S. Korea sports federations endorse naturalization of four foreign players

By Park Sae-jin Posted : November 16, 2016, 17:12 Updated : November 16, 2016, 17:12
 

A file picture shows an ice dance pair of Alexander Gamelin and Min Yu-ra. [Yonhap News Photo]


Sports federations agreed Wednesday to endorse the naturalization of four foreign players who have applied for South Korean citizenship to compete at the 2018 Winter Olympics in the eastern ski resort of Pyeongchang.

The four included two American figure skaters and two Russian biathlon players. Each federation screened their request Wednesday and decided to seek approval from the Korean Olympic Committee.

The Americans are Alexander Gamelin, an ice dance partner for Min Yu-ra, and Themistocles Lefttheris, a pairs partner for Ji Min-ji. The two teams have been skating together at the International Skating Union events since June last year.

South Korean allows foreigners with special talents in specific areas such as science, culture and sports to be fast-tracked to citizenship.

In April, two Canadian-born ice hockey players, Matt Dalton and Eric Regan, and two Russian-born biathletes, Alexander Starodubets and Anna Frolina, acquired South Korean passports.

Aju News Lim Chang-won = cwlim34@ajunews.com
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