Frank Carroll, Prominent Figure Skating Coach, Dies at 85

Frank Carroll, who coached elite figure skaters like Michelle Kwan and Linda Fratianne to silver medals in the Olympics but who had to wait until the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver to see one of his students, Evan Lysacek, win gold, died on Sunday at his home in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 85.

The cause was complications of colorectal cancer, Ann Jensen, his personal assistant, said in an email.

No immediate family members survive.

As he approached 60, Carroll expressed amazement at the route he took to become one of the top figure skating coaches in the United States.

“When I’m on the Eiffel Tower, in the Jules Verne restaurant, I think, ‘What am I doing here?’” he told The Los Angeles Times in 1998. “In my mind, I’m still just a kid from Worcester, Mass., skating on a frozen pond.”

Carroll strayed far from that pond. Over his decades-long career, he became known for his tactical skills, his outspokenness and his dapper appearance.

In all, he coached one Olympic champion, six Olympic medalists, three world champions, three world junior champions and six United States champions.