in every victory.

In 2013, Nari moved to Russia and received citizenship. And in 2014, the couple got married. Viktor An says that with her presence, attention and care, Nari helped him to adapt in Russia and feel like a citizen of it.

Soon, the couple began to think about children. In December 2015, Victor became a father: his wife gave the athlete a daughter, Jane Ahn. The personal life of Victor An was as wonderful as his career.

In 2016, Victor An attended the popular comedy show "Evening Urgant", where he came with Evgeni Plushenko.

The famous skater has shown that he is in excellent athletic shape and has an excellent sense of humor.

Participation in the 2018 European Championship, which was held in Dresden, brought the skater to 2nd place. Gold again went to the athlete from the Netherlands Shinky Knegt. In addition to participating in competitions, as part of his educational work, Viktor An regularly visits major cities of Russia with short track master classes. The athlete himself spends 6 hours or more in training every day.

Viktor Ahn planned to compete in the Olympic Games in Korea, but was suspended from the International Olympic Committee. The management of the organization did not explain their decision. The short-tracker tried to get an explanation and even sent an open letter to Thomas Bach. In the message, the athlete explained that the lack of explanation from the IOC gave rise to rumors about his use of doping.

But the skater never used prohibited means, and now his sporting honor was under threat. Victor asked the IOC leadership to explain the reasons for this decision. But the president of the international organization declined to comment.

In the same year, the skater announced that he was leaving Russia with his family. For the first time, the news was heard from the athlete's Instagram page. A photo of an open message written by him to subscribers and fans appeared in the account.

The reason for the departure of Victor An was the end of his sports career. The short tracker admitted that he always dreamed of a sports career, not a coaching career. Namely, a job as a coach was offered to Victor in Russia after he hung his skates on a nail. While on vacation in Korea, Ahn realized that he was not yet ready to lead the national team of his second homeland, but perhaps in the future he would change this decision. The skater thanked his colleagues, with whom he experienced many exciting victories, as well as the Russian fans who believed in him.

Now Victor Ahn has returned to South Korea, where he is going to study his daughter's education. This decision was insisted on by his wife, who wants to raise a real Korean from Jane. Fans are interested in the question of what Viktor An will do with the real estate that was presented to him in Russia. In September it became known that the sportsman was renting an apartment in St. Petersburg for 50 thousand rubles. per month. As realtors assure, this is a low price for equipped housing in a high-rise business class.

2002 - gold medal at the World Championships in Montreal 2003 - 3 gold medals at the World Championships in Warsaw 2004 - gold medal at the World Championships in St. Petersburg 2004 - 4 gold medals at the World Championships in Gothenburg 2005 - 2 gold medals at the World Championships in Beijing 2006 - 3 gold medals at the World Championships in Minneapolis 2006 - 3 gold, 1 bronze medals at the Olympics in Turin 2007 - 3 gold medals at the World Championships in Milan 2014 - 2 gold medals at the World Championships in Montreal 2014 - 3 gold, 1 bronze medals at the Olympics in Sochi 2018 - a silver medal at the European Championships in Dresden

Ahn Hyun Soo 's estimated Net Worth, Salary, Income, Cars, Lifestyles & many more details have been updated below.

Let's check, How Rich is Ahn Hyun Soo in 2020?

Ahn Hyun Soo Net Worth 2021

Ahn Hyun Soo 's revenue is $1.2M in 2021. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Ahn Hyun Soo and could vary in the range between $886.8K - $1.6M.

Ahn Hyun Soo Net Worth 2020

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Ahn Hyun Soo Net Worth 2019

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Ahn Hyun Soo Net Worth 2018

Ahn Hyun Soo 's revenue is $1M in 2018. It is an approximate forecast of how rich is Ahn Hyun Soo and could vary in the range between $790.6K - $1.5M.

Ahn Hyun Soo Net Worth 2017

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Ahn Hyun Soo Net Worth 2016

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Ahn Hyun Soo Net Worth 2015

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It is an overall forecast for the net worth of Ahn Hyun Soo. The evaluation covers the latest 5 years and an approximation for next year. See above to learn how much money does Ahn Hyun Soo makes a year.

The range above shows an estimation based on evaluation generated by public information about sponsorships or other sources found on the internet. It's summarized data from Ahn Hyun Soo's projects existing in AidWiki's repository. It's an approximation of the revenue compiled by AidWiki and may not correspond with the real amount.