SOCHI, February 22 (R-Sport) - Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday congratulated short track star Viktor Ahn on winning the 500m short track gold medal at the Sochi Olympics on Friday.
The South Korean-born Ahn secured a memorable come-from-behind victory after a terrible start at the Iceberg Skating Palace to clinch a fifth career gold medal and second at the Games.
"You have once again turned out to be faster and technically better than your opponents and literally snatched victory at a really tough distance," Putin said in a statement on the Kremlin website.
"You have given millions of supporters some moments of celebration and sincere, genuine delight at your talent, you sporting mastery and dedication."
Less than an hour after winning the 500m, Viktor Ahn led Russia to victory in the 5,000m relay to round off an incredible night's action for the home crowd.
The Russian lineup of Ahn, Vladimir Grigorev, Semen Elistratov and Rulan Zakharov posted a winning time of 6:42.1 minutes, crushing the Olympic record.
The United States claimed silver, 0.271 seconds back, while China got the bronze a full six seconds adrift after 500m silver medalist Wu Dajing fell at the very start of the race.
The result rounded off a barely believable evening at the Iceberg for Ahn. Russia, United States and Kazakhstan were left to decide the medals after Wu fell along with the Netherlands' Freek Van Der Wart. Russia and America ran neck-and-neck until seven laps from the finish, when the home nation got a pace ahead and held the advantage to the line.
For Ahn it was a record sixth Olympic gold, sealing his place in history as short track's greatest male skater and throws him up into the league of elite medal collectors: Only Norwegian biathletes Ole Einar Bjoerndalen and Bjorn Daehlie have won more, with eight.
Ahn, 28, adds the 500m gold to the 1,000m title and 1,500m bronze he won earlier in the Games, becoming the first man to complete the golden set in all four disciplines. The third gold in Sochi matches his best performance at Olympics.
Ahn had already became one of the sport's all-time greats as a competitor for his native South Korea, where he was known as Ahn Hyun-Soo, winning 20 world championship gold medals and three Olympic titles in Turin in 2006.
After reportedly falling out with Korean coaches he switched allegiances to Russia in 2011, getting citizenship in 2012 and switching his first name to Viktor for its triumphant meaning.
