Michelle Kwan Recalls Very First Meeting at Age 11 With Skating Coach Frank Carroll, Who Died Sunday

Michelle Kwan is remembering her skating instructor and friend, Frank Carroll, after the legendary coach died at the age of 85 on Sunday, June 9.

On Monday, June 10, the Olympic figure skater, 43, shared a heartfelt tribute on social media paying tribute to Carroll and highlighting fond moments from their more than 30-year relationship.

Michelle Kwan and her coach Frank Carroll react to her results, February 1998.

Jamie Squire /Al/getty

“Yesterday we said goodbye to a legend,” Kwan began in a lengthy Instagram post.

“Frank Carroll, my former coach, mentor and dear friend for over 3 decades, was a towering figure in the world of figure skating,” she explained.

Included in her tribute was a carousel of images that began with the couple sitting next to each other with enthusiastic looks at both. The photo appears to have been taken at one of Kwani’s many figure skating competitions, while she was holding flowers and stuffed animals.

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A television cameraman could be seen standing in front of them to capture their reactions during the 1998 USA Figure Skating Championships.

“I still vividly remember our first meeting,” she said of her 11-year-old self, who “unknowingly took the piss out of him” by calling him “Mr. Carroll.”

“Call me Frank, he insisted, rolling his eyes and smiling. And that’s how Frank became!” she wrote.

Another picture she shared on her carousel shows them sitting together at a press conference. Young Kwan was seen smiling as he sat beside her with a proud grin on his face.

The photo that followed showed her on the ice watching intently as Carroll gave her instructions.

“Frank was everything I could have hoped for in a coach and more – a die-hard supporter (seriously, he never missed a lesson!), a fountain of knowledge (on and off the ice) and a dear friend,” Kwan said.

Frank Carroll, February 2022.

Doug Pensinger/Getty

She considered him a “treasure trove of figure skating history” who always shared stories about “Olympic champions like Sonja Henia and American greats like Maribel Vincent [sic] Owen.”

“For Frank, once you were in his life, you were a friend for life,” she said, also noting his ability to “make us all laugh” during skating lessons.

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Kwan also added photos of herself as a child, on the ice with Carroll.

“I consider myself incredibly lucky to have been one of the lucky ones to work with him and, most importantly, to have been able to call him a friend,” Kwan said. “Frank, we will miss you dearly, but your legacy of laughter and love will live on in our hearts forever. I love you.”

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USA Figure Skating confirmed Carroll’s death to PEOPLE and also in a statement shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday.

In addition to Kwan, the World and U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Famer was also instrumental in the careers of Olympians Linda Fratianne, Evan Lysacek and Gracie Gold during his decades-long career.

According to NBC Sports, the Worcester, Massachusetts native won three medals at the national level before becoming a coach in the sport in the 1960s.

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Source: HIS Education