*This content was translated by AI.
Kim Hyo-jin (24), who is playing for the Australian national short track team, is on the verge of being frustrated to participate in the 2026 Milan/Cortina D'Ampezzo Winter Olympics.
According to the sports community on the 3rd, Kim Hyo-jin recently complained of unfairness by announcing on his social media (SNS) that his application for Australian citizenship was rejected.
Kim Hyo-jin said, "I applied for citizenship in September, but I received a rejection notice from the authorities on the 15th of last month. As the only Australian female short track skater competing on the international stage, I have devoted and sacrificed for Australia over the years."
The background of his rejection of citizenship is as follows. Due to the lack of international short-track training facilities in Australia, overseas training is essential, and the period of stay abroad has been disadvantageous in the citizenship review.
Kim Hyo-jin earnestly asked, "There is no international-level training environment in Australia, so I had to live abroad for a long time," adding, "I hope the decision makers will take into account my desperate situation and efforts."
Kim Hyo-jin, who moved to Australia while attending college in 2019, joined the Australian national team as an international student. Since then, he has played in the International Skating Union (ISU) short track world tour in the 2025-26 season, giving Australia a ticket to the women's 1,000m at the Olympics. It seemed to go through the naturalization process smoothly after acquiring permanent residency in July last year, but the last gateway, citizenship, was put on hold.
The question is time. Each country's ice skating federations must submit a list of final participants in the Olympics to ISU by the 16th. Kim Hyo-jin's trip to the Olympics is expected to be canceled if no citizenship reexamination or relief measures are taken with only two weeks left.
"I know time is very tight, but I will fight until the end to compete in the Olympics," Kim Hyo-jin said. "I hope my story will be known to the world even if I can't participate."
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*This content was translated by AI.
