Eagle-eyed viewers of the determine skating on Tuesday night could have thought they have been seeing double when French coach Benoit Richaud was pictured sporting the jackets of each France and Georgia for consecutive athletes.
Richaud, 38, is a coach and choreographer and says he’s working with 16 skaters on the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, with these skaters representing 13 international locations amongst them.
Seven of these athletes have been within the males’s brief programme on Tuesday night time – however the official Olympic schedule website solely had him listed as a coach for 4 athletes.
Teaching this mixture of athletes from completely different international locations in the identical occasion led to Richaud being caught on digicam sporting varied workforce jackets.
Of the 4 the place he was listed as a part of the teaching line-up, United States’ Max Naumov was second on the schedule and Canada’s Stephen Gogolev was seventh.
Nevertheless, France’s Adam Siao Him Fa and Georgia’s Nika Egadze have been consecutive performers in twenty fifth and twenty sixth, so Richaud would have wanted a fast outfit change.
The performers had blended fortunes, however Siao Him Fa sits third and is in medal competition going into Friday’s free skate.
Common viewers of the determine skating could also be getting used to seeing Richaud, with the Frenchman having ceaselessly popped up throughout Sunday’s workforce occasion, too.
He was pictured within the crowd sporting a jacket of the Georgia nationwide workforce in assist of Egadze, then fewer than quarter-hour later Richaud was once more noticed – solely this time he was sporting a Canada workforce jacket to assist Gogolev.
“It is an organisation. It’ll be quick,” Richaud informed the BBC’s Extra Than the Rating podcast.
“It is truly very demanding emotionally as a result of, you understand, relying on [how it goes]. Lets say every thing is okay and exquisite and everybody skates good, very simple.
“If one skates dangerous, then the opposite one skates good, you’ve this peak of emotion that may be very troublesome to precise as a result of it is one thing like if you end up along with your skater, you’re absolutely with them.
“Thank God they don’t seem to be one after the opposite one… then it’s extremely, very troublesome.
“Folks giggle as a result of I am at all times sporting black. And now everyone seems to be like, the way it’s potential we see Benoit with completely different colors?”
There are a number of logistics concerned in switching between teaching and supporting athletes from completely different nations in fast succession – together with the power to vary which jacket Richaud is sporting at fast discover.
“I normally put every thing within the dressing room of the skater,” the French choreographer stated. “Normally, I am not allowed however they let me put some stuff [in there]. They’re very pleasant.
“If not, we at all times have like a workforce chief or the supervisor of the nationwide workforce who retains the jackets and so they give it to me.”
