LAUSANNE, Switzerland, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. Olympic speed-skater Simon Cho has been banned for two years for tampering with a rival's skates in 2011 and will miss the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
The International Skating Union imposed the ban on Cho this week for bending Canadian competitor Olivier Jean's skate blade during the 2011 World Championships, where Cho won the individual championship, one year after taking the bronze at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
Cho has admitted he bent Jean's skate blade while he was alone in a locker room but says it was the biggest mistake he ever made, and has blamed his coach, Jae Su Chun, for hectoring him into doing it, CNN reported.
Jae denies the accusation but the ISU has also banned him for two years for an ethics violation, CNN said.
"I definitely want to advocate, you know, sports ethics and behavior," Cho told CNN Tuesday. "Sometimes when you're lost and you're chasing a dream, you want to be the next Michael Jordan or the next Michael Phelps of your sport, sometimes you get tunnel vision, and you lose sight of things. Hopefully young athletes in this generation are able to take away from my experience."
