Winter Olympics: short-track speedskating coaches Kim Sun-tae, Viktor An showered with love by Chinese netizens, but spark South Korean anger online
- Team China’s ‘gentle and adorable’ Coach Kim becomes a hit with Weibo users after Ren Ziwei and Li Welong take dramatic gold and silver at Beijing 2022
- His assistant An – the former South Korean skater who became a Russian citizen in 2011 – branded a ‘traitor and opportunist’ by former compatriots online
China short-track speedskating coach Kim Sun-tae sparked very different reactions from Chinese and South Korean fans, after his pupils triumphed in Monday evening’s men’s 1,000m final at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
This was not the South Korean’s first experience working with Chinese athletes, having nurtured hopefuls in the Northeastern city of Changchun between 2004 and 2006, and again from 2010 to 2014, including Vancouver gold-medallist Zhou Yang and Sochi silver-medallist Han Tianyu. Before returning to China, he also trained the Japanese and South Korean teams.
“I have much anticipation for China and I want [us] to do well,” Kim told state-run outlet Xinhua. “There have been some hard times, but as the head coach, I must overcome them.”
Kim was showered with love and attention on China’s Twitter-like social media platform Weibo for his visible excitement, after he screamed in delight.
“I like Coach Kim so much, he’s so gentle and adorable,” a Weibo user wrote, “I really hope he can train [our athletes] for longer.” The comment has now generated over 5,000 likes.
Assisting Kim and standing alongside him was 36-year-old Viktor An, born Ahn Hyun-soo – one of the most accomplished short-track speed skaters of all time with six gold medals and two bronze medals under his belt.
Seeking a better training environment, he left South Korea for Russia and became a citizen in 2011, which at the time sparked negative reactions in his former country.
“Don’t ever try to come back and live in Korea” read one comment. “Why is a foreigner [speaking] Korean? Go back to Russia,” was another found in online forums.
In a now-deleted post on Instagram, An asked his former compatriots to cease the harassment of him and his family.
After initial suspicions were aired by skater Kwak Yoon-gy, some netizens even made accusations that the competition was rigged.
“Looking at the way China won the gold medal, I felt bad that my younger teammates had to watch something like that,” Kwak told reporters. “I thought to myself, ‘Is this really what winning a gold medal is all about?’ Things all just felt very hollow.”
Amid rising discontent, the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee confirmed it will file an appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sport to “publicise the unfairness” of the officiating in the event, where its athletes Hwang Dae-heon and Lee June-seo were disqualified.
On the Chinese end, netizens were also impressed by a resurfaced handwritten letter from Kim to Zhou.
In the message, Kim quoted a traditional Chinese saying that translates to “if you wish to be the best of the best, you must be prepared to suffer the ‘bitterest’ of the bitter”, and assured her that she will become a world champion one day, which happened in 2010 and again in 2014, when she won gold in the 1,500m event at Vancouver and Sochi.
“[Kim’s] letter to Zhou Yang was not only inspirational to her, but also moved me,” one Weibo user wrote in a comment that generated 20,000 likes.
The 30-year-old Zhou remains China’s most decorated active winter Olympian with a total of three gold medals, having also won the 3,000m relay event in 2014.
