Class of 2015: Coach
When it comes to pair skating in Canada, Richard Gauthier has the golden touch.
As one of the most respected pair coaches in the world for more than three decades, Gauthier, from Saint Etienne-de-Bolton, Que., takes his place in the Skate Canada Hall of Fame in the Coach category.
Gauthier did not begin skating until age 12, and it wasn’t long before he realized his goal wasn’t to win a national championship or step onto an Olympic podium as an athlete.
He wanted to leave a legacy on the sport through coaching.
In 1998, Gauthier brought together the team of Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, who would go on to win gold at the 2001 ISU World Championships and 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
Gauthier and Bruno Marcotte mentored two-time defending world pair champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford. At his world-renowned pair skating school in Saint-Leonard, Que., Gauthier also trains several world-ranked pair teams, including 2016 U.S. bronze medallists Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran and 2015 Skate Canada International bronze medallists Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro.
