Alena Kostornaia | Page 177 | Golden Skate

Alena Kostornaia

If I read the lists correctly, I believe Aliona is the only skater to be nominated across all 4 categories of the ISU awards! Of course I voted for her for all of them.

My only complaint is they nominated her SP for most entertaining program - I wish it was her LP instead! Her SP is beautiful and angelic, but her LP is more “entertaining” in my opinion - it could just be the wrong word is being used for the category.
 
Okay so this is a bit delayed but I’m going to finally write up some of my thoughts and impressions from seeing Aliona live at GP France. I am probably forgetting some things here so feel free to ask me specific questions if you have any!

I didn’t arrive until the day of the SP so I missed the first day of practices and the morning SP practice. Aliona was in the first warmup group and it was immediately clear she was the class of the group. She had an okay warmup - good combo but shaky lutz on her first attempt and her axel didn’t have the best landing but it was okay. She did another lutz at the end that was good but I think she was nervous for both the axel and the lutz in the performance as well. Everyone in the arena (at least near me) was shocked by how low her SP score was. In the end she rightfully ended up in first after harsh scores for just about everyone. The ice quality was as bad as the reports claimed with several large puddles visible throughout the event.

Aliona gave me a scare by coming to the morning LP practice a couple of minutes late, but seemed happy once she got on the ice to warmup. All of her triple jumps were perfect. Then she went to warm up her axel and she has a very specific warm up - 2 waltz jumps, then 2 single axels, then she will do a little walk through. She did this same warm up in the 6min warm ups as well. At this point of the practice session, other skaters were doing their runthrus and Aliona was having a hard time finding a spot to warm up her 3A. Her pattern takes up the entire ice surface and at the event she seemed to need maximum concentration to even go for the jump - if anyone was near her pattern she would circle around. I could tell she was getting upset, but she was finally able to get in a perfect 3A2T during Alina’s runthru. (Watching the NHK practice stream she seems to be more comfortable with the jump now and while she did circle around a bit, it was nowhere near as much as she was circling in France. Hopefully this will continue to improve over time). Her runthru was perfect except for a huge wipeout on a very UR 3A - the 2nd one. She got up and kept going as if it was nothing, but there is a video of Alina watching her runthru and visibly wincing/turning away at Aliona’s fall. It looked painful. After her program she was finally able to land another solo 3A - the session ended abruptly without much warning and they had to ask Aliona and Alina to get off the ice after they each got in one last element 🤣

The LP - beforehand I could see Aliona standing near Wakaba and Kaori. She isn’t that much shorter than them but looks so much smaller due to her body type - even though she is fairly compact and muscular, she has longer legs but much less muscle development then them! When she is on the warmup with other skaters she looks small but when she’s performing all by herself she doesn’t look small. She moves across the ice with great ease, especially in the LP. You could see she was much less tense than in the SP. Once again she had a great warmup, and after circling a bit was able to land her 3A cleanly. Of course the performance was amazing - probably her best LP of the season so far, and the crowd really got into it! Her flip combos cover so much distance and she flies across the ice quietly with seemingly no effort.

Overall, she did not disappoint live and like I said I am sure I left some things out so please feel free to ask any questions.
 
Azikin said:
"Most likely, Jumping-Queen Alena Kostornaia with her amazing triple Axel!"

Yeah, sure hope so..
Click to expand...

This reminded me that the Austrian judge at IDF gave her PCS of 38 in the SP. ;) The Austrian Skating Fed must really love Aliona! :love:

Really hope to see Aliona at the European Championships and Worlds! :pray:

SkateSkates said:
If I read the lists correctly, I believe Aliona is the only skater to be nominated across all 4 categories of the ISU awards! Of course I voted for her for all of them.

My only complaint is they nominated her SP for most entertaining program - I wish it was her LP instead! Her SP is beautiful and angelic, but her LP is more “entertaining” in my opinion - it could just be the wrong word is being used for the category.
Click to expand...

That is so cool that she got nominated on all 4 lists! :hap57:
Hopefully she will be a finalist in at least one category (maybe best newcomer?)... :pray:

It is very interesting that Aliona was nominated for "Most Valuable Skater" (along with Alina and Zhenya Medvedeva), but Anna and Sasha were not... :unsure: But I have no idea how they came up with these preliminary lists. :confused2:

I also agree that her LP is more entertaining than her SP, but the LP is definitely more controversial/divisive I guess.

I do love Anna's color-changing FS dress, but in the end, the super fan in me won out, and I voted for Aliona in all 4 categories. :biggrin: It helped that her name was one of the first ones that showed up! :laugh:
 
SkateSkates said:
Okay so this is a bit delayed but I’m going to finally write up some of my thoughts and impressions from seeing Aliona live at GP France. I am probably forgetting some things here so feel free to ask me specific questions if you have any!

Overall, she did not disappoint live and like I said I am sure I left some things out so please feel free to ask any questions.
Click to expand...

Ooh, I am sooo jealous you got to see her live!! I hope to see her too! :bow: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! :thank:

What did you think of her LP live? I remember the first time I saw it (at the test skates), the music cuts were very jarring, but now that I've seen her program so many times, I've gotten used to it. I imagine that other people in the arena were probably seeing this program for the first time--but I guess they got into it?

How did her costumes look live? Some people have complained that the white dress doesn't stand out against the ice on video, but how was it in person?
 
4 more days until GPF! From TV Asahi and Aliona :love:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5jbXfQpwvY/

Speaking of Japanese TV, News Zero had a little segment on the 3 A's, starting with Anna, then Sasha, then Aliona.
Here's Aliona's clip:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5dChPuJmeo/

The banner on the top left says "Overwhelming beauty. Kostornaia is amazing" :biggrin: It occurs to me that this sort of commentary is considered perfectly normal in Japan, but it probably wouldn't be too politically correct in the West. :laugh:

Here's what the announcer says:
"The third one is Aliona Kostornaia. First is her Instagram. Given her beauty and glamour*, it's hard to believe she's only 16 years old. She can't do quads, but her consistency on this, her triple axel, is amazing. And, more than anything, pay attention to her overwhelming beauty. Not only her footwork, but also her use of her upper body is very neat/clean and smooth. Her spins are fast and beautiful, but please look carefully at her expression after this. [Freeze frame of her face] Look at this expression! Can you believe she's only 16? She's a skater that has a high level of perfection across everything, including each and every jump."
Click to expand...

Throughout the clip, the other people sound very impressed and are agreeing with what the announcer says. :)

* They actually used a word that was a bit "hotter" but I am afraid if I use it here, this post will get blocked. :laugh:
https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=ja&tl=en&text=色気
 
Batsuchan said:
Ooh, I am sooo jealous you got to see her live!! I hope to see her too! :bow: Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! :thank:

What did you think of her LP live? I remember the first time I saw it (at the test skates), the music cuts were very jarring, but now that I've seen her program so many times, I've gotten used to it. I imagine that other people in the arena were probably seeing this program for the first time--but I guess they got into it?

How did her costumes look live? Some people have complained that the white dress doesn't stand out against the ice on video, but how was it in person?
Click to expand...

Her LP was well received live - and it helps she had a clean performance. A lot of the audience seemed to be fairly well educated skating fans, and there were a ton of fans from Russia who came to the event as well. Many of them (I think) came first and foremost to support Alina but they were also supportive of Aliona as well so they had seen her program before. (Off topic but I am also a fan of Alina, and I spoke to a few big Alina fans, who were all very supportive of Aliona and understood that if Aliona skated clean with her content, she would win. It was very nice to see after reading so many hateful comments about skaters and fan groups online that those comments are not actually the majority of fans, who like me, just appreciate good skating. And no one was rude to me once I said Aliona was my favorite or after she won.) There were also a lot of other international fans from around Europe/North America and Japan (mainly came for Shoma but were watching and supporting all skaters at the ladies event too)

Regarding her dresses - the angel dress really only has a white skirt so it doesn’t disappear on the ice. I just rewatched some videos I took to be sure, and in person the back looks completely beaded in those grey/metallic tones and the front has the wings on the bodice so it doesn’t disappear either. Plus her arms are exposed this season so it’s not even like they could “disappear” under white fabric. I’m not quite sure where this complaint is coming from, but I didn’t have a problem with either of her dresses in person. My personal complaint is the purple one is a bit too “Barney” purple and I would prefer it if it were more of a wine or maroon color, but that’s just my preference. I think the style and cut are flattering for her. I will say even though she is small, she doesn’t look “Junior” out there. She is definitely mid-puberty and doesn’t stand out in the field with gangly limbs or narrow hips. This gives me hope that if she can actually improve her jumps in the midst of body changes that she will be able to maintain them throughout her career. She always had technique which required jumping from the legs more than the arms so it seems like as her legs have gotten stronger her jumps have only improved.
 
SkateSkates said:
Her LP was well received live - and it helps she had a clean performance. A lot of the audience seemed to be fairly well educated skating fans, and there were a ton of fans from Russia who came to the event as well. Many of them (I think) came first and foremost to support Alina but they were also supportive of Aliona as well so they had seen her program before. (Off topic but I am also a fan of Alina, and I spoke to a few big Alina fans, who were all very supportive of Aliona and understood that if Aliona skated clean with her content, she would win. It was very nice to see after reading so many hateful comments about skaters and fan groups online that those comments are not actually the majority of fans, who like me, just appreciate good skating. And no one was rude to me once I said Aliona was my favorite or after she won.) There were also a lot of other international fans from around Europe/North America and Japan (mainly came for Shoma but were watching and supporting all skaters at the ladies event too)

Regarding her dresses - the angel dress really only has a white skirt so it doesn’t disappear on the ice. I just rewatched some videos I took to be sure, and in person the back looks completely beaded in those grey/metallic tones and the front has the wings on the bodice so it doesn’t disappear either. Plus her arms are exposed this season so it’s not even like they could “disappear” under white fabric. I’m not quite sure where this complaint is coming from, but I didn’t have a problem with either of her dresses in person. My personal complaint is the purple one is a bit too “Barney” purple and I would prefer it if it were more of a wine or maroon color, but that’s just my preference. I think the style and cut are flattering for her. I will say even though she is small, she doesn’t look “Junior” out there. She is definitely mid-puberty and doesn’t stand out in the field with gangly limbs or narrow hips. This gives me hope that if she can actually improve her jumps in the midst of body changes that she will be able to maintain them throughout her career. She always had technique which required jumping from the legs more than the arms so it seems like as her legs have gotten stronger her jumps have only improved.
Click to expand...

Thanks SkateSkates! :thank:

I'm glad her dresses looked good live. :luv17: (The comment about the white dress was something I saw on a different forum.) And I'm glad to hear the other fans were supportive. :agree:

I agree with you about Aliona's jumps--I'm hopeful that since was able to add the 3A while she's clearly going through puberty (and since her air position isn't super tight), she'll be able to keep her jumps even if she fills out more. :yes:
 
And since I've been seeing some fan accounts post about Aliona's stalker messaging them on Instagram, here's the latest:
https://twitter.com/TheAnnaWatson/status/1201633284045856768
RusFed is aware of the situation, they have been working with police, fans have collected all the info on the stalker and passed it to the police.
The final response is: "The measures to restrict his access to the sporting events have been taken"
Click to expand...

That's a relief! :yes:

***

Separately it seems the person who runs this account also got a photo with Aliona at Rostelecom! Here's her story:
https://twitter.com/TheAnnaWatson/status/1197640879810498562 :agree:
 
Batsuchan said:
And since I've been seeing some fan accounts post about Aliona's stalker messaging them on Instagram, here's the latest:
https://twitter.com/TheAnnaWatson/status/1201633284045856768


That's a relief! :yes:

***

Separately it seems the person who runs this account also got a photo with Aliona at Rostelecom! Here's her story:
https://twitter.com/TheAnnaWatson/status/1197640879810498562 :agree:
Click to expand...

i'm really glad to hear this. i've been worried about the whole situation since this world has just gotten worse and worse over the years and you never know what people are capable of. it's just scary. i hope he never ever gets near her nor any other young girls, skaters or not. what a sicko.
 
Here's a long interview with Maria Butyrskaya, in which she talks about her predictions for the GPF and the other Russian ladies, but she starts by talking a lot about Aliona, so I'm posting this here. I do have to point out that Butyrskaya may be a little bit biased because Aliona had been training in the school run by Elena Tchaikovskaia, who was Butyrskaya's coach. ;) But of course I agree with everything she says! :biggrin:

http://portal-kultura.ru/articles/s...lyadit-uglovatym-zato-ee-pryzhki-prosto-kosm/

GoogleTranslate:
On December 5, the final of the Grand Prix of figure skating series starts in Italian Turin. According to the results of the qualifying stages, our athletes received eleven places in the decisive stage and will qualify for medals in each of the four types of programs. “Culture” asked Maria Butyrskaya, the first Russian world champion in singles, to share her expectations from the competition.

Culture: Four students of Eteri Tutberidze will take part in the girls' competitions at once. Who do you think has the best chance of winning?
Butyrskaya: All girls deserve special attention. I'll start with Alena Kostornaya - I always liked her a lot. This is her first season among adults, and immediately such a success. Alena shows amazingly graceful skating. She has a magnificent triple axel. From the first steps on the ice, the referees are fascinated - they like it. In our sport, a lot depends on this: it is very important to make a favorable impression on judges.

culture: It turns out that if the judges "dislike" a skater, they can underestimate the score?
Butyrskaya: Exactly. But Kostornaya has no such problems. The girl deserves the highest marks. She has the perfect program. Complexity, richness, a combination of components, musicality, performance of elements - all at the highest level. It is not surprising that Alena at the stage in Japan set a world record for her points in the short program.

Culture: There is an opinion that our girls do not show true female skating, but simply make many difficult jumps ...
Butyrskaya: When you watch Kostornaya’s performances, you don’t even think about the junior level in your head. This is the real, I emphasize, women's skating.
Click to expand...

There is more in the rest of the interview. :)
 
Thank you for posting the interview link and the translation, Batsuchan. I love how much everyone loves Aliona and her skating. She really is wonderful to watch.
 
Aliona will skate first in the SP - I’m nervous for her! Now that she’s doing the 3A it takes her longer to warm that element up so I hope she is able to practice it in time to have a few seconds of rest before competing. I also hope it doesn’t negatively affect her PCS.... it’s unfortunate they changed how the draw worked last season - it used to be in reverse order of qualification and now it’s based on World Ranking :/
 
SkateSkates said:
Aliona will skate first in the SP - I’m nervous for her! Now that she’s doing the 3A it takes her longer to warm that element up so I hope she is able to practice it in time to have a few seconds of rest before competing. I also hope it doesn’t negatively affect her PCS.... it’s unfortunate they changed how the draw worked last season - it used to be in reverse order of qualification and now it’s based on World Ranking :/
Click to expand...

So apparently the 4A aren’t at the first practice yet and they missed the draw, which seems kind of crazy for such a big event. I know there’s a second practice, but her first practice always seems to go a little poorly, almost like she needs the second one just to refocus. I wonder why they are late? The juniors from the group are there so I’m confused.
 
sclloyd said:
So apparently the 4A aren’t at the first practice yet and they missed the draw, which seems kind of crazy for such a big event. I know there’s a second practice, but her first practice always seems to go a little poorly, almost like she needs the second one just to refocus. I wonder why they are late? The juniors from the group are there so I’m confused.
Click to expand...

According to some fans their flight was delayed.
 
sclloyd said:
So apparently the 4A aren’t at the first practice yet and they missed the draw, which seems kind of crazy for such a big event. I know there’s a second practice, but her first practice always seems to go a little poorly, almost like she needs the second one just to refocus. I wonder why they are late? The juniors from the group are there so I’m confused.
Click to expand...

Well, so far on the GP series, they have only showed up for practice on the day before the event (i.e., Thursday, if the SP is on Friday). The schedule for GPF is a little strange because practices started on Wednesday. I guess they might be thinking that it's better to spend a whole morning training at home and fly out in the afternoon rather than get there on time for a single 40 minute practice session...? Not sure. When I went to Worlds 2016, the Russian ladies definitely missed the first few days of practice.

The important thing is that they are there now! :yes:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5qtzqFJhvH/
And with their luggage too! :agree: (Phew!)
 
SkateSkates said:
Aliona will skate first in the SP - I’m nervous for her! Now that she’s doing the 3A it takes her longer to warm that element up so I hope she is able to practice it in time to have a few seconds of rest before competing. I also hope it doesn’t negatively affect her PCS.... it’s unfortunate they changed how the draw worked last season - it used to be in reverse order of qualification and now it’s based on World Ranking
Click to expand...

So I was feeling super calm about GPF yesterday, but I totally did not realize that they changed the GPF draw! :eek: I figured Aliona would skate near the end of the group; it never occurred to me that she might have to skate first! :dbana:

I actually am not too worried about the judges holding down Aliona's scores if she skates perfectly. I think the judges know who she is now, and I'm hoping they know that she's the current SP world record holder. And at Finlandia we saw them give her good scores even though she was first and rather unknown.

But I think it will all depend on Aliona skating her best, and like SkateSkates, I'm now really nervous about her going first!! :drama: If she has a rough warm-up like she did before the NHK LP, I'm worried she might not have enough time to calm herself down and re-focus... But, on the other hand, if she has a really good warm-up, then she can carry that feeling straight into the SP. So I really have no idea what will happen, which makes this extremely nerve-wracking!!

A part of me does feel that this is an opportunity for Aliona to grow. She probably have to skate 1st in a group at some point in the future (I'm not counting Finlandia since she didn't do the 3A), so she will have to learn how to deal with it, and why not start now? :yes:

I hope that Eteri can get her into the proper mindset, and I fully expect Aliona's bestie Dasha Pavliuchenko to be there cheering her on. :agree:

And no matter what happens, Aliona will be in 1st place after she skates! :biggrin:
 
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