Figure skating-Choreographer Richaud swaps jackets, personas to guide diverse group of skaters

MILAN, Feb 13 : Figure skating coach and choreographer Benoit Richaud has become an unlikely talking point at the Winter Olympics after videos spread online of him switching jackets at rinkside to match the team of each athlete he is guiding.

Richaud is working with 16 skaters representing 13 countries at the Games, including Georgian Nika Egadze and Canada's Stephen Gogolev, a workload that has sometimes placed his athletes back-to-back in the same session - leaving him seconds to reset from one performance to the next.

"It actually went very smoothly," Richaud told Reuters of the rapid-fire wardrobe changes that drew attention on social media. 

With athletes competing one after another, he said the transitions became "logical" with a team leader from the next delegation handing him a jacket, which he slipped on as the next skater began.

"There is a video where I'm changing my clothes on the big screen," he said, comparing the pace to "Milan Fashion Week" as he moved between different sponsors and brands. 

"When you work with someone who's sponsored by Prada, and the next one is with another company, and then you just have to make a quick, quick change."

But the Frenchman said the jacket swaps are more than a practical nod to team colours and sponsor obligations. They have also become a mental cue - a way to step into the emotional needs of each athlete at precisely the moment the pressure peaks.

"It's challenging in a way that some skaters sometimes do good; some skaters sometimes do bad," he said. 

"You are very excited because maybe one skater did perfectly amazing. And then right after, you need to go back in a mode where you have to focus.

"As soon as I switch jackets, it's almost like a metaphor to feel like I'm changing