Benoît Richaud has been seen on television several times during the Winter Olympics.
Benoît Richaud works as a choreographer for several different skaters at the Olympics. PDO
If you’ve followed figure skating at the Winter Olympics even a little, you’ve probably noticed a tall, lean, bald man sitting next to several different skaters after a competition performance when the scores are announced.
This man is the French figure skating coach and choreographer Benoît Richaud, who is probably one of the most visible figures of the Winter Olympics on the television screen.
Some of the viewers may have been surprised how he could sit the American in one moment Maxim Naumov next to and a moment later alongside Frenchman Adam Siao Him Fan, Canadian Stephen Gogolev or Mexican Donovan Carrillo.
Time after time, the jacket of a different national team changes onto his shoulders, always according to the current skater.
Richaud works as a choreographer for no less than 16 competitors in Milan. His coaches include 12 single skaters and four pair skaters at the Olympics, representing a total of 13 different countries. There is no rule in figure skating that prevents the same coach from working with representatives from several different countries.
He tells for NBCthat he has about ten jackets that he changes depending on which of his students is competing at any given time. This has earned him the playful nickname “The man with many jackets” in the media.
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– I just bring all (coats) with me and change them quickly. The people from the association or the team leaders help me, and we make quick changes, so it goes smoothly. Sometimes the pace is quite calm, and sometimes it’s quite wild, when skaters come one after the other, he tells NBC.
Of course, Richaud could represent his skaters in ordinary clothing, but he feels it is important to always be seen wearing the jacket of the country he coaches.
– I think the Olympics are a special moment when it is important to appreciate people’s differences. I think it’s beautiful that every country has its own culture. When I go on screen, I want to bring it out, he stated.
Benoît Richaud performing in Helsinki in 2009 with his partner Terra Findlay. MARKKU OJALA
Although Benoît Richaud seems to be the most popular man in the sport today, his career began modestly.
In his racing career, he never reached higher than seventh in the Junior World Championships. He started coaching in 2013. At first, however, his clients were far from Olympic figure skaters. His first students were elderly people, whom he taught to skate.
Gradually, he started working with Latvian top skater Deniss Vasiļjevs at the junior level, and with success, his popularity grew. Over the past decade, he has become one of the world’s most popular choreographers.
Belgian Nina Pinzarrone is one of Richaud’s coaches at the Olympics. PDO
