Korean star Kim Yu-na leaving Toronto for Los Angeles

Olympic figure skating gold medalist Kim Yu-na will start training in Los Angeles instead of Toronto, where she trained for nearly four years, her agency in Seoul said Monday.

“She will train at East West Ice Palace, where Michelle Kwan trains, for a while,” All That Sports said in a news release. “Kim will arrive in Los Angeles this week and attend a press conference the following day for the All That Skate Summer ice show.”

The 20-year-old was training in Toronto with Canadian coach Brian Orser but she abruptly split with Orser late last month for unspecified reasons, surprising many observers - not to mention the coach himself.

Orser guided Kim to a world championship in 2009 and an Olympic gold medal in 2010. The cause of the split is unclear, with Orser saying he was blindsided by the move and suggesting that it came at the urging of the star’s mother. Kim has denied her mother made the decision.

The agency said Kim has a busy schedule in the American city, including the ice show slated for October and her role as a goodwill ambassador of the U.N. Children’s Fund.

“She will find a new coach in L.A.,” Kim’s agency said.

Kim will perform with Kwan and Vancouver Olympic gold medalists Shen Xue and Zhao Hongbo, as well as Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue, at the Los Angeles ice show Oct. 2 and 3 at the Staples Center.

Yonhap