Why does this make her chances go up? Because Mako would've had Silver+Silver but Sofia will have Bronze+Silver? Doesn't that put Zhenya in the same position- if she gets Bronze+Silver, then she needs the highest score of those who got Bronze+Silver (Sofia, Kaori)
yes, but it's still in Zhenya's hands if she gets a high score at IDF AND can still afford to get a silver, while Mako getting two silvers would have forced her to win to beat her.
(If you didn't know, "nationalism" is strongly associated with racism, xenophobia, fascism, etc.)