Future plans & private happiness: Carolina Kostner opens her heart

by Thomas Debelyak

Sunday lunchtime in Neumarkt. It's warm in summer. The thermometer shows 25 degrees, and some eager swimmers are already doing the first lengths of the season in the local lido. It can make you feel a little chilly when you enter the ice palace of the Würth Arena, which is right next to it. Where the rough sport of ice hockey is usually in full swing, today the stage belongs to aesthetics, or more precisely to numerous young figure skaters who are still dancing diligently across the mirror-smooth surface as part of a camp, even in early summer.

A group of girls listen carefully to the trainer's advice and follow with eager eyes every movement that their teacher conjures up on the ice. It seems as if the young ice princesses want to soak up every second. Somehow understandable: personal training with Carolina Kostner is not everyday life, but a true rarity. As part of this workshop, some young figure skaters were able to enrich themselves with “Caro’s” experience over a weekend. “It’s less about the technology,” says the native of Val Gardena, “but more about the passion that I want to convey to the young talents.”

“I've been able to ice skate again for a week now. This feels so good." Carolina Kostner If you observe Kostner more closely, you get the feeling that she herself enjoys these units the most. You can see the joy in the former world champion with every movement, with every swing, with every expression. There is a specific reason for this. “I've been able to ice skate again for a week now, it feels so good,” the figure skater enthuses later during a conversation in the slightly warmer location of the stadium bar. The fact that her eyes sparkle slightly when she makes these statements shows how much she has missed her sport in recent years.

Kostner at her last Olympic appearance so far in 2018 in Pyeongchang: At that time she came fifth. © AFP / MLADEN ANTONOV

Carolina Kostner is now 34 years old. She has already achieved everything in her career that a South Tyrolean athlete could only dream of. Once she, the exotic figure skating figure from the tranquil town of St. Ulrich in Val Gardena, became world champion in a sport dominated by increasingly younger, preferably Russian, talent. She won the bronze medal at the Olympic Games once and the gold medal at the European Championships five times. Not to mention the numerous hearts of fans around the globe that she conquered with her artistic, expressive and at the same time so graceful style. Then, after the 2018 World Championships in Milan and narrowly missing out on a medal, things became quiet around Kostner. Not to say completely quiet. Professional sport has left its mark The years as a professional athlete have left their mark on the petite body of the skate artist. Her left hip kept causing her problems - even so severe that Kostner was no longer able to compete and ultimately had to undergo surgery in January 2020. “The injury is more complicated than I thought. “It all took a long time,” regrets Kostner, who is still not at 100 percent. “For example, I’m not allowed to jump yet. And I’m still in pain.”

So was that it? Is this how one of the most successful South Tyrolean sports careers comes to an end? Kostner firmly denies it. “No, at the moment I'm still on an injury break. “I’ll be watching over the next few weeks and months to see how my hips are developing so I can then decide whether I want to return to competition or not,” said the 34-year-old, who also emphasized: “The body is my number 1. In recent years he has given me the opportunity to experience so much, to achieve so much. Everything that comes now is an encore.”

“Olympics? If it works, why not?” Carolina Kostner The 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing would also be an encore. “The desire for it would be great,” says the South Tyrolean, but she also makes it clear: “It wouldn’t be a disappointment for me if I wasn’t there. I took part in four Olympic Games, which is a rarity for a figure skater. I don't want to fixate too much. But if it works, then why not?”

Successes, big stages, competitions - that's one thing. Passion is the other. And this still glows in Kostner like it did on the first day. “The ice cream is my life,” she repeats several times during the conversation. That's why the daughter of an ice hockey-crazy family (father Erwin was a professional, brother Simon is a professional) also knows where her place will be when the circle of being an athlete comes full circle at some point. “I want to stay on the ice even after my career is over. In what way remains to be seen. But that's the great thing about my sport: There's still so much to discover outside of the competitions, be it shows, youth promotion, or even things that don't even exist yet," says Kostner, who is convinced: "Here you will I find my place.” Designer, model – and a new love Although: Carolina Kostner is no longer “just” a figure skater. The woman from Val Gardena uses her popularity (almost 130.000 users follow her on Instagram) to draw attention to rare diseases. She often appears in front of the camera as a model (for example for Luis Trenker). She also designs clothing herself and has now launched her own collection. Her great passion for the two narrow blades also plays an important role here: “The idea is that you can wear figure skating outside of the ice,” is how she describes the products on her website.

She doesn't yet know exactly what the future holds for South Tyrol's most successful figure skater. “I let life surprise me,” she emphasizes with a smile. She was also pleasantly surprised by Fabrizio, the man at her side. “We've been together for a few years now. He comes from near Rome,” says Kostner happily, who has also put the delicate chapter with Alex Schwazer behind her (when he was convicted of doping, she was his girlfriend and was also banned). The center of her life has changed as a result of the new relationship, as the native of Val Gardena now spends a lot of time in the Eternal City. Whenever possible, Kostner also pays a visit to her homeland. Like that Sunday in Neumarkt, which she particularly enjoyed: “The ice cream is my life.” And Carolina Kostner has now returned there.

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Future plans & private happiness: Carolina Kostner opens her heart

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