Victor An is an Olympic bronze medalist for Russia. Ahn Hyun-Soo was an Olympic gold and bronze medalist for South Korea. They are the same the person and the story of how Hyun-Soo became An is remarkable.

Hyun-Soo gave a historic effort in the 2006 Olympic Games in Turin, Italy. He skated away with three gold medals and one bronze.

Yet that wasn't enough to keep him skating in South Korea forever. As his body broke down from various injuries, Hyun-Soo was left off of South Korea's 2010 Olympic team. Unwanted in his home nation he looked east towards Moscow, Russia.

Hyun-Soo was widely admired in Russia and the country wanted him on their speedskating squad. So Hyun-Soo applied for citizenship and in the process changed his name to Victor An. After his skating days are over, which won't be for another year at least, An will become a highly paid coach for the Russian team.

"But it will only be in the future," said Alexei Kravtsov, the president of the Russian speedskating federation, pointing out that An is expected to compete in the World Short Track Championships in Moscow next year.

Former American speedskater Apolo Anton Ohno, an Olympic gold medalist himself, spoke of An's tenacity on the ice with Yahoo Sports.

"It is big news in speedskating," Ohno said. "Any time you switch citizenship to race for another country it is a big deal. I personally could never do it. But the one thing we can say for [An] is that he loves the sport and if that meant for him to switch the country he is representing it really shows how dedicated he is."

"If there is any athlete that is designed for short track, body-type wise, it is him," Ohno remarked. "If you watch him stand and jog, his pelvic is tilted forward naturally, which is perfect for a skater. He has incredible technique, tons of experience."

Despite his triumphant return to Olympics after an eight-year absence, An had a tough time adjusting to his new country.

"When I first came to Russia, it was harder compared to what I had imagined," An told the Voice of Russia broadcasting service last year. "Not everything had worked out so quickly."

In an interesting twist, America could've added An to its team. Russia's former speedskating coach Jang Kwon-ok said the final decision came down to money.

"He was looking at the U.S. too, very much," Jang told the New York Times. "But it was difficult to move to the U.S., 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 were open and make it good for him."

Team USA is currently 0 for 6 in Sochi's speedskating events. Only four long distances races remain. While you can't change the past, it sure would've been nice to add get that Bronze medal. In any case, South Korea is steaming mad and for the first time in a long time, North Korea wasn't the ones who set them off.

So what do you think of Victor An's performance? Let me know in the comments below.