I believe this might have been in reference to her back-loaded programs. Three years ago it was a big deal. Lots of non-Russian figure skating legends were impressed. (Kurt Browning, Scott Hamilton, Tanith Belbin, British Eurosport guys, the list goes on.) Also the combination jump she did in practice at the Olympics blew some commentators away.
I can see that you are entirely unimpressed by Alina and that is fine. Everyone can't like everything. But some people, notably international legends of FS, were in fact impressed with her stamina, her athleticism, and other qualities. The fact that no one else even attempted it at the highest level of competition says a lot.
Much like all records get broken eventually, her tech levels have been bypassed. But in that moment, they were something special.