Ex-coach says figure skater Kim Yu-na deserved better at Sochi Winter Olympics

Brian Orser, former coach of the retired South Korean figure skating star Kim Yu-na, thinks Kim deserved a better fate at the controversial Winter Olympics last year.

Orser, who coached Kim to the 2010 Olympic gold medal, is visiting Seoul for the Four Continents Figure Skating Championships, where he's coaching Canadian national champion Nam Nguyen in the men's singles.

Speaking to Yonhap News Agency after Nam's short program at Mokdong Ice Rink on Thursday, Orser looked back on the ladies' singles event at the Sochi Winter Games last February. In her final Olympics, Kim led after the short program but settled for silver, behind Adelina Sotnikova of Russia, in a major judging controversy in the free skate.

Kim earned 74.92 points in the short program, only 0.28 point ahead of Sotnikova, and the Russian beat Kim in the free skate, 149.95 to 144.19, despite making a landing mistake on a jump.

Orser said, "It could have made a big difference" had Kim scored more points in the short program.

"I think she probably should have had a higher score in the short," Orser said. "I feel it was too close in the short, and (there) should have been more space. I think it should have been her, big space, and then the other two," referring to Sotnikova and Carolina Kostner, who had 74.12 points.

Orser was more diplomatic when discussing the free skate results.

"They were all really sensational, and (the competition) was much better than the men's event," he added. "All the girls were great. It could have gone any way."

Orser, a two-time Canadian Olympic medalist, worked with Kim from March 2007 to August 2010. The two parted ways only six months after Kim won the Olympic title in Vancouver, and an ugly verbal war quickly ensued, as each side accused the other of lying about circumstances surrounding their separation.

The last time Orser traveled to South Korea was in 2011 for the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Gangneung, about 240 kilometers east of Seoul in Gangwon Province.

"I always love coming back here. There's a special place in my heart for Korea," Orser said. "Food, culture, technology, fans ... it's great." (Yonhap)