FILE PHOTO: Figure Skating - Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics - Women Single Skating free skating competition final - Gangneung Ice Arena - Gangneung, South Korea - February 23, 2018 - Carolina Kostner of Italy competes. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj/File Photo
MILAN, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Former Italian figure skater Carolina Kostner will bring her Olympic journey full circle at the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Games, two decades after carrying the flag for Italy as a 19-year-old prospect in Turin.
Kostner will not return to the ice as a competitor but will relive the thrill of a home Olympics as assistant to Japanese skater Yuma Kagiyama, advising on artistic and choreographic elements – the hallmarks of her own performances during a decorated career.
Her presence at Milano Cortina, where she will also work as a TV commentator, comes amid a wave of high-profile comebacks in sport, which the 38-year-old ruled out for herself.
"Being able to represent skating during the Olympics in Italy is a great honour," she said.
"It's a circle that closes, let's say. Having followed my dreams for so many years, now being able to pass them on to future generations is a wonderful responsibility."
BOUNCING BACK
At Turin 2006, all eyes were on her, but she fell short of high expectations, crashing repeatedly in front of home fans.
She refused to give up, however, going on to win five European titles, a world gold in 2012 and an Olympic bronze at Sochi in 2014.
Kostner's love for skating, forged through discipline and grit, helped her bounce back time and again, returning to elite competition even after a lengthy ban in 2015 for attempting to cover up the use of performance-enhancing drugs by her former boyfriend, Alex Schwazer, the former Olympic champion race walker.
After Turin, she went to three more Games, finishing fifth at Pyeongchang in 2018 at 31 before injuries ended her career.
OFFERING SUPPORT
If she had to give advice to a young skater dreaming of Milano Cortina, Kostner said it would be to stay present and not shy away from difficulties, seek support from trusted people and recognise the Olympics as a unique moment to approach with sacrifice and precision, but also with a sense of gratitude and a little fun.
"I wasn't lucky enough to have an idol in Italy to inspire me, someone I could compete with, see live and also get to know as a person," she said.
She first saw her favourite figure skater, two-time U.S. Olympic medallist Michelle Kwan, at a world championships in which Kostner was also competing.
"I promised my younger self that I would make my experience and my presence available to anyone who wanted it. I want them to know, and they do know, that I am there for them," she said.
(Reporting by Elvira Pollina and Agnieszka Flak, editing by Ed Osmond)
