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alena-kostornaia · 4 years

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Kiss and Cry Reloaded Podcast 4

The Kiss&Cry Reloaded Podcast has released their fourth episode. Massimiliano Ambesi, Angelo Dolfini, and Francesco Paone talk about Alena Kostornaia in depth! Translated by madmax, minimally edited by @birdie02.

[Paone] In the last few days we received many questions about the curious story of Alena Kostornaia. How is it possible that this girl, initially considered not so good, an athlete considered hopeless by most, a kind of ugly duckling, has become a swan, acclaimed by all?

Ambesi talks at length about Alena’s career, from its beginnings with Marina Cherkasova, to the transition to the Sambo 70 school, in the department that was headed by Elena Tchaikovskaia, with the coach Elena Zhgun.

He says that the first turning point in her career came after the 2017 junior national championships, when she placed sixteenth, over fifty points under Alina Zagitova. A few days later she competed in an open competition in Moscow and she was eighteenth. She had to retire or try to change something.

[Ambesi] She choose the most difficult way: try to join Khrustalny department, the group of Eteri Tutberidze. Tutberidze has doubts, but decided to have her take a week-long test.

The impact of Kostornaia on Tutberidze was the same that we will see with all the Russian former dance champions: an immediate falling in love with Alena. Tutberidze was not a champion, but she competed in dance and immediately realized that she had never had such a skater in her group. After ten days Tutberidze informed her that she has been accepted.

According to Ambesi, the second turning point was Anna Shcherbakova’s injury, which offered her the chance to compete in the Junior Grand Prix.

He describes the good results in the Junior Grand Prix Final, in the senior national championship (in his opinion she deserved the second place), in the Russian Junior National Championships and in the Junior World Championships, always second behind Trusova.

[Ambesi] Someone started to say: this Kostornaia is good, but she’s not a winner. A few days later was posted on social networks a video in which Alena Kostornaia performs this:

Back inside rocker, forward inside counter, change of edge, triple Axel!

All the experts who saw this element were amazed. Something like that could only be performed by another person, that Japanese skater, that pretty good one (referring to Yuzuru Hanyu).

Alena was preparing the triple axel for the Junior World Championships, when she got injured. She had to stop a month before she could resume training and declared she would abandon the triple Axel.

But Alena is a proud girl. After the Russian test skate she suffered something that she considered an offense, because the experts commented that Kostornaia is good, that she is a beautiful skater, but she has no future. Exactly the things they said about her before she moved to Team Tutberidze. Alena burst out to Daria Pavliuchenko, her best friend, who encouraged her to try again the triple Axel.

This was the third turning point of her career.

After a few days, It was mid-September, Alena returned to Khrustalny and said to Sergei Dudakov that she wanted try the triple Axel again. Sergei proposed to try again with the help of the pole harness. She refused the help: she wanted to try without support. The first attempt went wrong. On the second attempt, she executed the element. She also succeeded in subsequent attempts. At that point they decided to introduce the triple Axel in Finlandia Trophy, at least in the free program.

In the short, she maintained the double Axel. A double Axel that for quality, difficulty of the transition of entry and exit deserves the +5 unanimous.

(Ambesi really gets excited here)

Sometimes the +5 does not arrive and we all ask ourselves why. Such a thing was done only by Hanyu when he was thirteen. That element is worth +5. There is nothing to discuss. If a judge gives her +3 he/she must stop judging. He has to do something else in life, because he can't tell a single reason why he doesn't give +5. He is unable to explain a reason! He can't judge a competition!

Anyway, she won the Finlandia Trophy.

At that point, the attention of the media and of the former Russian champions moved to the Grenoble GP, on the challenge between Kostornaia and Alina Zagitova. The former single skating athletes, like Maria Butyrskaya, exposed themselves by saying that Zagitova has something more than Kostornaia. The world of dance, Marina Zueva and others, saw that Alena is the strongest.

In Grenoble Alena skated very well in the short program, despite being very tense. All observers expected a big score in that short program, around 85, she also expected it. Alena sat in the kiss & cry, waiting for the score and ... 76 appeared on the video!

They called the triple Axel under rotated, it was very questionable, and the Lutz for unclear edge, which we can agree. The components score was similar to Alexandra Trusova’s in Skate Canada.

Alena’s reaction was like this: it wasn’t worth the effort, it wasn’t worth the risk. In Finland she had scored higher, with a program with the double Axel. She couldn’t understand.

In the first interviews, while the others were still skating, they asked her what she thought of the competition. She didn’t spoke explicitly against the technical panel and the judges. Actually, she was very angry, because she didn’t understand what happened [t/n: Ambesi here uses another, much more colorful terminology: madmax didn’t want to be banned by the moderators].

Once the interviews were over, she went in a corner near the locker room, watching the performances of the skaters in the last group, the best placed ones in the world ranking. One after the other, they fell. Even Zagitova messed up. At the end Alena won the short program.

The disappointment, the anger turned into half contentment. She couldn’t explain what happened and commented tersely that the Junior World Championships was much easier.

In the free she was much more relaxed and performed a double Axel and eight triples, including two triple Axels. She won with 236 points, the second highest score in the world after Alexandra Trusova.

The rest of Alena’s story is all to be written, because we don't know how far this athlete will succeeds. She can win everything, or not, because in figure skating things change quickly.

Her story teaches us that in any case we must always believe in it till the end, if we feel we have something inside. You can turn into the figure skating greatest hope, because those who love figure skating rely so much on the potential of Kostornaia.

It's a bit what happened with Hanyu in the four-year period that began in 2010 and ended with the Sochi Olympics. From 2007 to 2010 it was a quadriennium of technical regression, the darkest four years of men's figure skating, with few noteworthy programs. We were coming from that dark period, then it happened: Yuzuru Hanyu's free program in junior competitions. The figure skating fans said that only Yuzuru could save this sport. Yuzuru and his triple Axel as high as the balustrade. Yuzuru saved men figure skating, bringing it to excellence.

We'll see if Alena, who has many points in common with Yuzuru Hanyu, will be able to do something similar for ladies’ figure skating. Even half of it would be enough and it would already be great.

[Dolfini - 42:12] You have already highlighted the similarities between Kostornaia and Hanyu. The first point of contact is the smoothness, the mastery of the skates, the overall quality of skating. Both athletes jump very well, especially the edge jumps, like Axel and Loop. Hanyu manages to land the quadruple Loop, while for Alena the triple Loop is a strong point.

Alena is one of the few athletes in the history of figure skating who have landed the triple Axel in competition, which has been achieved less than a dozen other women. The Salchow is also a strong point for Alena. We'll see if she can get a quadruple Salchow.

The quality of their skating is highlighted by the quality of the edge jumps.

She has some weaknesses too, like some uncertainty in the toe jumps.

Her jumps are wide, high, with an important flight phase. This does not only depend on a very advantageous weight / power ratio, which is more evident in the case of Trusova, but also on an excellent technique.

Alena has a particular technique, which can be discussed, anyway it allows her to take the jumps at full speed and to have a wide flight phase. Those elements deserve the positive GOEs they receive. Besides the size of the jumps, there is also the quality of the air position and the smoothness of the exits.

Above all, she is one of the most complete athletes.

[Ambesi] Speaking of smoothness, ability to change direction, mastery of the skates, skating skills, which former athlete can be compared to Kostornaia?

[Dolfini] We said about the similiarities with Yuzuru Hanyu. In the female field comes to my mind Shizuka Arakawa. Kostornaia’s skating is reminiscent of these oriental athletes, because it is soft and smooth. She bend her knees very well. She increases the speed with this rhythmic bending. Not just bending. Watch carefully at her skating: bending and extending at the right time.

There is this softness in her rhythmic movement and you can see it very well in that passage you underlined, before the triple Axel: back inside rocker, forward inside counter, change of edge, triple Axel. If you look closely you will see that this step, which in itself is an element of difficulty, for her is even helpful, it gives her an advantage. Because she execute that step with a great rhythm: not only she does not lose speed, she almost increases the speed. This ability is the trademark of the great skaters, who know how to use knee and ankle in an outstanding way.

Regarding the smoothness I could also make a comparison with Carolina Kostner, who however got it in a different way, more based on lightness, on the ability to extend. Mind you, Carolina also bends very well, but the impression she leaves is different, as if she did not weigh on the ice, while Hanyu and Kostornaia seem to being at one with the ice. This is why the first comparison that came to my mind was Arakawa.

[Ambesi] Kostornaia, an honorary citizen of Sendai, then.

[Dolfini] We talked about Alena’s skating from a technical point of view, but we cannot ignore the interpretative quality of such a young girl. This is truly a rare commodity. Her presence on the ice, which we can bring into the performance voice, is something exceptional. It is something very difficult to see, at such a young age. She already have a great personality. The way she uses the upper body movements and the head. The way she communicates with the viewers. These are qualities proper of the most experienced skaters. From this point of view, it makes you say that she is a predestined one.

[Ambesi] Her connection with the spectators is not simply a grimace, a smirk, as for many others. It's another thing.

[Dolfini] No, because it involves the whole body. It involves the arms, the movement of the whole upper body. Of course, she also uses the head and facial expressions. They are important, but the performance doesn't have to be limited to that. As for Sofia Samodurova, for example, who is skilled at using that aspect. Everyone uses their weapons.

Japanese athletes have always had great smoothness, great skating skills, while in interpretation they struggle more.

In the case of Kostornaia we really have the complete package.

[Ambesi] In my opinion, right now Alena Kostornaia is worth nine at least on four of the five components of the program. I have some doubts only on composition, especially in the free program.

I think that proceeding the season, if the technical quality will remain at the same level, she can expect 37 in the short and 73-74 in the free program. If she will be able to go further, she could even become the athlete to beat or almost.

[Dolfini] Yes, because then the others have to risk a lot to stay at her level.

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