A top South Korean short track speed skater, who was banned from competitions for a year after allegedly sexually harassing a male teammate in 2019, has applied for Chinese citizenship to compete in the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.South Korea’s Yonhap news agency first reported that Lim Hyo-jun was going through a special naturalisation process which was suggested by the Chinese Skating Association. Brion Company, which manages athletes including Lim, confirmed Lim’s citizenship application.“Lim Hyo-jun has decided to change his nationality to Chinese,” Brion Company said in a statement on Saturday.Lim, the 1500m gold medal winner at the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, has supposedly been issued a special passport from China and left for the country on Friday to start training there.“He’ll skate for China at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics,” Yonhap quoted a source close to the athlete as saying, adding that Lim feared he might fail to make the South Korean team for the quadrennial event due to a legal battle lixed to his suspension.

韩国一名顶尖短道速滑选手林孝俊因在2019年被指控性骚扰一名男队友而被禁赛一年，日前他申请了中国公民身份以参加2022年北京冬奥会。韩联社首先报道了林孝俊正在接受经由中国滑冰协会建议的特殊归化程序。负责管理林孝君等运动员的Brion公司证实了林孝俊的入籍申请。Brion公司在周六的一份声明中表示:“林孝俊已经决定将国籍改为中国国籍。”林孝俊，作为2018年平昌冬奥会1500米金牌获得者，据说已经获得了中国的特殊护照，并于周五动身前往中国开始训练。韩联社援引一位与这位运动员关系密切的消息人士的说法：“他将代表中国在2022年北京冬奥会上滑冰”。他还补充到，由于与他的停赛相关的法律纠纷，林孝俊担心他可能无法代表韩国队参加这每四年一度的盛会。


Lim was charged in late 2019 for pulling down the pants of a male teammate and exposing one of his body parts to female skaters at a training centre gym.The Korea Skating unx (KSU) banned the 24-year-old for one year in August 2019.A criminal charge was also levelled at Lim and he was initially ordered to pay a 3 million won (US$2,660) fine in May 2020 by a lower court.But an appellate court found him not guilty six months later and the case is awaiting a final decision in the Supreme Court.Lim’s suspension was put on hold halfway last year before reaching the one-year mark while he was going through his legal process.If the top court overturns the appellate court’s decision and finds him guilty, the suspension will restart, which will then rule out Lim’s chances of skating at next year’s Winter Olympics.

林孝俊因2019年在训练中心体育馆脱下一位男队友的裤子，导致其的一个身体部位暴露给女滑冰队员而被起诉。2019年8月，韩国滑冰联盟将这位24岁的选手禁赛一年。同时在2020年5月他还受到了刑事指控，一家下级法院判处了他支付300万韩元(2,660美元)的罚款。但六个月后，上诉法院判定他无罪，案件正在等待最高法院的最终裁决。去年在他进行法律程序的时候，林孝俊的停赛在达到一年期限时被中途搁置。如果最高法院推翻上诉法院的裁决，认定他有罪，停赛将重新开始，这将导致林孝俊失去参加明年冬奥会的机会。

Brion agency in its statement defended Lim’s decision, saying he was unable to bear the prospect of his promising athletic career coming to an end.Lim wanted to represent South Korea and had his sights set on his second straight Olympic gold medal in Beijing, but he has been unable to train anywhere in the country for the past two years as the case dragged on, the agency said.
“He just wanted to find ways to put his skates back on,” the statement said.His apology to the unnamed victim failed to prevent the case from reaching a criminal court, it added.The agency also asked fans to refrain from spreading false rumours over Lim’s decision and from hurling insults at the skater for switching allegiance, since he has decided to do what he feels is best for his career.Short track speed skating is a form of competitive ice skating.

Brion 经纪公司在声明中为林孝俊的决定做了辩护，称他无法承受自己充满希望的运动生涯即将结束的前景。该机构称：林孝俊想代表韩国参加奥运会，他的目标是在北京冬奥会上获得他的第二枚奥运金牌，但在过去两年里随着案件的拖延，他一直无法在韩国的任何地方进行训练。
声明说道：”他只是想找到重新穿上溜冰鞋的方法。”声明还补充道，他对未透露姓名的受害者的道歉并没能阻止案件进入刑事法庭。经纪公司还要求粉丝们不要散布关于林孝俊决定的虚假谣言，也不要因为这位选手改变立场而辱骂他，因为他已经决定做他认为对自己职业生涯最有利的事情。短道速滑是一种竞技性的滑冰。

In overturning the lower court’s guilty verdict, the appellate court said Lim’s action was in response to an earlier incident involving the victim and a female skater.The female athlete fell from a climbing tool during exercise after Lim’s victim allegedly shook it.Lim later retaliated with a prank by pulling the male teammate’s pants down, according to the appellate court.“It is difficult to see the pantsing of his teammate by the accused as an act of sexual harassment,” the court said at that time.Lim’s head trainer at Pyeongchang, Kim Sun-tae, is now coaching the Chinese national team.Renowned short track speed skater Viktor Ahn, also known as Ahn Hyun-soo, is coach Kim’s assistant.Ahn acquired a Russian passport in 2011 before the 2014 Sochi Olympics, where he won four medals including three golds.Ahn decided to represent Russia after he missed joining South Korea’s team for the 2010 Olympics due to knee surgery and the dissolution of his team as well as a factional rivalry within the KSU.

在推翻下级法院的有罪判决时，上诉法院说，林孝俊的行为是对早些时候涉及受害者和一名女滑冰运动员的事件的回应。据称在林孝俊涉及的受害者摇晃了攀岩工具后，这名女运动员在锻炼时从攀岩工具上摔了下来。根据上诉法院的判决，林孝俊随后以恶作剧的方式进行报复，把男队友的裤子脱了下来。法庭当时表示: “很难将被告对其队友的扒裤子视为性骚扰行为。”林孝俊在平昌的首席教练金善台现在正在执教中国国家队，而他的助教是著名短道速滑运动员维克托 · 安，也被称为安贤洙。在2014年索契冬奥会之前，安贤洙在2011年获得了俄罗斯护照，在那届奥运会上，他获得了包括三枚金牌在内的四枚奖牌。由于膝盖手术、队伍解散以及韩国体育联盟内部的派系斗争，在安贤洙错过了代表韩国队参加2010年冬奥会的机会之后，他决定代表俄罗斯参赛。