2007 World Junior Champion Caroline Zhang Announces Coaching Change

Colorado Springs, Colo. (June 15, 2009) – Caroline Zhang, the 2007 World Junior champion and 2009 U.S. bronze medalist, announced today she has ended her four-year professional relationship with coach Mingzhu Li and will train with Charlene Wong.

Zhang has trained with Li since 2005.

“Working with Coach Li the past four years has been a great experience,” Zhang said. “She is an outstanding coach, and I am very grateful for everything that she has done for me. She has helped me grow as a skater and as a person.”

Wong’s former students include 2008 U.S. champion and two-time World Junior medalist Mirai Nagasu.

“I feel that I need a change to further improve my skating, so I have chosen to work with Charlene,” Zhang continued. “I feel she will be able to add a new dimension to my skating.”

During the 2008-09 season, Zhang finished fifth at Skate Canada, garnered bronze at Trophée Eric Bompard in Paris, France, finished fourth at the Four Continents Championships and took the silver at the World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sofia, Bulgaria. She finished the season with a third-place finish at the inaugural World Team Trophy in Tokyo, Japan.

Wong, a four-time Canadian silver medalist and 1988 Olympian, said she is looking forward to working with Zhang.

“She truly is a gifted skater and has the potential to be among the world’s best,” Wong said. “I look forward to joining her on this exciting journey.”

– U.S. Figure Skating – 
U.S. Figure Skating is the national governing body for the sport of figure skating in the United States as recognized by the United States Olympic Committee and the International Skating Union. U.S. Figure Skating is comprised of more than 763 member clubs and Basic Skills Programs representing approximately 179,000 members. U.S. Figure Skating is charged with the development of the sport on all levels within the United States including athletes, officials, sanctioning of events and exhibitions, and establishing the rules and guidelines by which the sport is governed.