Alena Kostornaia | Page 216 | Golden Skate

Alena Kostornaia

Batsuchan said:
I see you (?) also suggested Lululemon--that's another thought. I *still* hope for some luxury/fashion brands to sign Aliona. :yes:

I personally notice every time she has a new pair of earrings at a competition--surely there is some company that would like to have her wear their jewelry! ;)

And she definitely deserves an endorsement from a makeup company! :yes:
Click to expand...

Well, yes I would love lululemon for her since we’ve seen her wear it, but I don’t think they sponsor athletes - or have stores in Russia. It was more of a dramatic joke I made on twitter but it seems quite a few people agreed with me!

I just hope she’s not discouraged by the lack of recognition from press and sponsors she continues to get compared to her teammates, even though she had the best record internationally this season. It seems like she’s either overlooked for not having quads or wrongly looped in with quadsters for ruining the sport and isn’t ever given her own magazine spreads or features. I really hope this changes soon for Aliona and she also signs her own contract and receives her own features in magazines (non figure skating mags, that is).
 
As much as I would like to see Aliona with a fashion brand, I don’t know if it will happen just yet. Maybe after a few years on the GP it could happen. Lululemon would be a good brand or maybe North Face too. Russia is naturally on the cold side so she would get a lot of use out of North face clothing :laugh: Plus they have pull overs and long sleeved shirts that she could wear at official practices. It’s not totally a sporting brand either, so it’s not like she would be tied down to only promoting sporting brands in the future either.
 
I suppose the sponsor contracts are signed by the parents, since the skaters are still minors.

Perhaps Alyona's parents don't want to, or have different sponsors in mind? I don't know how this works, you get asked to become sponsored, or you peddle your child to various sponsors?

With the Khrustalniy Kids making inroads in fashion, livestyle and sportswear marketing, one has to be picky to preserve their image of purety.
 
Edwin said:
I suppose the sponsor contracts are signed by the parents, since the skaters are still minors.

Perhaps Alyona's parents don't want to, or have different sponsors in mind? I don't know how this works, you get asked to become sponsored, or you peddle your child to various sponsors?

With the Khrustalniy Kids making inroads in fashion, livestyle and sportswear marketing, one has to be picky to preserve their image of purety.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have no idea what's going on...It's possible Aliona hasn't gotten any offers, perhaps because she's not a quadster (yet)...Or maybe she's gotten several offers, and she and her parents are trying to figure out which ones to accept... :confused:

I just know that as a greedy fan, I would like to see her in ads and commercials and in magazine articles! :yes: :biggrin:

**

Aliona posted a rare Instagram story today in honor of Anna's birthday! :eek: :love:

So here are a few more photos of Anna & Aliona :luv17:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B-Qgl3rprtl/
https://www.instagram.com/p/BhZCcBsBvsJ/

The two of them dancing together at Euros gala practice and on the podium are among my favorite moments of the season! :love:
 
Well it looks like Aliona was at some kind of Ministry of Sport event today: :love:
https://vk.com/kostornaiateam?z=photo-156669444_457255602/wall-156669444_16548
https://vk.com/kostornaiateam?z=photo-156669444_457255603/wall-156669444_16548

I have no idea what this is for, though... :confused:

**

Here is a collection of Aliona's 3F+3T over the course of the season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs03IbmFjGQ

To my (untrained) eye, I feel like she can do the combo most smoothly when the two jumps are about the same size. In the IDF FS and the Euros SP, I feel like she doesn't have much flow coming out of the 3T because the 3F was too big...

**

And this is for SkateSkates - a fan video with Aliona skating to Aranjuez! :biggrin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0wsLpcBUaA
 
Batsuchan said:
Well it looks like Aliona was at some kind of Ministry of Sport event today: :love:
https://vk.com/kostornaiateam?z=photo-156669444_457255602/wall-156669444_16548
https://vk.com/kostornaiateam?z=photo-156669444_457255603/wall-156669444_16548

I have no idea what this is for, though... :confused:
Click to expand...

With gymnast Dar'ya Spiridonova. So probably some decoration or merit ceremony. Master of Sports International Class, or even Merited Master of Sports? But then, Alyona would most likely present her decoration?
 
So Yukari Nakano also did a video interview, in which she talks about many things, as well as the Russian ladies.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4st--MdrLJQ

The title of the video translates as "{How to beat the Russians?!} Is Kostornaia the best skater? Can Rika Kihira beat Trusova? Yukari Nakano thoroughly dissects the current figure skating world"

It's more time-consuming to translate dialogue, so for now I don't think I'll translate the whole thing, but I will translate what they said about Aliona. :biggrin:

The interviewer's name is Daiki Tanaka, which I'll abbreviate as "DT," and I'll use "YN" for Yukari.

First they compare and contrast Sasha and Anna's jumping styles, and then around 19:30, they turn to Aliona.

DT: So then the one that's slightly different from the other two is the one who is known for having a strong performance ability--Kostornaia.

YK: I think Kostornaia is kind of an astounding skater.

DT: Compared to the other two, she's the astounding one? She doesn't jump quads--

YK: She doesn't jump quads, but the skater who can win without quads is Kostornaia. And if in the future she polishes her skills even more, and develops a woman's body with increased glamor*--

DT: Right now she's 16--

YK: Yes, then I think no one would be able to beat her, which already makes her terrifying.

DT: I see, so you're saying that she's a skater who will go down in history.

YK: Hmm...well, her jump power reminds me of Midori Ito.

DT: What does that mean?

YK: Well, for jumps, usually if you don't have height, then you can't jump. But skaters that can't jump high can make up for it using distance and rotation speed. However, when Kostornaia jumps, she jumps up, then starts rotating [i.e., delayed rotation], and then cleanly lands, so she's a skater who combines height, distance and speed. And I think that's a talent that she was born with.

DT: It's an innate ability

YK: Yes, it's an innate ability.

DT: So she's a skater who can win without quads.

YK: Yes, she can win. She wins by earning high GOEs. Also, compared to the other two who do quads, she excels at the artistry side; I think her performance ability is high, so on that side as well [i.e., PCS], she receives very high scores. And this season, I think she's undefeated; well, once--maybe it was at the European Championships--she was beaten, but even so, I think she's a skater that is very hard to beat, so her existence is scary.
Click to expand...

* The real (less-PC) translation of this word is here:https://translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=ja&tl=en&text=色気

*****

Yukari Nakano trained at the same club as Midori Ito, so she has seen first-hand what Midori Ito's jumps were like. Thus, I consider it very high praise from her if she thinks Aliona's jumps are like Midori's. :agree:

In her column she made similar comments about Aliona being a natural-born jumper, but I thought it was interesting that she thinks Aliona could become unbeatable as she matures and improves. :eek: Personally, I would love to believe that, but I still think Aliona needs a quad to really have a good shot at winning all the time.

Based on what Yukari said, I'm not sure if I can call her a fan of Aliona--rather it seems like she's in awe of her (and if she were still a competitive skater, she would be afraid of Aliona). :laugh:
 
Batsuchan said:
Well it looks like Aliona was at some kind of Ministry of Sport event today: :love:
https://vk.com/kostornaiateam?z=photo-156669444_457255602/wall-156669444_16548
https://vk.com/kostornaiateam?z=photo-156669444_457255603/wall-156669444_16548

I have no idea what this is for, though... :confused:

**

Here is a collection of Aliona's 3F+3T over the course of the season:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs03IbmFjGQ

To my (untrained) eye, I feel like she can do the combo most smoothly when the two jumps are about the same size. In the IDF FS and the Euros SP, I feel like she doesn't have much flow coming out of the 3T because the 3F was too big...

**

And this is for SkateSkates - a fan video with Aliona skating to Aranjuez! :biggrin:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0wsLpcBUaA
Click to expand...

Thanks for the video! I really hope she skates to Aranjuez, preferably as a LP. It would suit her SO well. Please Daniil and Eteri if you are reading this!! 🤣
 
SkateSkates said:
Thanks for the video! I really hope she skates to Aranjuez, preferably as a LP. It would suit her SO well. Please Daniil and Eteri if you are reading this!! 🤣
Click to expand...

So in the Japanese TV interview that was aired before Worlds was canceled, Aliona said (according to the Japanese subtitles): "On the ice, I like to act out emotional stories. Rather than expressing a battle/conflict or happiness, I think I might be better at portraying tragedies."

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9mTu0BJj-k/
One of our Russian speakers might be able to provide a more direct translation.

For me, personally, while I think Aranjuez is lovely and melancholy, it's a little too slow for my tastes. I want Aliona to skate to something with more intensity and also a faster rhythm and more flow.

If I were to pick a Latin-sounding song for Aliona to skate to, it probably would be something more like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HDYZAD-kUI

It has the intensity I'd want for her (and Aliona did say she likes skating to "aggressive" music), and the underlying beat is quite fast, which I think would lend itself to Aliona flying across the ice quickly...

Separately, I'm trying to think of what tragic pieces Aliona might skate to... :think:

For a while, I've been thinking it might be really amazing if she skated to Barber's Adagio for Strings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3MHeNt6Yjs

The part where it builds over 4:30-6:00 is so powerful, :drama: and I could just see that really resonating on a big stage like the Olympics. But it is very slow and a bit repetitive, which would make it very tricky to pull off effectively.
 
Batsuchan said:
So in the Japanese TV interview that was aired before Worlds was canceled, Aliona said (according to the Japanese subtitles): "On the ice, I like to act out emotional stories. Rather than expressing a battle/conflict or happiness, I think I might be better at portraying tragedies."

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9mTu0BJj-k/
One of our Russian speakers might be able to provide a more direct translation.

For me, personally, while I think Aranjuez is lovely and melancholy, it's a little too slow for my tastes. I want Aliona to skate to something with more intensity and also a faster rhythm and more flow.

If I were to pick a Latin-sounding song for Aliona to skate to, it probably would be something more like this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-HDYZAD-kUI

It has the intensity I'd want for her (and Aliona did say she likes skating to "aggressive" music), and the underlying beat is quite fast, which I think would lend itself to Aliona flying across the ice quickly...

Separately, I'm trying to think of what tragic pieces Aliona might skate to... :think:

For a while, I've been thinking it might be really amazing if she skated to Barber's Adagio for Strings:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3MHeNt6Yjs

The part where it builds over 4:30-6:00 is so powerful, :drama: and I could just see that really resonating on a big stage like the Olympics. But it is very slow and a bit repetitive, which would make it very tricky to pull off effectively.
Click to expand...

I like the Latin piece you chose; French skater Mae Berenice Meite skated to it couple of seasons ago and did a beautiful job though I think it would suit Aliona SO well
 
Batsuchan said:
This is old, but it's always lovely to see a beaming Aliona :love: :love:
https://twitter.com/cosmichaii/status/1209104006196404225
Click to expand...

That is what will happen when you will meet her
(because you're a great fan and you will sooner or later :agree:)
She will look at you smiling with those magic eyes and, even before giving her your present or taking your pic, you will be enchanted :luv17:
and you will remain under her sweet spell for the rest of your life.



P.S. I know you're tempted to say that you're bewitched already, but this will be a spell of a greater magnitude
 
AS for the sponsor there are really so many things we do not know, so it is impossible to have a clear idea.

She shines like a supernova so it would probably be my first pick for a sponsorship, but I'm not the most objective observer here.
We will see.
I think both her, her parents and the club will have a voice on the decision.

What I really don't like is EDEA publishing her photos with logo while she does not appear on the "our skaters" list on their website.
This looks really bad.
All the photos are from international competitions so maybe it is enough to pay the photographer to earn the legal right to put a logo on the pic and post it, but if she's not payed for her image it sounds like and exploit.
I hope she is, even if she does not have a full agreement to be officially declared part of the Edea family.
 
I‘m starting to dislike Edea more and more. :noshake:

https://www.instagram.com/tv/B-Y3ebLJ6ak/?igshid=gt90us5vfnel

Btw, here are all of Aliona‘s 3A attempts. She had a 82% success rate - in this case meaning that she got positive GOE for it. 14 of 17 attempts. Debuting this 3A for the first time this season, I think this is an excellent result! She didn‘t fall once, only had a step-out at NHK and two URs.

How consistently do you want to land your 3A?

Aliona: Yes.

:biggrin:
 
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