Skating coach spotted supporting multiple countries at Winter Olympics
Ordinary people are typically not allowed to work for two companies in the same industry due to the risk of sharing trade secrets.
However, this is not a problem for French skating coach Benoît Richaud, who caught attention at the ongoing 2026 Winter Olympics held in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy.
In particular, netizens spotted the 38-year-old coach supporting multiple figure skaters from different countries, wearing different national team jackets each time.
Due to his seeming omnipresence at the figure skating competition, netizens have dubbed him the “busiest man at the Olympics“.
Source: Age of Sports on YouTube
Trained 16 figure skaters from 13 countries
According to reports, Mr Richaud choreographed the routines of 16 athletes at the Winter Olympics.
In particular, he mentored 12 single skaters and two pairs — some of which have gone far in the competition.
The Olympics has no rule against coaches working with different skaters. In fact, an Olympics article states that it is not uncommon for figure skaters to have the same coaches and choreographers.
Mr Richaud shared with NBC News that he has about 10 jackets he alternates to support his mentees.
Source: Age of Sports on YouTube
“I just come with all of [the jackets] and then I make quick changes,” he said.
“The people from the federation or team leaders, they help me, and we make quick changes and that’s how it goes,” he explained, adding that the process can sometimes be “quite crazy” when it comes to back-to-back routines.
However, Mr Richaud believes this effort to support his athletes is all worth it.
“I think the Olympic Games is a special moment where you also need to cherish the difference of people,” he said. “Every different country has different cultures. When I go on the screen, I want to promote that.”
Skating coach was a former junior ice dancer
Mr Richaud himself was a junior ice dancer in the early 2000s.
However, he never placed higher than seventh in the World Junior Championships.
“I was a decent skater,” he told the Olympics. “But there is something that I understood very fast is I was not made to compete.”
Source: Wikimedia Commons
In 2013, he turned to coaching, but it took time before he built a reputation and a wide clientele.
Among those he has led to victory is Japan’s Kaori Sakamoto who won a bronze medal for the women’s skating single during the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Mr Richaud was also shortlisted in the Best Figure Skating Choreographer at the 2024 ISU Skating Awards and was nominated again in 2025.
So far, in the 2026 Winter Olympics, three of his mentees placed in the top 10 in the men’s skating single.
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Featured image adapted from Age of Sports on YouTube.
