Last night, Kim Yu-Na’s gold medal capped the rise of Brian Orser as one of the world’s stellar figure-skating coaches. Outed in 1998 by a partner lawsuit, Orser has since embraced his orientation openly, becoming (among other things) an ambassador for the Outgames. Being out hasn’t hurt his recent career — he remains one of the most accomplished skating figures to come out of Canada, with Hall of Fame memberships added to his eight national titles, world title and two Olympic silvers.
At the 1988 Olympics, during his rivalry with Brian Boitano, Orser was emotionally devastated by losing the gold for the 2nd time — this time by a fraction of a point. Turning pro after that, he toured on ice for many years, and finally became skating director at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club.
Coaching evidently became his way of lifting that old cloud off his life. He has coached an array of figure-skating talents, and took on Kim Yu-Na in 2006 when she left South Korea in search of a less-pressured venue for training. Observers credit his patience and calming influence as factors in his success with skaters who are struggling with pressure. The way Yu-Na handled it last night is surely due not only to her own strength of spirit, but also to Orser’s support.
We pay a lot of attention to the out athletes who win — but the out coaches and other powerful figures who are indispensable to sports success should get a lot of credit too. Orser figures in a growing tradition of multi-talented gay men who went on contributing to figure-skating after they stopped competing and performing. The list includes Ronnie Robertson (1956 silver medalist who later coached in China) and John Curry (1976 gold medalist who was later an influential choreographer and ice-show producer.)
Last night, Orser’s glowing face said it all, as he waited for his victorious pupil to come off the ice amid that roar of acclaim.
- By Patricia Nell Warren
9 responses so far ↓
1
Chad
// Feb 26, 2010 at 3:09 pm
There a long list of men Patricia.
Brian is such an awesome individual. He’s fun to joke with at skating competitions lol.
Last night, was the first time his face lite up like that since 1987. He can put his demons from 88 to rest. He’s one of the few people that I truly love. I’ve looked up to him for 20 years, and still do to this day.
2
Patricia Nell Warren
// Feb 26, 2010 at 4:09 pm
Chad, thanks for your comment and the thumbnail on Orser. Perhaps you’d like to add to that long list of men. All these stories should be told. I have been deeply touched by Brian Orser’s coaching story.
3
Patricia Nell Warren
// Feb 26, 2010 at 4:10 pm
To clarify — what I meant was, maybe you’d tell some more stories from that long list of men.
4
Den
// Feb 27, 2010 at 2:29 pm
I wouldn’t say Brian was the Johnny Weir of his Era, but he more than made up for his loss against Boitano, in his public support for the community, before he coached Yuna to Gold. In the battle for community respect, Brian Orser wins Gold every year. Boitano doesn’t even make the podium.
5
Joetx
// Feb 27, 2010 at 3:28 pm
Patricia,
The Koreans, like the Chinese & Vietnamese, write their last name first, followed by the middle & first names (the Koreans & Chinese oftentimes hyphenate the latter 2). Therefore, by the western convention of referring to someone by their last name, the she should be referred to as “Kim,” not “Yu-Na.”
6
Hojae
// Feb 27, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Joetx,
One little thing. Koreans don’t have the concept of middle name. Yu-Na itself is the first name. The hyphen often comes when Korean name is written in English rather than Korean. Like my name, Hojae can be written as Ho-Jae or even ‘Ho Jae’ which make ‘Jae’ looks like middle name.
Back to the original story, I am also deeply touched by Orser’s story. It seems to me that he has done a lot more than coaching.
7
TampaZeke
// Feb 27, 2010 at 9:43 pm
I noticed that Brian was wearing a wedding band. When did he get married?
8
scammerk
// Feb 28, 2010 at 1:51 am
Saw Brian out at the club last night. He seemed like a nice guy and handsome. Still feel a little starstruck even though I didn’t go talk to him.
9
Red Yeast Rice
// Nov 19, 2011 at 4:34 am
Plus; Trans fat is absolutely nothing but unwanted kinds of cholesterol that’s certainly not nice with the body.
Leave a Comment