Carolina Kostner Didn’t Fall Through The Ice, But Won A Bronze Medal

Sochi bronze medalists at the figure skating women’s competition, Italian Carolina Kostner didn’t fall through the ice, or needed rescue. That was satire.

A report that came via The Onion, the satire news outlet, reported that the figure skater had fallen through the ice and needed to be rescued by emergency crews.

That was obviously not true, but many believed the piece, which said in part Wednesday:

“Unfortunately she skated way out into the middle of the rink where the ice was weak and it collapsed instantly when she landed her triple axle. Granted, a world-class athlete like Kostner can withstand the initial shock for a few minutes, but her thin, sparkly leotard will do little to protect her from the deep and frigid water below the ice.”

The piece was apparently poking fun at all the problems that were initially reported from Sochi, such as cardboard doors, no drinkable water, hacking, and others.

But Carolina Kostner was not hurt and didn’t even have an accident, however she obtained the first gold medal in figure skating for Italy in a surprise podium appearance in a competition that was plagued by upsets.

For the graceful Italian it was redemption from four years ago in Vancouver where she ended her bid for a medal in disappointment after what she classified as the worst performance of her life.

“After Vancouver I thought that was it,” said the new Olympic medalist. “I thought I would stop skating. I thought that was my end.”

At 27-years-old Carolina Kostner is one of the oldest figure skaters still competing, however, she has not lost that grace that made her a medal contender.

One of the most experienced skaters, she was able to use those skills to her advantage on her performances on the short program Wednesday and the free skate Thursday.

What made her return to the Sochi figure skating competition was the love for her sport:

“I wanted to skate because I love it. The hard times make you understand what you really want and I’m really glad that I continued and honored to have experienced everything that I have in the past years.”

After Vancouver she won the World Championships in 2012 and participated on two more European and National Championship titles.

Wednesday night she followed Russian teen sensation Yulia Lipnitskaya who received a rousing ovation, even after a surprising fall, which lowered her chances to medal.

On Thursday, Carolina Kostner’s efforts paid off with some help from the rest of the contestants which provided her the opportunity she was looking for all along. She became a bronze medalist at Sochi.