Thaindian News

By Madhuri Dey
Vancouver, Feb 19, (THAINDIAN NEWS) Evan Lysacek was full of praise for his coach, Frank Carroll, as he stood before the press, giving one interview after the other, talking about the spectacular manner in which he had taken away the gold in the men’s figure skating championships in the Winter Olympics that is taking place in Vancouver. As he stood in front of the press, most of the time, he could hardly speak on anything other than the fact that he owed most of his victory to his coach. Even Lysacek commented that he did not only owe his victory to Frank Carroll, he also dedicated it to him.

He also claimed that he had never thought of winning the gold medal at the Olympics for anyone on particular, least of all for himself, except for his coach. The 71-year-old man stood beside him, and later on, as he moved through the crowd, he was greeted by throngs of fans, who congratulated him on the win of his student. Even as they did, he merely kept thanking them, his voice hoarse with emotion.

Fran Carroll’s reaction doesn’t come much as a surprise, considering that it is the first time that one of his students have been able to win a gold medal at the Olympics. He has been the coach to a number of champions and winners, but never before has any of them brought an Olympic gold. With the win of Evan Lysacek, there ends four decades of disappointment for him. At the end of the long wait, it is not surprising that Frank Carroll felt that he could not quite believe it to be a fact.