Some sad news coming from Toronto today, as apparently Kim Yuna has parted ways with her former coach Brian Orser. This story keeps evolving, as various parties say/leak things to the press, but here is a good overview of the story, along with AT Sports’ rebuttal here. AT Sports official comment is here. And this blog post by Tony Wheeler is pretty helpful, too.
(Of course Toronto’s local media has some coverage, too, but they really could have used more comment from AT Sports or someone from Yuna’s camp. Similarly, the Korean coverage really needs some input from Brian’s side).
At first, I was thinking that some of the drama was just typical media overhype, but then Yuna made this rather emotional tweet:
Would you please stop to tell a lie, B? I know exactly what’s going on now and this is what I’ve DECIDED.
She immediately took down the comment (or maybe it was a hacked comment… I am told that happens on Twitter), but this is the Internet and once things get out, they stay out. Anyhow, it looks like there are some hurt feelings and poor communication going around.
(UPDATE: Someone has just translated Yuna’s comments on her Cyworld page. They seem somewhat more moderate than the Twitter comment, basically saying that she is disappointed Brian or whoever took this to the press.)
I think it is worth remembering that athletes change coaches with some frequently, and often they just need a change. And Yuna and her team originally approached David Wilson to work on her choreography, while Brian was brought in a few months later — maybe that does not mean anything, but I think it shows perhaps who they feel closer to.
Although I worked on the Kim Yuna program on Discovery, I do not have any unique insights into what happened. I really enjoyed the opportunity to get to know Yuna and her team, along with Brian and David and everyone. They obviously did some amazing things together, and even if they are not working together anymore, I hope they patch things up soon.
