SOCHI, July 13. /TASS/. Russia’s Olympic Ice Dancing Champion Roman Kostomarov has incredible willpower and will be able to return to the ice in the future, Tatyana Navka, his former ice dancing partner and Olympic gold medalist, told reporters on Thursday.

On July 6, Kostomarov announced that he had been discharged after 175 days in the hospital.

"I strongly believe that he will return to the ice. I have no doubt about it. I talk with him often, and it’s not all that easy. There are many details and aspects that need to be overcome. Roman has incredible willpower: he’s an Olympic champion. I believe that he will be back on the ice and overcome this obstacle," Navka said.

On January 10, Kostomarov was admitted to the ICU with pneumonia. A source told TASS later that the figure skater was in serious condition in a medically induced coma. Kostomarov was hooked up to an ECMO machine, from which he was removed on January 24, but continued to suffer from sepsis and blood circulation problems.

Kostomarov, 46, won a gold medal at the 2006 Turin Olympics together with Navka. The two are also two-time world champions, three-time European champions and winners of the ISU Grand Prix Series Finals.