 He announced his decision to quit athletics and described the result as the "biggest blow of my life".He was subsequently given a three-and-a-half year competition ban by the Italian National Olympic Committee in April 2013.Schwazer's girlfriend at the time of the offence, figure skater Carolina Kostner, later admitted to prosecutors in Bolzano that she had lied to inspectors from the World Anti-Doping Agency shortly before the 2012 Games when they visited her home looking for Schwazer, claiming that he was not there so he could avoid being tested.