- Joined
- Nov 29, 2019
I agree that he should definitely look for a partner who is almost through with puberty. Ialin is 22, and does not have much time to waste in his sports career. Yes there are the cases of Szolkowy and Han, however we must remember that these are exceptions. Their partners are not ordinary girls, and their cases are not those of ordinary pairs. From my point of view, Dima in the later half of the season struggled with Polina's growing height and curves, not her weight. I say this because his lifts and height in throws was perfectly stable, however he seemed very stressed and hunched over in the takeoff of the throws and twists.
You're right in that there are many Russian ladies who might consider pairs. Unlike Kostiukovich/Briukhanov, Ialin and his new partner probably won't push for Beijing, unless it is postponed to 2023. Looking through the list at nationals though, I can't seem to find a single girl over 15 who is less than 155cm. Sinitsyna maybe, but she will still grow. He will probably have to look either outside of Russia, into the depths of Russia who didn't qualify to nationals, or take another risk with another young girl.
He already put up with the mighty Kostiukovich, so might he consider trying to get the compliant and daring Kostornaia to switch to pairs?
You're right in that there are many Russian ladies who might consider pairs. Unlike Kostiukovich/Briukhanov, Ialin and his new partner probably won't push for Beijing, unless it is postponed to 2023. Looking through the list at nationals though, I can't seem to find a single girl over 15 who is less than 155cm. Sinitsyna maybe, but she will still grow. He will probably have to look either outside of Russia, into the depths of Russia who didn't qualify to nationals, or take another risk with another young girl.
He already put up with the mighty Kostiukovich, so might he consider trying to get the compliant and daring Kostornaia to switch to pairs?
The depth in Russia is so great that there is such competition just to get to the Russian cup. Any girl who can make it to that level of skating has devoted their life to this sport, and is serious about training but is also realistic enough to know that they will probably not make it to a higher level, especially if they are post-puberty. Not even Russian cup - the qualifying competitions to Russian cup, like where he found Ponosova. There should be a suitable girl under 150 cm for him somewhere out there. The opportunity to skate with a junior world medalist doesn't come often, and these girls have probably taken some quite hard falls that the horrors of pair skating may not seem so daunting to all. He appeared in the back of some training videos lately, so I assume he is still training and possibly having tryouts. I hope they go well, because as we know, there won't be a queue of high level ladies (especially those experienced in pairs) lining up to skate with him. His strength in lifts and pair elements and stability in jumps is remarkable, but it is also remarkable that he wasn't turned away from pairs school at first sight. I'm glad he wasn't though, as he and Polina were able to achieve great things. Rylov and Mironov aren't much taller either, so maybe pair boys under 180cm will become more common. (Though I am also being very cautious about Panfilova/Rylov going forwards) Still, it would be great if he had an extra 10 cm on him because he is quite a lovely skater. Genetics, though of course it is not impossible. Holding out hope that Sui or Savchenko will fall into his arms like Polina did. 
