By The 2010 Gold Medalist had been working with Orser since 2006.
Olympic figure skating champion Kim Yu-na has split from her coach, Brian Orser, in a move that has taken many by surprise—Orser included.
Kim said Orser knows why the two are no longer working together, and was “flabbergasted” and “upset” that he would say otherwise.
Orser said Tuesday that Kim’s mother, Park Mi-hee, told him Aug. 2 that he was no longer Kim’s coach but gave no reason for the decision. When Orser and fellow coach Tracy Wilson met with Kim last week, Orser said even the skater seemed confused by the events.
But in a posting on Cyworld, a South Korean social networking site similar to Facebook, Kim said her relationship with Orser had been “awkward” for the last few months, and that it was ultimately her decision to leave.
“Do you think it’s really true that my mother decided on her own to part ways with the coach? I’m no longer a child,” wrote Kim, who turns 20 on Sept. 5. “He was my coach, and whether we stay on or part ways, it was my final decision, and this is what I decided to do, with discretion, after consulting with my mother.”
Kim’s management agency, AT Sports, confirmed that the posting, written in Korean, were made by Kim. AT Sports also confirmed the skater had posted an angry tweet in English directed at Orser, which was quickly deleted. AT Sports did not explain why.
Kim is still training at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club, where she has worked with Orser since 2006. But she has been “more or less” working without a coach since May, AT Sports said, and they have no plans for a new one.- Associated Press
All Olympic level skaters have a coach. Most have multiple people. I have no idea how this will out for Kim.
8:38 am on August 25th, 2010 1
She is a media celebrity who believes she can make it on her own now. That usually has an inverse relationship to the amount of punishing work outs and effort an athlete puts in.
10:43 am on August 25th, 2010 2
Reminds me of how Michelle Wie fires her caddies.
11:15 am on August 25th, 2010 3
So A typical of a Korean. She is upset with Orser b/c he is correct, understands the Korean culture MAMA telling child what to do or she's mad b/c he simply spoke out, telling about MAMA ending ties. She hasn't been working out b/c she's been on a "look at me" circuit. Me thinks her management agency "AT Sports" had a sit down with MAMA, and Kim, Yu-na YOU ARE ONLY 20 years old, YOU ARE A CHILD. You have millions of dollars and still live at home with MAMA. As long as you live at home your MAMA will ALWAYS make the decisions, even when you by an Aparta your MAMA will try to make those decisions. Sorry, but you only have about 15 more years of life until you're considered old.
5:43 pm on August 25th, 2010 4
This is what has happened so far.
IMG is a sports management company, which is run by Japanese money.
IMG is a huge company–many sports stars, including Brian Orser, have contracts with it.
Japan has been very angry because it has spent millions of dollars for Mad Asado to win the Olympic Gold Medal and thinks Yuna took away Olympic Gold Medal from Mao Asada.
So Japan plotted to hurt Yuna, and one of the ways was to break the relationship between Brian and Yuna.
IMG and Brian resigned a contract, which said Brian would teach Japanese figure skaters.
Since then, the Cricket Club, in which Yuna trains under the coaching of Brian, have more and more Japanese figure skaters and Japanese staff memebers.
That makes Yuna feel uncomfortable and uneasy training there.
That's why Yuna decided to leave Brian.
It is Japan who must be smiling quietly behind the curtain.
9:43 pm on August 25th, 2010 5
She's probably planning to turn pro, that's all.
11:31 pm on August 25th, 2010 6
Are there many lucrative professional figure skating opportunities in Korea?
9:23 am on August 26th, 2010 7
JoEC,
Korean celebrities make the bulk of their earnings on product endorsements, and she's the one who commands the highest fees. So, yeah, you could say figure skating is lucrative in South Korea.
I think she was planning to compete in the world championship only before turning pro (not that the lines between professional and amateur sports mean anything anymore). Question is, is that why she fired Brian Orser? Probably not. She can afford to pay him.
8:27 pm on August 30th, 2010 8
Korea Times ponders whether her advertisers are cooling on her.
As far as her turning professional: