Why one coach is everywhere at the 2026 Olympics

The reason was his repeated appearances rinkside wearing jackets of different national teams, which quickly turned into a viral meme on social media.

At first, spectators assumed it was a prank or several look-alike coaches. However, it soon became clear that it was the same person. Richaud is working with 16 skaters representing 13 countries at the same time, earning him the title of “the busiest person at the Olympics” among social media users.

Some of his students competed one after another, forcing the specialist to change jackets with different national symbols within a very short time. Online, the situation was ironically dubbed “globalization on ice.”

Benoît Richaud’s authority in the professional community is also confirmed by archival evidence. In one interview, Kazakh figure skater Denis Ten spoke about working with the then young choreographer.

“Throughout my whole career fate led me to the best experts in the world. These were Tatiana Tarasova, Frank Carroll, Nikolai Morozov, Stéphane Lambiel, Shae-Lynn Bourne, and Lori Nichol. With Lori I have been working for five years and in this time, we developed not only a professional bond, but also a spiritual bond. I have a special relationship with her, as with Mr. Carroll. Nevertheless, this summer I had the opportunity to work with the young choreographer Benoît Richaud, who competed when we both were juniors, and also with David Wilson, whose creative work I have been following for many years,” the bronze medalist said, speaking about Richaud.

This format of work does not violate Olympic regulations. Richaud acts as a choreographer and consultant rather than the official coach of a single national team, which allows him to cooperate with several teams within the same tournament.

Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that freestyle skier Eileen Gu became the highest paid athlete of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, earning about $23 million by the end of 2025.