Alina is playing her own game of "Risk" (that's a board game for those unfamiliar with its USA name), while taking lots of actual risks with one of the harder program layouts of the season. I'd say factoring in her spins, choreo and step sequence, it is the harder layout, no one does that level of difficulty combining jumps and the rest. There are harder to execute jump layouts this season but there is no combo of harder jumps + harder non jumps elements.
3As are worth a lot to a skater because they basically take up the place of the 2A that everyone else has to do after they max out their allowed triples between combos, sequences and singles. In the Figure Skating podium fight, you fight with what you have, and kudos to those that can do a 3A, to me, what Alina does with the whole of her program is amazing. ISU took out the 2nd half bonus, devalued the BV of both the 3Lo (0.20 less) and the 3Lz ( 0.10 less) and still, Alina is right up there (to be fair they also devalued the 3A, but hey).
On her longer instagram live of April 2017, when she ended her Junior Season (first and only season) and got upgraded to Senior for the next one, she was asked and answered the question of how many countries she had visited up until then (presumably as a figure skater, so she answered to that specific type of visit), her answers were France and Taipei. She had also been to Turkey and Slovenia by that point. So 4 countries.
Now here we are, 1 year and 7 months later and in that space of time she's been to: Italy (multiple times), Japan (multiple times), Germany, China, Korea (multiple times), Finland and France (again). And she's just about to go to North America for the first time, maybe she'll go to the US a bit early to train for Canada, who knows, fact is, she is going to Canada. That's 8 countries.
This season Alina's hard earned consistency has been her best friend, and PCS booster, she is keeping it together and delivering. She has the highest total score programs of the season and that distinction was earned, fought for, with tooth and nails. Like Masaru taking Owlina.
She has the perfect mindset to deliver her best performances and it will all come together in both SP and FS, this is not an easy task, but Alina is not a girl for easy tasks, she is a fighter, she is all about smashing glass ceilings. Her growth as a skater this season is mind blowing, she is handling the pressure and thriving as she improves her abilities.
Her combo is the hardest one for UR calls (the 3Lz+3Lo), that's the major problem one can have when executing this combo, I can see by her diligence in working it that she is trying to get the rotations back to a stable form, and she will succeed. Calls this season have been harsher all around, but she is on it, she'll get it. Girl who didn't have a cantilever 2 years ago and is now performing it in her EX can get anything under her belt.
One more cool factor for my already extra long post: For the first time in 26 years we had two Olympic Single Gold Medalists competing together in the same season, not only that but they also competed together in the same GP events, both won Gold at all their GPs and both are the 1st place seeded skaters in their categories for the GP Final. Talk about historical right there. Our girl is not reading history, she is writing it.
. Please correct me if I am wrong.
but everyone was calling the new system the Zagitova Rule when it came out. Then, Alina in her first competition set three new WRs under it :2thumbs: so I was feeling like :rofl2:. 6.0 to IJS was a difficult shift for a great number of coaches and skaters, so for Alina and her team to hit it out of the ballpark immediately was immensely satisfying.
