Please sign this petition to support Carolina Kostner and to reduce her inflicted penalty of 1 year and 4 months ban from figure skating. This ban was imposed because she would have lied to a Wada representative, even if she didn't know about her ex-boyfriends doping. 

http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2015/01/26/carolina-kostner-giudici-coperto-schwazer-per-amore-non-perche-sapeva/1371801/

We do not support these allegations and find this ban absurd because:

1. Carolina has never doped or been involved with doping, has never helped her ex-boyfriend doing it and had no knowledge about his doping. Read her interview here: "http://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2014/12/02/carolina-kostner-amavo-schwazer-non-doping-non-sapevo/1245053/"

2. She is one of the most beautiful, athletic skaters to ever grace this sport. It would be a loss for the skating community if this unfair ban took her away from us.

3. She is one of the kindest and genuine people with a pure heart and character, who does not deserve this treatment.

#IStandWithCarolina

#StayStrongCaro!

 

Her interview with Il Fatto Quotidiano here translated:

Carolina Kostner, after their last interrogation with Alex Schwazer, the anti-doping prosecutors have asked for a severe and long ban for you. They talk about various contradictions between the two versions of facts that make them doubt your credibility and show your "complicity".

Our statements may differ only in minor details, inaccuracies due to the fact that much time has passed. Because the truth is that everything he did, he did in secret. I know him and I know it. But I am happy to go into further details.

 

The versions are different in a few aspects. For example, Schwazer claimed to be in possession of your house keys in Oberstdorf, while you denied that during your interrogation.

He had my keys only during the periods in which he stayed at my house. But he never took them with him when he left again (to go to Italy). I was training all day so I gave him a set of keys in order for him to be independent. Besides, our schedules did not match, he would not have been able to return to my home after his training if I was not there.

 

Then the prosecutors also claim that the anti-doping inspector showed up at seven in the morning, whereas you said he showed up at 9 o' clock.

Honestly, the first time they asked me this question was a year after the events took place. Certainly, it was early in the morning. But may I ask what “time” has to do with doping?

 

Also: You claim, in contrast to your ex boyfriend, that you could not see the car of the inspector from your balcony.

And I repeat that. Maybe Alex leaned from the balcony in order to see more, that is a question you should ask him.

 

These are details that became relevant because of a certain fact: that you, on the morning of July 30, 2012, said that Schazer was not in your house. Why did you lie?

Alex had declared to the WADA that he would be in Italy, and when they rang at my house he said: "If it is the anti-doping control, tell them I am not here because I have stated I would be in Racines (Italy)." I was in the kitchen and in those ten seconds as I walked towards the door, I could not even think. I opened the door and said what he asked me to say. I did not understand why he had asked me to lie, I came back and told him to go and to take his test immediately.

 

Did you lie because you wanted to protect him?

I had nothing to protect because I didn't know anything. I did it impulsively. I know that I was wrong, but I had a few seconds to decide what to do. For me it was absolutely unthinkable that his motive was doping. Alex had never given me a reason to think so.

 

And what did you think in that moment?

I thought about everything except doping, because for me it was out of this world; and because when I came back, he told me that he would get tested the same day, which he then did. So the doubts - doubts I never had - would have vanished right away. Why get tested that evening if you have something to hide? I told him: "I will go out now and when I return, you will not be here anymore, take your stuff, go and take the test." He was ready to leave, only when I left the house I saw that the inspectors were still there.

 

Why, in your opinion?

Perhaps because there were two cars parked in front of my house, or maybe because I am not good at lying.

 

And at which point did you realize the gravity of this situation?

I did not know what to do. I went to do my errands and when I came back, I passed the phone to the controller so that he could talk to Alex. I do not know what was said, but the inspector left after that call. In the evening, Alex called me from his home in Racines (Italy), saying that he had done the test and everything was ok. For me, everything ended here.

 

When was it then that you had the certainty that Schwazer doped?

I only learned about it when he told me in my face. That was after the test results came out. When I learned that he tested positive, it was impossible for me to think that the reason was doping. I left home before he could give me any explanation, without saying a word. I did not even dare to ask. I felt a sensation of panic that I had never felt before. When I returned he was no longer at my house and I told myself: What do I do if he leaves me without knowing the truth, without an explanation? All sorts of thoughts went through my mind: maybe he used too much asthma spray, which can alter the results. Maybe the test is wrong. Maybe maybe maybe. I held on to the last pieces of hope.

 

They say: Kostner, she could not NOT know.

For me a relationship is based on trust, Alex has never given me a reason to believe he was doped. I didn't feel the need to seek confirmation, since I had no doubts. He claims to not have told me because he wanted to protect me. I believe it's partially true, but there is another element: every time the case of a doped athlete would come out I was extremely harsh about it. And the same goes for my family. It happend at dinner when Alex was present, my father went down with a heavy hand on doping. I think he was silent also because he was enourmously ashamed.

 

Aren't you angry at Schwazer for putting you in this position?

At that time, I was annoyed by the lie he had asked me to tell, but I could not even imagine how much bigger and serious the matter was. Alex was the person I loved, the one I thought I would spend my life with. I thought he would be the father of my children. After five years of relationships, you trust a person that you love so much.

 

Perhaps even more: There are not many people ready to denounce the man they love.

That is true: I lied on his request, but have never covered him, because I had no idea what he was doing. Those who accuse me of frivolity and naivety do not know the life of an athlete at this level. You come home in the evening after a day of training and you are so tired that the only thing you can think of is: I eat and go to bed. For me, a love story is based on trust, and I am not the type of person who asks what you do, where you go, with whom, when and why. I could never do that, because if someone did that to me, I would go crazy. And then I was also a person who used to see the good in other people.

 

Used to?

What happened to me has changed me deeply. I do not know how long it will be until I can trust someone again. With Alex it was love at first sight. Boom, hit, lost. But my life was skating, and his was race walking. My immediate goal was not to start a family, but to win the Olympics. There was no room for jealousy or stalking. I wouldn't have had neither the energy nor the time.

 

It was 2012, the year you won the World Championships.

I was right in the middle of my season, the one where I achieved the best results of my career. In my mind there was only one question: how do I skate even better tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that? I won the Grand Prix Final and then the European Championships. If I had ever known, or even suspected that my boyfriend was doping, I never, ever would have had the tranquility to compete so well, to win. I cannot stand the pressure well, as shown by the falls in Turin and Vancouver. Psychological stability and serenity are essential for me to bring home a medal. I would not have achieved it if I had a doubt so hideous in my head.

 

Maybe the signs were there and you didn't recognize them in self-defense?

Signals would be enough to make you start doubting, but there never were any. My mind, at that time, was really free.

 

But Schwazer left the Epo quietly in your fridge. Is it possible you didn't notice?

This story makes me crazy. If I were a man, would they really ask me to know what is there in my fridge?

 

Do you remember if the EPO was hidden in a box of vitamins B-12 as stated by Schwazer?

The fact is that seeing a box of vitamins for me meant nothing, even I kept lactics in the fridge. I opened it to get food, automatically, not to control it, because I had no reason to do so. I repeat: I came home exhausted and just wanted to rest. It's easy to be wise after the event. Every day I wish I could go back, open the fridge and check what was inside that damn box. But even if I did, what would change? I would have to make the product tested to figure out what it was and it would never have occured to me. Also it's one thing if you live in an apartment every day, another if you're always on the road.  Looking back, I feel terrible: I was teased and even talking about it now, for me it is really hard. It is a deep wound that is still open.

 

When Schwazer won the Olympics in Beijing, the newspapers wrote: "Gold to Kostner's boyfriend". Is it possible he put you in trouble also because of envy?

I would not speculate, it's not up to me. But I cannot believe he wanted to put me in trouble voluntarily. Certainly those titles must not have been easy for him. I realize that. We also talked about it openly, but I have always tried not to let him weigh my successes, even if I wanted to share my enthusiasm for the victories. I knew that he understood the sacrifices I was making.

 

Where do you think Alex's demons come from?

I do not know. I was a talent from a young age, but never won easily. At my first Olympics, I put my ass on the ice in front of the entire nation, while Alex came on the scene and took home the Olympic Gold. Maybe people's expectations crushed him.

 

Did you ever talk about doping?

Alex had repeatedly complained that, according to him, many race walkers are doped. It made him feel frustrated, because after the Gold in Beijing the results did not come anymore. I tried to make him realize that the Olympic medal was a remarkable achievement. It was also my dream, but unlike him, I had never achieved it. I told him: "But you realize the privelege you have? Only one in a thousand manage to achieve that." But I couldn't make him feel better. I had to learn to accept the fact of not winning. And just when I accepted it and I relaxed, I won the Bronze in Sochi. He did not have to go this path. But it is so easy to talk, judge. Only someone who suffers deeply behaves like him.

 

What did you think when Schwazer brought that hypobaric noisy machine to your house in Germany that prevented you from sleeping?

He explained that it helped to improve his breathing. It looked like a giant aerosol. Maybe it helps, but if you do not rest well what advantage is there? It was a tragicomic situation, I used caps, but given that in Germany the machine is allowed, I did not feel the right to tell him what to do. I have always thought that everyone is responsible for himself. And then we had a rule: never to interfere with each other's career choices. Besides, I was his girlfriend.

 

In what sense?

In the sense that I'm not his mother and I'm not the policeman. I loved him and thought he was able to defend himself, to make the right choices. I was so happy that he finally came to see me for a few days that I would not lose time discussing. Thinking back, I shouldn't have trusted him, but if you see a machine, you do not associate it to doping, because doping - I thought - had nothing to do with us . Sure enough now if someone takes an aspirin and I get anxious .

 

You are also charged with the fact you had met the coach Michele Ferrari along with Schwarzer.

We were driving back from one of his race in Sesto San Giovanni and we stopped, I think, at the nort exit of the highway in Verona. Alex had to meet his trainer. We hopped on the camper and Ferrari shook my hand. At the time, that name didn't tell me anything.

 

However, he had already been banned because of doping affairs.

My problem now is figuring out what I knew then and what I've learned since. Memories are mixing up with the informations you get as time passes . But I can say that at that time I had not felt any alarm bell, or the feeling that it was a strange meeting.

 

Although it happened in a parking lot?

As athletes we live in a spartan world, I saw it as a way to save time. I thought that Ferrari was going somewhere and that for Alex, coming back from the race, it was more convenient to meet him on the road and not reach him later on.

 

No tension with your ex(boyfriend) after the meeting?

No, absolutely, there was no reason . It was a friendly thing. Only later I read articles about him, I do not remember when, but at that time I was always abroad and did not read Italian newspapers. I saw Alex very few times: a weekend every now and then, single days here and there, maybe he'd come with me to a competition. That kind of relationship, for me, was perfect . I couldn't have been with a guy that I was around me all the time. We met at intersections and we didn't waste that time to talk about work.

 

What did you say to Alex when he admitted using EPO?

I had nothing inside me, not even anger. Only despair. I know that I should  have protected myself , however I did not feel like doing like all others did, leaving him now that he was in misery. I felt sorry for him because he was going to face a huge public humiliation . I just kept just saying: why. Why. Why. He was crashed. I think in the end he let them test him because he couldn't handle it anymore .

 

Were you afraid he could do something stupid?

When he got into his car to go from my house to the press conference where he confessed everything I had a big doubt. I was afraid. When I knew that he got there safely, I felt really relieved.

 

In January, the antidopint court decision will come out. What your future will be like?

The medals I've won with so much sacrifice, I've won them for Italy too. Until now I have represented my country . From tomorrow I could skate just for myself , bringing operas and shows around the world , as I am doing these months . But I would hate to be away from all the people who have incredibly supported me during all this time . In the past I was surprised by all the  affection people showed me, now that love gives me the strength to fight back : I feel like I have an arena that is rooting for me. What is certain is that noone can take my life on the ice away from me. My future is on skates, because that is my environment , and there I am at home .