Skating: Kostner eyes return to competitions next year

(ANSA) - Milan, October 6 - Italian figure skater Carolina Kostner said on Tuesday she was keen to start competing again after she was cleared to restart next year by the Court of Arbitration for Sport following her suspension for helping her former boyfriend evade doping checks.
    "I don't have an exact plan for competitions. My wish is to go to the Olympics in Rio, but it's the first day that my heart and soul feel relieved," she said.
    The Olympic bronze medallist will be able to return to competition next year after agreeing to extend her 16-month suspension but backdate it, and promising to act as a spokeswoman against doping.
    "Doping is something that should not be tolerated," she said on Tuesday. "The values of sport are patience, discipline, passion and love. These are the values I want to always convey," she said.
    Kostner said she had made a mistake when she helped her ex-boyfriend, Olympic race walking gold medallist Alex Schwazer, skirt a doping test. She has always maintained that she did not know he was doping.
    She said on Tuesday she was no longer in contact with Schwazer.
    "I'm not speaking to him anymore. I hope that this affair can end for him too and that he can look to the future with serenity," she said.