World figure skating champion Mao Asada said Tuesday she will skate under the tutelage of Russian coach Tatiana Tarasova, who helped Japanese compatriot Shizuka Arakawa produce a gold-medal finish at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics.
Asada has been getting pointers from Tarasova, who is especially gifted at encouraging skaters to express themselves on the ice, with elements of choreography for her short program since last year. The 17-year-old announced early this year that she had parted company with Russian coach Rafael Arutunian.
With Tarasova coming on full-time, Asada can now focus on the work at hand for the next two years as she aims to claim Olympic gold at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.
"She tailored a new program just for me with next season in mind out of all the women skaters," Asada said at a news conference after returning the same day from training in Canada. "She has a lot of power."
Asada said she will remain based at the skating facilities of Chukyo University in Aichi Prefecture, but will pay short visits to her coach in Moscow or have Tarasova fly to Japan to train her.