S. Korea seeks foreign athletes for ’18 Games
Bail loan agreed for Hickey Ireland return
SEOUL, Dec 2, (AFP): South Korea is to naturalise a German luge racer, officials said Friday, in a bid to pack its winter sports stable with more foreign talent ahead of the 2018 Olympics in Pyeongchang.
“The justice ministry endorsed a recommendation made by the Korean Olympic Committee (KOC) for the naturalisation of Aileen Frisch,” KOC spokesman Park Dong-Hee said.
Frisch still needs to pass a final interview set for sometime later this month, he said.
Once she passes the interview, she will receive dual citizenship and be qualified from January to compete for South Korea in international events including the 2018 Winter Games.
The 24-year-old, who won several gold medals in junior international competitions, retired from luge racing after failing to make the German national team for the 2015-16 season.
She was approached by Korean sports officials last year. “Competition is fierce for a spot on the German national team so the athletes gladly compete for other countries at the Olympics,” said an official at the Korea Luge Federation who declined to be named.
Germany won every luge gold medal at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. South Korea by comparison has only just built its first luge track.
As it gears up to host its first-ever Winter Olympics, South Korea has been looking abroad to swell its team’s ranks and boost its medal hopes.
Two Russian competitors in the biathlon -- cross-country skiing and shooting -- were given Korean citizenship in April and the Korean national ice hockey team currently has six naturalised players.
Two ice dancers from Russia and America are also in the process of applying for Korean citizenship.
The influx has led to criticism that the country is trying to buy medals, and stripping Korean athletes of their chance to compete -- charges Park denied.
“As the host country of the Pyeongchang Olympics, we have to perform at a certain level,” he explained.
“It also has many positive aspects like stimulating local athletes to perform better and expanding South Korea’s overall performance in that sport,” he added.
Stricken sports official Patrick Hickey was given the green light to return to Ireland from Brazil on Thursday after the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) agreed to finance his bail.
The 71-year-old Olympic Council of Ireland (OCI) president is awaiting trial over an alleged ticket scam at the Rio Olympics this summer.
Brazilian prosecutors said Hickey could have his passport returned to seek medical treatment abroad provided he lodged bail of 1.5 million real ($435,000).
On Thursday, his wish was granted when ANOC chief Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah announced his organisation would cover the cost.
“ANOC can confirm that on humanitarian grounds they have agreed to temporarily loan the bail payment for Patrick Hickey to return home for medical reasons,” said a statement.
“The decision was unanimously approved by ANOC President Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah and all ANOC Vice-Presidents via a postal vote on 20 November 2016.
“The payment was made as a temporary loan so that Patrick Hickey could meet his bail requirements and return to Ireland where he can receive medical treatment for a heart condition.
“The terms of the temporary loan make it clear that it must be repaid to ANOC in full. For legal reasons, all other terms and conditions surrounding this bail payment will remain confidential.”
Hickey, who has a history of heart problems, was also the head of the European Olympic Committee at the time of his arrest but has since stepped down temporarily from both his continental and Irish Olympic positions.
He was arrested by Brazilian police during the Rio Olympics in August as part of a raid into an illegal ticket sales scheme.
He denies any wrongdoing but has been formally charged, along with nine others, on counts that include tickettouting (scalping), ambush marketing, theft, tax evasion, money-laundering and criminal association.
The OCI, which has been paying for an apartment in Rio where Hickey has been residing following the confiscation of his passport and subsequent release from prison detention, had said it would only meet his legal fees if he was found innocent.