Alena Kostornaia

[TheBallerina]

Alyona, graceful and sublime, her place is clearly on the big competitions of the world, she needs to be seen, I think she can become an icon of FS because her skating is magical.

What amazed me today even more were her jumps, it's clear that she and her team put a lot of good work into them, because they are huge! Great height, great flow, she looks like she is flying every time she jumps. Amazing.

Congratulations, Alyona

 

[Azikin]

But for now Anna and Sasha will outscore her most of the time even if Alena skates cleaner.

Most of the time? You probably forgot who won JGPF.. And that's the one competition with more fair scoring than domestic competitions..

 

[SkateSkates]

rsport.ria.ru/amp/20190203/1550318527.html

Interesting article with Plushenko’s thoughts before the LP. Says she should be the favorite if judged correctly as if he knew what was coming later that day.

 

[Edwin]

rsport.ria.ru/amp/20190203/1550318527.html

Interesting article with Plushenko’s thoughts before the LP. Says she should be the favorite if judged correctly as if he knew what was coming later that day.

Would the results have been really different if Russian Jnr Nats would have been judged with the JWC in mind?
From the ISU page:
"In accordance with ISU Technical Rules Single & Pair Skating 2018, Rule 612 and the respective ISU Communication. Special attention should be paid to the “well balanced program” and the element value."

 

[EdRoz]

Alyona and bear

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtcyE0in0Q7/

 

[Fluture]

Most of the time? You probably forgot who won JGPF.. And that's the one competition with more fair scoring than domestic competitions..

But Sasha bombed her quads pretty hard there, having a +REP on her quad lutz that hurt a lot. She won‘t make the same mistake again. The layout with two 4T is smart. She is more consistent and if she lands even one of them cleanly ... she‘ll win. It‘s just frustrating to see Alena be literally perfect over two programs and then lose because someone did quads. Yes, technical ability and everything but this has to feel crushing... Alena has perfected lots of things Sasha hasn‘t. They should count for something. As of now, Alena only has the chance to win if Sasha and Anna both make a whole lot of mistakes. And that‘s not very likely to happen. I just hope she‘s not discouraged. She‘s a clever girl but the silent resignation at her loss here was telling. She was so happy when she came off the ice, thinking she’d got this. She was all smiley afterwards and at the medal ceremony and very classy and I‘m glad. But that small little gesture after seeing her score was enough. She‘s been spending the whole past year in Sasha‘s shadow even though she‘s had many qualities to be proud of. This year she‘s getting more and more the recognition she deserves and she stands more of a chance now that the GOE system is at +5 and rewards quality.

On a positive note:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BtcyE0in0Q7/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=17y18ey1cu9sv

Here‘s Alena thanking her fans for the giant plushy she got.

 

[Azikin]

She‘s been spending the whole past year in Sasha‘s shadow even though she‘s had many qualities to be proud of.

Well at least those qualities are (hopefully) not going anywhere, while quads... who knows?

 

[SkateSkates]

Well at least those qualities are (hopefully) not going anywhere, while quads... who knows?

I hope so. She’s clearly spent time developing the PCS side of her skating, which seems to get less recognition than technical development. It takes just as much time and effort to improve your skating skills, positioning, expression, etc. I just really hope she isn’t too discouraged and keeps working on all aspects of her skating as this will serve her well in the long run.

 

[Scott512]

Most of the time? You probably forgot who won JGPF.. And that's the one competition with more fair scoring than domestic competitions..

Your comment proved my point. Thanks. The last 2 years Sasha finished ahead of Alena most of the time. I loved the JGPF results thats for sure. But Sasha went from 7th to 1st today because of her massive scoring potential in her free skate. Reality says Alena will have to do more in her LP in he future to rack up points. As Ive said before what happens now wont mean much in 3 years.

 

[Scott512]

rsport.ria.ru/amp/20190203/1550318527.html

Interesting article with Plushenko’s thoughts before the LP. Says she should be the favorite if judged correctly as if he knew what was coming later that day.

For Sasha to easily go from 7th to first when the skater in first after the SP skared flawlessly in her LP as Alena did is something we have never seen before but its something we have to get used to because doing clean quads scores alot of points.

 

[SXTN]

If you sent Alena to Mishin, she would probably have that 3A within two weeks. I don't know if Eteri is the right coach to teach 3A's...

 

[flanker]

I would be glad to see what Mishin would say to such proposal

 

[Fluture]

If you sent Alena to Mishin, she would probably have that 3A within two weeks. I don't know if Eteri is the right coach to teach 3A's...

Yes, please! Papa Mishin for that 3A and the lutz edge!! Can’t she attend a summer camp by him? But get the programs elsewhere because as much as I enjoy Liza‘s and Sofia‘s programs this season there is like zero choreography behind arm movements.

I would be glad to see what Mishin would say to such proposal

I would be even more interested in what Eteri would say about such a proposal.

 

[Fluture]

Well at least those qualities are (hopefully) not going anywhere, while quads... who knows?

Well... no one knows what will happen in the future. I‘d rather not rely on Sasha and Anna losing their quads and wait until then for Alena to have a chance against Sasha and Anna even if they land one quad. I know that if Sasha‘s clean (or Anna) they‘ll score higher than Alena and that‘s okay. It‘s just so frustrating to see a skater make a serious mistake in their SP and still win in the end over someone who‘s skated two virtually perfect programs. It just doesn‘t seem right to me to tell Alena (and her fans) to “just wait until the others have gone through puberty“. Especially since I don’t wish for anything bad for any of these girls to happen, so hoping they‘ll lose all their jumps or get injured is just not what I do. I like them all. I just want fair scoring (that includes PCS not rising artificially alongside the TES score) and then it’ll be fine. My point was that Alena‘s flawless skates should have been rewarded more, especially since others made mistakes. It‘s just frustrating and unsatisfying as a viewer to have a result like we had at Russian Junior Nationals. Like I said, I‘m happy for Sasha but I wish she had had a better SP. Then I‘d not have that lingering feeling of: “But how can someone who makes mistakes win over someone who skated perfectly?“ and think that a different results might have been more fair.

But Alena‘s season has been great so far and I‘m trying not to complain too much. Especially since the new system is good for skaters like Alena, the +5 GOE rewards quality. And she has won JGPF after all, which is a great achievement. With last year‘s system the result would probably have been different. So, there have been some positive changes and I‘m certainly happy about this. At the beginning of the season I‘d never have imagined that Alena would be able to win any major tournament but not because of her talent but the judging. (Remember last year‘s JGPF) It‘s improving. I hope that the scoring at Junior Worlds will be a bit different than at Nationals here but let‘s wait and see. JGPF was a great start and had a very fair scoring. I hope to see that again.

 

[Scott512]

If you sent Alena to Mishin, she would probably have that 3A within two weeks. I don't know if Eteri is the right coach to teach 3A's...

Hmmmm. You cant write that! Although some of us have thought that, Interesting thought though. But I doubt Alena will be bringing Eteri flowers anytime soon.

Because her 2a is big shouldnt Alena be able to do a quality 3a?

 

[flanker]

I would be even more interested in what Eteri would say about such a proposal.

Something like Shrek: "That's my princess. Go find your own."

 

[SkateSkates]

Well... no one knows what will happen in the future. I‘d rather not rely on Sasha and Anna losing their quads and wait until then for Alena to have a chance against Sasha and Anna even if they land one quad. I know that if Sasha‘s clean (or Anna) they‘ll score higher than Alena and that‘s okay. It‘s just so frustrating to see a skater make a serious mistake in their SP and still win in the end over someone who‘s skated two virtually perfect programs. It just doesn‘t seem right to me to tell Alena (and her fans) to “just wait until the others have gone through puberty“. Especially since I don’t wish for anything bad for any of these girls to happen, so hoping they‘ll lose all their jumps or get injured is just not what I do. I like them all. I just want fair scoring (that includes PCS not rising artificially alongside the TES score) and then it’ll be fine. My point was that Alena‘s flawless skates should have been rewarded more, especially since others made mistakes. It‘s just frustrating and unsatisfying as a viewer to have a result like we had at Russian Junior Nationals. Like I said, I‘m happy for Sasha but I wish she had had a better SP. Then I‘d not have that lingering feeling of: “But how can someone who makes mistakes win over someone who skated perfectly?“ and think that a different results might have been more fair.

But Alena‘s season has been great so far and I‘m trying not to complain too much. Especially since the new system is good for skaters like Alena, the +5 GOE rewards quality. And she has won JGPF after all, which is a great achievement. With last year‘s system the result would probably have been different. So, there have been some positive changes and I‘m certainly happy about this. At the beginning of the season I‘d never have imagined that Alena would be able to win any major tournament but not because of her talent but the judging. (Remember last year‘s JGPF) It‘s improving. I hope that the scoring at Junior Worlds will be a bit different than at Nationals here but let‘s wait and see. JGPF was a great start and had a very fair scoring. I hope to see that again.

Yes this. I do not have anything against Sasha. I think she brings excitement and great athletic performances; however, she recieved a 6 point PCS boost while Alena and Anna both got 3 points vs senior nats. Yes she had a better performance than nationals, but so did Alena, who had much more speed and interpretation in the 2nd half, especially in the footwork. Sasha won by about 3 points - from that extra PCS boost. It is not fair to her nor the other skaters as this affected the final result. And for people who discount the time and effort it takes to develop skating skills/performance aspects - please go watch ice dancers train for hours every day on these very things. Gabi P is a great example of hard work on skating skills paying off after years of practice. It’s not as easy as they make it look.

End rant.

 

[malya]

I just doublechecked to see Alena is still using her Edea Chorus boots... - > not too much stability, they are recommended for skaters who try double jumps - not triples, and certainly not more!

Honestly she is the only singles skater I know who uses them. Maybe that's a reason she is not even allowed to try quads/3A at the moment? To minimize risk she should start using boots with more stability (especially if she has minor injuries?!) and changing boots is really not what you want to do as a skater before important competitions... Let's see if they will change next season or keep what is working now

 

[macy]

I just doublechecked to see Alena is still using her Edea Chorus boots... - > not too much stability, they are recommended for skaters who try double jumps - not triples, and certainly not more!

Honestly she is the only singles skater I know who uses them. Maybe that's a reason she is not even allowed to try quads/3A at the moment? To minimize risk she should start using boots with more stability (especially if she has minor injuries?!) and changing boots is really not what you want to do as a skater before important competitions... Let's see if they will change next season or keep what is working now

i noticed this as well. if she is going to be working more on 3A she really should be using a more supportive boot. hopefully that is in her plans as she could risk injury continuing to use a lower level boot.

also, has alena ever spoken on why she doesn't attempt harder 3+3 combos? anna and sasha are doing 3F+3Lo and 3Lz+3T, and 3F+3T and 3Lz+3Lo, where Alena is only doing 3F+3T and 3S+3T. this is one way she can increase scoring potential before she gets a 3A consistent. she also does a 3+2+2 and not a 3+1/2Lo+3 like the other two.

 

[SkateSkates]

i noticed this as well. if she is going to be working more on 3A she really should be using a more supportive boot. hopefully that is in her plans as she could risk injury continuing to use a lower level boot.

also, has alena ever spoken on why she doesn't attempt harder 3+3 combos? anna and sasha are doing 3F+3Lo and 3Lz+3T, and 3F+3T and 3Lz+3Lo, where Alena is only doing 3F+3T and 3S+3T. this is one way she can increase scoring potential before she gets a 3A consistent. she also does a 3+2+2 and not a 3+1/2Lo+3 like the other two.

I think she repeats the 3T Rippon because it is her best jump and gets her very high GOE - +4/5 offsetting the GOE for a +2/3 Lo combo. I do think she should switch to doing a 3lz+3T in the LP if she continues to improve her edge because she will get the higher GOE multiplier on a more impressive combo (vs the 3Lz2T2T)