2020 European Champion Alena Kostornaia switches to pair skating

[Lurker11]

Or maybe one could think about why a girl has fragile bones and come to the conclusion that it's often the result of malnutrition for which a teenager's coach bears some responsibility.

I guess I should not start discussions with Eteri-fans, but really, accusing young women of lacking commitment and dismissing them for "not having it" just because you are a fan of success and success only. It's always the same story.

I've written on here before Kostornaia is my second favourite skater to watch, but she's susceptible to injury. I don't think she ever starved herself. She's always been small and even now being far from being in good condition with little training and adding weight while recovering surgery, she's still tiny.

I think she's just some what frail. I don't think it has anything to do with her diet. You have to be a genetic freak to have longevity and avoid injury in any sport. Kostornaia has also talked about being scared to fall, so maybe she tenses up before hitting the ice.

Broken bones are common though. Happens in every country. Japan, USA, skaters are out with stress fractures or broken bones.

 

[lariko]

I think it’s an interesting move and after Osokina’s amazing progress, I would love to see how Kostornaya develop in pairs.

 

[Mathman]

I'm always glad to see a singles lady transfer to pairs if it helps extend their careers.

My reactioon to such news is always one of astonishment. Pairs skills seem to me to so specialized, especially partnering, I don't see how any skater who has trained since childhood for a singles career could possibly just jump up and say OK, now I'm a pairs skater -- it's like switching tpo a whole new s[port.

But good on her if she wants to give it a try. She was always a beautiful and lyrical skater, to me.

 

[yesterday]

My reactioon to such news is always one of astonishment. Pairs skills seem to me to so specialized, especially partnering, I don't see how any skater who has trained since childhood for a singles career could possibly just jump up and say OK, now I'm a pairs skater -- it's like switching tpo a whole new s[port.

But good on her if she wants to give it a try. She was always a beautiful and lyrical skater, to me.

Canada, Austria and lots of other countries (Korea? Philippines?) developed one or more new pairs teams this season, as a new cycle started.
It's not so hard when the guy/lifting partner already did pairs, the other way round would be much harder I'd say.
They may not win Worlds immediately, but it is possible to get to a very decent level soon.

 

[Amei]

My reactioon to such news is always one of astonishment. Pairs skills seem to me to so specialized, especially partnering, I don't see how any skater who has trained since childhood for a singles career could possibly just jump up and say OK, now I'm a pairs skater -- it's like switching tpo a whole new s[port.

But good on her if she wants to give it a try. She was always a beautiful and lyrical skater, to me.

Maxim Marinin was asked his opinion, very interesting:

Olympic champion Maxim Marinin spoke about the transition of Alena Kostornaya to pair skating.

"A duet with the participation of Alena Kostornaya could turn out to be interesting. Bright girl, well prepared. Provided, of course, the motivation and focus of the guys on the result. So far, this is only such a PR story.

You will need to change everything - from skating techniques to worldview. Now you are responsible not only for yourself, you work in a team. One thwarted the jump – it's all divided into two. Any successes and failures are divided exactly in half. Therefore, everything depends on how much a person is ready to change his worldview.

After all, singles are more selfish. You think only about yourself, about your result and so on. A couple is another story. Whether Alena is ready for changes for the sake of a partner, for the sake of the result, only time will tell. Now it takes about two or three years to become a couple.

Unfortunately, I don't know Alena personally. Another generation of skaters has already grown up. I am a product of the Soviet system. But, of course, I know Kostornaya as a talented figure skater, I have repeatedly seen her performances on the ice. And, again, I think that the couple with her participation could turn out to be interesting, "-

 

[Amei]

Here are some clips I found on Youtube of Kostornaia and the guy she's supposedly pairing up with




I do question the wisdom of the attempted throw jump. She had hip surgery less than 4 months ago and seems to be quite fragile with getting injured, she said it was going to take her 6 months to recover from surgery when the surgery happened, and now about 4 months after surgery she's doing a brand new jump element in a show (so theoretically they are practicing this)

 

[skylark]

I'm always glad to see a singles lady transfer to pairs if it helps extend their careers.

Or a singles man transfer to pairs hoping to extend their careers? Like recently, Nic Nadeau.

I will watch Alena and her partner, simply because she's such a beautiful skater and loves skating.

I like Valentina Marchei's comment about switching from singles to pairs when she was around 28: "Best decision I ever made." She was fearless in the throws and lifts (like Deanna).

 

[macy]

you can switch from high level singles to pairs, but not vice versa. singles skaters already have about half the puzzle pieces needed for pairs- triple jumps, high level spins, at the very least decent skating skills. Those skills are foundational for most the other half of pairs - throw jumps, SBS jumps, pair spins, step sequences. i would imagine lifts would be one of the most challenging new skills for a new pairs skater, but maybe i'm wrong.

Aliona has some really, really great qualities on her own (some of the best in the world) and she has a lot of potential to share that successfully in a pair. i hope it works out for her and she stays healthy.

 

[Lurker11]

“When I tried to restore the elements, there was a very big load. My leg began to hurt a lot, which was not there when I learned paired movements."

Why was she trying to restore jumps 3 months after a serious hip surgery that required 6 months recovery?

 

[4everchan]

nice puffy sleeves on this dude... that's all i was able to see

they look good together... whether or not they will learn the elements needed for senior competitions, especially in a country like Russia is another story.