KANSAS CITY -- Gracie Gold is splitting with coach Frank Carroll.
The news comes a day after Gold finished a career-low sixth at the U.S. Championships and missed the world championships team.
Icenetwork.com confirmed the news, quoting Carroll. It’s unknown who Gold’s next coach will be, but she’s expected to move back to the Chicago area and/or Michigan.
“There will be a change,” Carroll said, according to Icenetwork.com. “But you can’t just say goodbye. It’s got to be worked out intelligently and legally when we get home.”
Gold later released a statement.
“I am surprised that Frank announced his decision before informing me,” Gold said. “I continue to have the utmost respect for Frank Carroll and his legacy. He took me on during a very vulnerable time, and I am forever grateful for our work together. Despite my sadness in missing this world championships, I will benefit with extra time entering the Olympic season. I plan to use it well.”
Gold had been coached by Carroll since 2013, after she left her Chicago-area coach, Alex Ouriashev, about six months before the Sochi Olympics.
She moved to Los Angeles to work with Carroll and, with Carroll, finished fourth at the 2014 Olympics and 2015 and 2016 World Championships.
Asked about a potential change of training location Saturday night, Gold said this:
“I don’t have any plans of that nature yet,” she said. “You guys will be the first to know.”
Gold’s struggles since topping the 2016 World Championships short program have been well-documented. She fell to fourth after the worlds free skate, detached from the sport in the summer and mulled sitting out the fall season.
She competed anyway, posted her worst results in four years and made a desperate call to Ouriashev and worked with him for two weeks after Christmas before returning to Carroll before nationals.
“I think we did a pretty good job together, and then we had one complete disaster at the end of last year (worlds), which to me wasn’t horrible, being fourth in the world and first in the short program,” Carroll said, according to Icenetwork.
Carroll was a longtime coach of Michelle Kwan and also coached Evan Lysacek to 2010 Olympic gold.
