French skating coach grabs spotlight with jacket swaps at Olympics

Benoit Richaud is the buzziest coach/choreographer of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, grabbing attention for his quick national jacket changes as he moves from skater to skater this week on the sideboards of men’s figure skating.

During Friday’s free skate, Richaud made back-to-back changes, from Georgia’s white jacket with red trim as he cheered Nika Egadze to a USA blue puffer as Maxim Naumov took the ice. Later, it was Canada’s burgundy lululemon jacket and France’s winter white.

In all, the 38-year-old Frenchman is coaching 16 skaters, singles and pairs, from 13 countries at the Winter Games, making his face a familiar one to anyone tuning into the kiss-and-cry as skaters await their marks.

Richaud is known as a choreographer, but the skaters he works with speak about him more in terms of a motivational expert.

Naumov, who made his Olympic debut after losing his parents in a plane crash in January 2025, said that Richaud “was a big part of the journey this year.’’ That included Richaud’s training camp “that really just changed my perspective on skating in general,'' Naumov said.

“Yes, he does choreography, and everybody knows that, but the insight he offers each of his students … He motivates me a lot to just be the best that I could be,’’ Naumov said.

Richaud’s skaters are well aware of his popularity, and seem to relish in the social media posts of the coach who wears many colors.

“He’s an amazing coach. He is very popular,’’ said Egadze, who said working with Richaud has given him a fresh outlook.

“He tells me that I need to believe in myself, I need to show passion on the ice, and push it to the end,’’ the Georgian skater said.

On Friday, Richaud also choreographed Mexican skater Donovan Carrillo’s free skate in a behind-the-scenes role.

“I feel like he lets everyone shine in their own way, which is pretty nice, because I also feel like he respects my style and he works around my style and he doesn’t try to like, change my personality,’’ Carrillo said.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Nika Egadze of Georgia reacts to his scores after competing during the figure skating men's team event at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Maxim Naumov of the United States reacts to his scores after competing during the men's free skate program in figure skating at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

Stephen Gogolev of Canada, right, reacts to his scores after competing during the men's free skate program in figure skating while sitting next to choreographer Benoit Richaud, left, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

NEW YORK (AP) — A second suspect in the stray-bullet killing of a 7-month-old baby on a Brooklyn street was arrested Friday, police said, two days after a shooting the police commissioner called “a tragedy that truly shocks the conscience.”

Matthew Rodriguez, 18, was apprehended in Pennsylvania by New York Police Department detectives working with U.S. Marshals, the NYPD said.

The suspected shooter, 21-year-old Amuri Greene, was arrested shortly after the drive-by gunfire that killed Kaori Patterson-Moore. Greene pleaded not guilty to murder and other charges at an arraignment Friday night.

Kaori was in her stroller when a two men sped down a street on a moped Wednesday afternoon. Greene, riding on the back of the vehicle, fired into a group of people on a street corner, according to a court complaint.

Kaori's mother, Lianna Charles-Moore, told the New York Post that after hearing what she initially believed were fireworks, she was comforting her startled 2-year-old son — who had been grazed by a bullet — when she looked to her left and saw her baby daughter bleeding. The infant had been shot in the head.

“My daughter was innocent. She didn’t deserve that," Charles-Moore told the newspaper. She said her daughter was just about starting to crawl and had recently begun saying “Mama.”

Greene told police he was aiming for another person in the crowd, according to the court complaint.

Police said the moped sped and crashed into a car two blocks away, hurling both men off the vehicle. Greene was injured and soon was hospitalized in police custody, but the moped driver fled.

Authorities haven't yet released court papers that detail Rodriguez's alleged role. But they haven't indicated they were looking for anyone other than the gunman — alleged to have been Greene — and the moped driver.

Greene was being held without bail after his arraignment. A voice message seeking comment was left with his attorney.

Police didn't immediately have information on how the men are connected or where Rodriguez lives; no working telephone number for him could immediately be found. Police charges against him were pending.

Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch expressed heartbreak and outrage over Kaori's death.

“This is a terrible day in our city, a tragedy that truly shocks the conscience,” Tisch said at a news briefing Wednesday.

This image taken from video provided by the New York Police Department shows New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, flanked by Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch, left, and Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny, speaking during a news conference, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in New York. (NYPD via AP)