Alena Kostornaia

[Batsuchan]

ooohhhhh i think a fragrance brand would be absolutely lovely for her! think of all the dreamy ads

OOOH, I like this idea too!!

More clips of Aliona’s training (and Anna/Sasha too!) from 1tv

https://youtu.be/ivoEKV4jGro

We even get to see her studying a bit and practicing to be a future doctor

I see she has a treadmill at home, which is good and means she doesn’t have to go outside to run (are they even allowed to go outside to run in Moscow? I’m not sure)

Yay, more Aliona clips! :hap57:

I'm also glad to see she was a treadmill at home. :yes:

Her suturing skills look pretty good! :agree:

What did she say this time?

I have to say, Aliona's pets must feel neglected. Anna and Sasha often feature their pets in their social media posts, but Aliona never shows hers!

Made a mosaic of Aliona using a couple thousand photos (zoom in to see them all). Hope you like it!

OMG, amazing!! :agree:

 

[McBibus]

Made a mosaic of Aliona using a couple thousand photos (zoom in to see them all). Hope you like it!

Amazing work!

 

[Azikin]

Made a mosaic of Aliona using a couple thousand photos (zoom in to see them all). Hope you like it!

:eeking:

 

[Batsuchan]

Well, this is very old news, but this is the first time I'm seeing it on the official website, so I decided to share...

World record SP score:
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.co...re-in-figure-skating-short-programme-(women)/

And world record total score:
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.co...-score-in-figure-skating-total-score-(women)/

:agree:

If you had told me after the September test skates that Aliona would be the total score WR holder, I never would have believed it, but she did it! :yes2:

 

[Azikin]

Well, this is very old news, but this is the first time I'm seeing it on the official website, so I decided to share...

World record SP score:
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.co...re-in-figure-skating-short-programme-(women)/

And world record FS score:
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.co...-score-in-figure-skating-total-score-(women)/

:agree:

If you had told me after the September test skates that Aliona would be the total score WR holder, I never would have believed it, but she did it! :yes2:

I would like to add that anyone saying "she needs to learn quads to stay competitive" should take a look at those pages first.

 

[flanker]

Well, this is very old news, but this is the first time I'm seeing it on the official website, so I decided to share...

World record SP score:
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.co...re-in-figure-skating-short-programme-(women)/

And world record FS score:
https://www.guinnessworldrecords.co...-score-in-figure-skating-total-score-(women)/

:agree:

If you had told me after the September test skates that Aliona would be the total score WR holder, I never would have believed it, but she did it! :yes2:

Just a little correction. It's not FS score record, it's total score record. It's Sasha who holds the FS record.

 

[Batsuchan]

Just a little correction. It's not FS score record, it's total score record. It's Sasha who holds the FS record.

Oops, of course! Let me fix that...

 

[Falun]

More clips of Aliona’s training (and Anna/Sasha too!) from 1tv

https://youtu.be/ivoEKV4jGro

We even get to see her studying a bit and practicing to be a future doctor

I see she has a treadmill at home, which is good and means she doesn’t have to go outside to run (are they even allowed to go outside to run in Moscow? I’m not sure)

Thanks for the link! Does anyone know the name of the background music, by any chance? It's also featured in some ISU videos, but I can't find a name for it (or the track itself on YouTube).

 

[Edwin]

Snippers from a new interview with Alyona?

https://tass.ru/sport/8241999
https://tass.ru/sport/8240501

waiting for the whole piece for a complete interpretation.

 

[patee]

Wow! Congrats to Kostornaiateam for helping Aliona! It's amazing!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-9-pMbovON/

Guys, is it a tattoo on Aliona's right lower arm???

 

[SkateSkates]

Wow! Congrats to Kostornaiateam for helping Aliona! It's amazing!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-9-pMbovON/

Guys, is it a tattoo on Aliona's right lower arm???

In the comments she answered someone she drew it with a pen

She had another temporary one we saw last summer in one of her vacation pics too. Aliona being Aliona!

 

[Good Vibes Only]

Wow! Congrats to Kostornaiateam for helping Aliona! It's amazing!

https://www.instagram.com/p/B-9-pMbovON/

Guys, is it a tattoo on Aliona's right lower arm???

Aliona kind of looks similar to Yulia Lipnitskaya in these pictures

 

[Edwin]

Alyona Kostornaya: I'm not an angel, this story is not about me at all

Last autumn, Alyona Kostornaya became the undisputed leader of women's figure skating. The 16-year-old skater spent her debut season at senior level in one breath, winning all her international starts. For the World Championships, which were to be held in March in Canada, she was considered as one of the main contenders for the victory. Unfortunately, the coronavirus doesn't care neither for silent gliding, nor for cat's grace, nor for triple Axels.

The pandemic destroyed the calendars of many sports, and figure skating was no exception. Tournaments were canceled, schools and skating rinks were quarantined. And even in these conditions, skaters continue to practice, so their daily schedule is still busy. Taking advantage of a short rest, Kostornaya gave an interview to TASS, in which she talked about blood and vampires, 'canting' and the ideal. And even about neurosurgery.

BEST AMONG EQUALS

Alyona Kostornaya holds world records in the short program (85.45) and in total points (247.59). This season, she won the European Championship, the stages of the Grand Prix in France and Japan, she also won the series finale in Italy. At the Russian Championship in December, the athlete finished second. Kostornaya is also the winner of the of last season's final of the junior Grand Prix series, the year before last she became second, also among her achievements are a Silver from the 2018 Junior World Championships.

- Alyona, how are you coping long-term self-isolation? Muscles don't hurt?

" We didn’t have this before. I think, like everyone else, when I go out on the ice next, I’ll practically have to learn to skate again. Because such a break is unusual for us. But you will have to deal with it somehow. "

- How long have you been without ice?

" When they told us that sports schools and everything else are being closed, from that very day I haven't been skating. Since March 20th also. "

- How did you react to the news about the suspension of training?

" We were told that it was only for a week, so we didn't attach much importance to it. Then another week, then another. Then understanding came that it was all dragging on. "

- Did you miss the ice?

" Naturally. Ice is part of my life, and this time - there isn't any. You don’t understand at all what to do. "

- Training in your dreams?

" No (laughs). Not like that.

- How to survive such a shock as a skater, and even after the cancellation of the World Championships?

" Probably, this should be taken for granted. Perhaps it is even better that we were not taken to the World Championships, because there would be an even greater risk of getting ill. Well, we could have become infected, but we are children, we will endure, but Sasha Trusova, for example, has a grandmother. She will come home and immediately infect her. This is a security issue. Why should someone be at risk because skaters decide for themselves what they need? Nobody needs it, but they need it! It's like with those people who went to the barbecue ... "

- What happened to you when you realized that the World Championships would not take place?

" I didn't understand what happened. At one point, we go out onto the ice and I understand that we won’t skate our programs, we won’t do many other things. And after that I somehow got used to this thought. But at first I was not fully aware. The day we were supposed to fly out, Tuesday, if I'm not mistaken, was probably the saddest in our lives. We understand that we were about to get on a long flight that we have been waiting for, a new country, where everything is different. This is exactly the feeling about travel we love. And when we realised that nothing of this will happen, it was so difficult to put up with. We just wanted to go out and scream: 'Please let us go! This is so unfair!' "

- From whom did you hear about this?

" On Sunday, I saw on the news that a decision will be made. I came home, said to my mother: "Probably we aren't going." And she told me right there: "Have you lost your mind? Even if everyone dies out, you will go." The next morning, the entire Internet was full of news that the World Championships have been canceled. "

- Have you talked with your coaches about this situation?

- I immediately wrote to Daniil Markovich: "Are we not going?" He said no. And somehow it was no longer discussed. They joked more that in my case some kind of garbage is going to happen exactly with the World Championships (laughs). I started off one junior “world”, I withdrew from the second, but this time nobody could. "

- In what readiness were you before the Championships?

" I cannot say I was in super-wow form. So, in average working condition. As for injuries, they happen to all athletes, this is inevitable. Cancelling everything every time in order to heal is useless, because when you start jumping - they happen all over again. Therefore, if something hurts, then it is better to be treated while training without missing anything.

When someone says that something hurts, Eteri Georgiyevna gathers us all and aks: 'Those who are without pain, raise your hands' "

- Have you changed anything for this start? You planned to do the same number of triple Axels - three over two programs?

" Everything remained unchanged. We wanted to "finish off" all the programs. "

- At the European Championships you said that you've grown up. That is, right in the course of the season, you had to cope with the fact that other athletes were knocked out for the whole season, and someone was forced to leave the sport as a whole. And how did this fight go? Adapting to changes? "

" Of course, while we are sitting, everyone will grow, change. Even if we keep ourselves on the strictest diets, shackle ourselves in chains so as not to grow. We are still children, and of course, when we train, there is a certain load on the spine and everything else, that does not allow us to grow. And now, when this isn't present, it is like a long summer vacation. We'll have to deal with it. "

- How do you keep fit now? After all, you don’t have much room for exercise in you apartment.

" I have two workouts a day. I start the first with running, I have a treadmill at home. Then I go to the makeshift training room, which we have cleared out. There I jump using the steps, do some rope skipping, jump Axels - it turns out in two and a half turns, more are impossible. All sorts of spins, Flips, Lutzes, Rittbergers - everything that does not take up too much space. And strength exercises for certain.

I start the second training with my ballet barre. Further, individual exercises for my feet, since we have a two or three year tradition already of using pointee shoes. So now I am also doing exercises on toepoint. Then - a little cardio training, plus I 'work out' and stretch myself. "

- Some amazing independence for such a young age.

" This is normal. My brother is a soccer player, he is also training, but he is still 12. And mother is engaged, she maintains her shape. That's how we train. "

- Is self-isolation psychologically difficult?

" Yes. It is very difficult, I’m not used to staying at home so much. Last year, I spent a month at home when I was treating an injury (before the Junior World Championships Kostornaya injured her leg), and then: 'Thank God, Ice! I'm back!' "

- Do you study at the same time?

" Now there is time for this. The school has provided a site, we are engaged online. There is one more site where tests are set. All students in our school have paid for this program, and we are carrying out the tasks. Therefore, while we are sitting at home, there is a very good chance to pull up those subjects that weren't very good before, as well as close those that I don’t really need. "

- You learn easily? Or due to sports, it's not sinking in?

" Honestly, I am a little behind in all subjects this semester. I haven't collected a single grade, and now I actively earn them. I attend all the lessons, study with tutors, try to complete all my homework and turn it in on time. And you have to go through some material yourself, because sometimes when you sit in class, they explain it as if nobody is capable of understanding. All children are different - someone learns quickly, someone doesn’t. And sometimes, when the teacher tries to explain it to everybody, it’s a mess. "

- Neurosurgery. In one of the videos, there is a book on your desk ...

" This is the book of the famous neurosurgeon Henry Marsh. He is an incredible person. I am reading it now, remembering the main points. In this book I really like that each chapter is dedicated to individual diseases. And they are described in detail, for example, I cut this part, took out a certain snip, clamped it, pinched it. Everything is so realistic and written in an understandable language that it immediately dragged me in. I also have the second part. "

- So everything is already serious?

" Yes, I’ll take exams next year. And I'm not going to retreat. This path has opened up for me, and all of a sudden, I am very grateful that I have been given such a chance. "

- And how did this passion come about in your life?

" I was about nine or ten years old. Mom watched the series 'Anatomy of Passion.' By the way, right now I'm watching it myself. And there were scenes when the neurosurgeon was in the frame. They showed everything from above - here they opened the skull, here is a skull fragment, he removed it, took the pincers, began to clip the aneurysm. Then - oh, the vessel burst. And everything starts squeaking and squealing, everyone rushes about. I remember it so much, I liked it so much I yapped like a puppy. "

- You aren't afraid of blood?

" No, I can stand it absolutely calmly. "

- Your fans launched a challenge in their VKontakte group - to offer music for your programs, and you, perhaps, will use it in the production.

" Naturally, the coaches and I will choose the programs, see if it suits me or how I will look on ice. Maybe even some idea, some needed piece for the layout. People suggest what, in their opinion, will be suitable, but the athlete and the coach still have the final word. In my case, if I like something, then I go: 'Eteri Georgiyevna, Daniil Markovich, can I, please!' (Laughs.) And I don't think that they will refuse. Because it’s good when you are skating the program you enjoy. "

- Over the past couple of years, you are one of the few skaters in Khrustalniy who has skated a program in your favourite image. More precisely, this season's free program. They even said that you yourself insisted on appearing in the guise of Bella Swan, the heroine of the movie 'Twilight'. How do trainers relate to this?

" This image is mine. That is, when they staged 'Angels' (Kostornaya's short program in the seasons 2018/19 and 2019/20 ), I knew what I needed to show, I understood how it was. And when I skated Bella - it was already specifically my "I", and here it is difficult to change something. Therefore, the idea was not only mine, this thought came to Eteri Georgiyevna, it was inspired by the way I sometimes behave, my certain actions and acts.

Ideas never arrive out of thin air. When a coach watches an athlete for a long time, he tries to stage to her internal thematics. And so programs always look like alive. And yes, I really dislike being called an angel. Because I'm not really an angel, this is not my story! (Laughs)

- If you look more globally, what would you like to do? Maybe not now, but in the future. Every skater has a program of their dreams. What is it for you?

" There is no such program now. Previously, it was 'Vampire' that time. "

- What about next season's programs? Already have any ideas?

" Now I don’t even know. It will be a complete surprise for me when they turn on the music and say: 'This is yours.' But I already threw some ideas to Daniil Markovich. I don’t know if they will like them or not. "

- Many experts call you ideal for the current judicial system. Amazing skating skills, high technical complexity. Do these conversations somehow help you or, on the contrary, interfere?

" It bothers me when I'm called ideal. Nobody is perfect, and me even less so. Probably, there weren't as many complaints about anyone but me. And they have taken not just something, I really understand that somewhere I’m 'canting' too much.

You won't get bored with me (laughs). Therefore, this 'ideality' is really just an figment. "

- Right now, nothing is clear about next season. There is no calendar, no clarity on the World Championships. It bothers everyone. What happens to athletes?

" We’ll rest, go out, start over. We always rest for a little more than three weeks. If you rest for two weeks, you recover faster. If three - slower. And that lasts longer is the same as three. You just forget something and now you are looking for it again. At one point, we had a joke like 'I'm looking for myself.' So we will manage. "

- Does the word “anew” not scare you?

" Each time, going out onto the ice, we start all over again. So nothing break through. We are not alone, now the whole world is in the same situation. "

(c) Вероника Советова and Владислав Жуков
----
From: https://tass.ru/interviews/8236385

 

[patee]

In the comments she answered someone she drew it with a pen ��

She had another temporary one we saw last summer in one of her vacation pics too. Aliona being Aliona!

Ohhh yes, I've checked her answer! Of course she drew it! Aliona being Aliona again! What does it say?

 

[McBibus]

Well, we could have become infected, but we are children, we will endure, but Sasha Trusova, for example, has a grandmother. She will come home and immediately infect her. This is a security issue. Why should someone be at risk because skaters decide for themselves what they need?

That is amazing for a 16 years old.
She does not stop at " what if we get infected" that is a risk that many athletes with medal chanches would take for a WC, but she moves to "what will happen to other people if we come back infected" changing perspective from a personal risk that would be her choice, to a global risk that is not her choice to make because it involves the community.

She could be a good medical doctor, as for neurosurgery (or surgery in general) it requires the hand of a skilled artisan.
It's a very "handy" profession.
I know a surgeon who's one of the best heart surgeons for kids, and it says that if it was not a surgeon it would have been a lute maker (crafiting violins) or anyway something that requires great hands skills

 

[macy]

thank you for posting that interview, Edwin. i'm happy she and others seem to have a positive and understanding mindset about what is happening and they can only do the best they can right now. Aliona is right, the whole world is in the same position and will start over at the same time. nobody will be ahead or behind another.

i'm excited to see what Team Tutberidze decides on for programs next year. i hope Aliona gets some choices she loves and fits her nicely.

 

[Edwin]

I liked the part where Alyona describes her 9 year old self having bouts of excited childish glee when the alarms went off during that surgery in the TV show, “yapping like a puppy” like only children can

Those childhood impressions can really define you and stay with you the rest of your life.

She seems serious about getting into medical university. She’ll need to seriously apply herself to pass the entrance exams. So it might have an effect on the development of her career in figure skating.

It’s probably going to depend wether there will be a competitive 2020/21 season at all, or wether it’s straight into 2022 Olympic qualifications, mid term next year.
No doubt, special arrangements can be made regarding entering medical school, provided Alyona did pass those entrance exams. She’ll still be only 18 then.

About the cancellation of Worlds, it probably helped she was part of the Trinity, and didn’t loose her chance alone. Shared sorrows is half the sorrows.

 

[macy]

I liked the part where Alyona describes her 8 year old self having bouts of excited childish glee when the alarms went off during that surgery in the TV show, “yapping like a puppy” like only children can

Those childhood impressions can really define you and stay with you the rest of your life.

She seems serious about getting into medical university. She’ll need to seriously apply herself to pass the entrance exams. So it might have an effect on the development of her career in figure skating.

It’s probably going to depend wether there will be a competitive 2020/21 season at all, or wether it’s straight into 2022 Olympic qualifications, mid term next year.
No doubt, special arrangements can be made regarding entering medical school, provided Alyona did pass those entrance exams. She’ll still be only 18 then.

About the cancellation of Worlds, it probably helped she was part of the Trinity, and didn’t loose her chance alone. Shared sorrows is half the sorrows.

i'm not sure how similar it is in Russia, but in the US she would need to go through a 4 year college first then go to medical school.

i'm hoping she waits until after her competitive career is over to seriously pursue it with school. i think going into the medical field would bring too much stress while competing and trying to make the olympics and she wouldn't be able to give 100% to either one.

 

[Decoder]

Alyona Kostornaya: I'm not an angel, this story is not about me at all

whole translation

Thanks, as always!

 

[ruga]

i'm not sure how similar it is in Russia, but in the US she would need to go through a 4 year college first then go to medical school.

i'm hoping she waits until after her competitive career is over to seriously pursue it with school. i think going into the medical field would bring too much stress while competing and trying to make the olympics and she wouldn't be able to give 100% to either one.

In most European universities students pick out field straight away (law, chemistry and so on). Medical studies are always longer though. Anyway, I doubt she will start studying right after ending school. Maybe she'll do so after Olympics, at the age of 20-21. The real challenge will be passing exams well together with intenese training, but I'm sure everything can be balanced out.