MILAN (AP) Olympic bronze medalist Carolina Kostner has taken on Russian coach Aleksei Mishin as she makes a comeback after a suspension for helping her then-boyfriend evade doping tests.
The coaching change announced Wednesday underscores Kostner's desires to make another run at the Olympics in 2018 in Pyeognchang, South Korea. Mishin has coached Olympic skaters Alexei Urmanov, Alexei Yagudin and Evgeny Plushenko, who joined Kostner in an ice show in Italy last month.
Kostner's team says she will skate at the International Skating Union-sanctioned Golden Spin competition in Zagreb, Croatia, from Dec. 7-10, followed by the Italian nationals from Dec. 14-16, heading into the European championships in January.
Kostner finished second at an invitational in Japan in January, her first competition in nearly two years because of the suspension.
