Figure skating coach Brian Orser and his ‘costume changes’ are in the spotlight as three of the athletes he coached performed in the same event on Saturday.
South Korean figure skating star Cha Jun-hwan, Japan’s gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu and Javier Fernandez from Spain competed at the men single free skating event held on Saturday at Gangneung Ice Arena. All three figure skaters are coached by Orser, which led the coach to change his outfit between intervals to match the skater who is performing.
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Orser(L) and Cha Jun-hwan(M) |
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Brian Orser wears a navy and red striped tie and a black coat at the men’s single skating short program held on Friday for Japanese figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu. Orser wore the same outfit for Hanyu at the free skating event the following day. (Yonhap) |
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Orser(L) in blue jacket with Fernandez(M)(Yonhap) |
For Korea’s Cha Jun-hwan, who started 11th, Orser wore a black jacket with “Team Korea” emblazoned on his left sleeve. When Hanyu started 22nd, being third-to-last to perform, the coach appeared with a striped necktie and black coat. Fernandez was right up next, and Orser wore a blue jacket over his black coat this time to represent Spain.
Hanyu was awarded with a gold medal and Fernandez a bronze on Saturday, following the free skating event.
Well known here as the former coach of South Korea’s figure skating champion Kim Yuna, Orser currently coaches figure skaters from five different countries for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics. The other two are Canadian figure skater Gabrielle Daleman and Elizabet Tursynbayeva from Kazakhstan.
By Cho Yun-myung (
yunc39@heraldcorp.com)