Alena Kostornaia | Page 231 | Golden Skate

Alena Kostornaia

Elana

On the Ice
Joined
Feb 19, 2018
this is what i think too. the song is heavy and emotional but also lyrical and delicate in places too. this is the music video-

https://youtu.be/V1Pl8CzNzCw

i think she will take some inspiration from this. dark and heavy but icy and cold.

She may also take some inspiration from "13 Reasons Why" (not sure how popular it would be in Russia though), this song was written for the show and I think I would describe it similarly to how you did the music video. I still gets chills every time I hear the song, just from the lyrics and memory of first hearing it a few years ago while watching the show.

I actually think it is a beautiful song with so much emotion built into and I think Alena will be able to feel it so well, this is a great choice for her IMO. I wouldn't focus on it being by Billie, the song should be judged for the way it sounds not by which artist it is from, all of her songs don't fit into just one box. Also one of the Korean juniors used this song last season and I thought it made a nice program for her, can't remember who it was now though, but might be worth a watch.
 

macy

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
some thoughts as i'm reading through...

she has filmed videos of makeup looks and hairstyles and thinks of starting a blog about being a figure skater. that would be so wonderful! i just hope she has time to do it with training. she would be great at it.

i'm not sure when this interview took place, but it sounds as if she has not started training her 3A yet and is still working on consistency with the rest of her jumps. i get the impression she is taking it slow as to not risk injury, which is good. she will get there in time. she has not trained a quad yet but still would like to. it sounds as if things are coming back together nicely after a shaky first few days.

as far as things being cancelled this season, she is going with the flow. she will keep training anyway and if things happen, they happen and she understands. wise Aliona!

she can't hide her emotions, which is why they come across so well on the ice. her eyes really do all the talking!

she knows social media is not important in life and does not prioritize having content, popularity or followers.

she is still planning on competing through the olympic season (but kinda hoping maaaaaaybe she might consider adding 1 more season if this one doesn't happen as normal ;))

every time this girl speaks i am in awe of how realistic, wise and grounded she is for a 16 year old. she does not have her head in the clouds and realizes there is more to life than skating. very wise and smart for her age. bravo Aliona :clap:
 

SkateSkates

Medalist
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Wonderful interview, especially the parts about her personality. You really can see her genuine emotions out on the ice, and we see her get upset even in training - that’s just Aliona!

I’m glad the triples seem to be going okay, and hope she can get the 3A back soon. She was off for 2 months, so it’s not surprising if it takes at least 2 months to get it back, especially the axel which depends so much on timing and technique.
 

Lunalovesskating

Moonbear power 🐻
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 3, 2018
some thoughts as i'm reading through...

she has filmed videos of makeup looks and hairstyles and thinks of starting a blog about being a figure skater. that would be so wonderful! i just hope she has time to do it with training. she would be great at it.

i'm not sure when this interview took place, but it sounds as if she has not started training her 3A yet and is still working on consistency with the rest of her jumps. i get the impression she is taking it slow as to not risk injury, which is good. she will get there in time. she has not trained a quad yet but still would like to. it sounds as if things are coming back together nicely after a shaky first few days.

as far as things being cancelled this season, she is going with the flow. she will keep training anyway and if things happen, they happen and she understands. wise Aliona!

she can't hide her emotions, which is why they come across so well on the ice. her eyes really do all the talking!

she knows social media is not important in life and does not prioritize having content, popularity or followers.

she is still planning on competing through the olympic season (but kinda hoping maaaaaaybe she might consider adding 1 more season if this one doesn't happen as normal ;))

every time this girl speaks i am in awe of how realistic, wise and grounded she is for a 16 year old. she does not have her head in the clouds and realizes there is more to life than skating. very wise and smart for her age. bravo Aliona :clap:
The interview is recent they talk about her new choreo in it. So not older than a week
 

Batsuchan

Medalist
Joined
Mar 8, 2014
Wow, we've really been spoiled with a ton of Aliona content over the past week! :hap57:

I'm even more impressed by that clip of Aliona's new FS step sequence now that I know she had only just learned the program when they posted the video.
With more practice, I'm sure she'll be able to make it completely her own. :agree:

Speaking of "Lovely" -- looks like whoever made this fan video totally predicted the future! :eek:
https://youtu.be/jwpjTW8aPI8

As for the ISU Skating Awards -- congrats to Aliona for winning "Best newcomer"! :cheer2:
To be honest, ever since I found out (months ago) that the winner would be selected by a panel of judges (not a popular vote), I had thought Aliona had a very good chance of winning. In my mind, I had thought that the only reason she wouldn't win is if someone else had won Worlds. But since Worlds didn't happen, Aliona seemed like the logical choice--she does hold the world record for total score, and she won the GP Final and Euros.

So I wasn't at all surprised that Aliona won--I was more surprised that she was shocked. :laugh:
But I guess I can understand her thinking. Since her days in juniors, Sasha and Anna have always received more attention from the media because they have quads, and they both have major sponsors (Adidas and Nike), and she does not.
So I'm glad that she's pleased with the award. It certainly is a lovely piece of hardware to add to her collection! :agree:

And now this interview--how I love interviews with Aliona! :love:
There wasn't anything really new in this interview, but it always impresses me to see how level-headed Aliona is, and how she is planning for the future, and how she doesn't hesitate to point out her own flaws.
Though I would be very sad to see her leave the sport so soon, I also hope that she is able to achieve all her other dreams in life. :yes:
 

macy

Record Breaker
Joined
Nov 12, 2011
maybe she got the idea from that video ;)

someone should overlay the song on one of her twilight free skates. it would be harder to do it with the 3 music cuts, but then we might get a pretty accurate preview!
 

Decoder

On the Ice
Joined
Oct 5, 2019

Somehow these are the parts I enjoy reading the most:

I was a very active child, I constantly fell from the trees and from the swings. At the playground no one could stop me, I was constantly running. It was necessary to put that energy somewhere.

I'm not disciplined. Let's take Daria Pavliuchenko, she is my very close friend. Dasha is very disciplined in terms of... she is never late. If the warm-up starts at 15:15, she will be there at 15:13, even earlier. I will come at 15:15, running into the gym, making it in five seconds.
 

McBibus

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 7, 2019
Somehow these are the parts I enjoy reading the most:
I'm not disciplined. Let's take Daria Pavliuchenko, she is my very close friend. Dasha is very disciplined in terms of... she is never late. If the warm-up starts at 15:15, she will be there at 15:13, even earlier. I will come at 15:15, running into the gym, making it in five seconds.

I ilked that too, but in Aliona coming running at the last second is not laziness it's just that she found something to do (at max intensity) in those 2 minutes. She has lot of different interests and I really like it.
 

Batsuchan

Medalist
Joined
Mar 8, 2014
Somehow these are the parts I enjoy reading the most:

I was a very active child, I constantly fell from the trees and from the swings. At the playground no one could stop me, I was constantly running. It was necessary to put that energy somewhere.

This reminded me of an old interview with Aliona where she said something about no one being able to catch her when she ran around as a kid. I think she also said somewhere that her dad was a track and field athlete and that her mom is very athletic, so to me, this seemed to indicate that Aliona has some inborn athletic talent. I'm guessing that this partly explains why her skating skills and jumps are so good--she naturally is very coordinated/athletic. :yes:

I ilked that too, but in Aliona coming running at the last second is not laziness it's just that she found something to do (at max intensity) in those 2 minutes. She has lot of different interests and I really like it.

Hmmm, well, it's true that she has a lot of different interests, but my guess is that she's probably (almost) late all the time because she got distracted watching something on her phone. Like Vampire Diaries. ;) :rofl:

***

On an unrelated note, here's an old interview with Anna Pogorilaya where she mentioned that Aliona was one of her favorites during the past season:
https://www.sports.ru/figure-skating/1085689959.html

GoogleTranslate:
- And which of the girls this season did you like the most? Who is your favorite?

- Probably, Alena Kostornaya . Since she is, in principle, a favorite. She likes both outwardly, first of all, and skating.

She is also very nice to watch. She is very sympathetic as a girl - both in appearance and in skating, and her elements are very beautiful, high and span jumps, for which they will put +5, - Pogorilaya said on Sports.ru Instagram live .

:agree:
 

Batsuchan

Medalist
Joined
Mar 8, 2014
On the topic of people praising Aliona...

So this Japanese magazine about figure skating came out back in April (before any of the recent coaching changes):
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4160082467/

And this website has some quotes from the articles that I thought I would translate--but I haven't had time to do it until now:
https://junjunjun2112.com/?p=8396

First, from Coach Hamada about Rika (with a mention of Aliona):
"Before inserting a quad into her program, what Rika needs to do is go back to basics. During the summer [of 2019], we only practiced quads and difficult elements, so there wasn't enough time to go over the basics. But a quad only can be a weapon if you have beautiful skating as a base. When I see Kostornaia, the way to win in figure skating is clear."

Apparently Coach Hamada was more concerned about Aliona being a threat (rather than Sasha or Anna) and was thinking about how to beat her.
(Yukari Nakano had the same view in the video I translated a few months ago--she thought Aliona would be very difficult to beat.)

Shizuka Arakawa also had really nice things to say about Aliona:
"What remains in my mind the most is not the other two [i.e. Sasha and Anna], but the one who is a year older--Aliona Kostornaia. She is such a well-rounded skater that when I'm asked, 'What are her strengths?', I can say 'Everything.'

From her junior days, she completed each and every element beautifully, and she has polished everything starting with the basics. Not only is the level of her skating high, but she also has a wide range of expression, so I was looking forward to seeing what kind of performances she would show us in this, her senior debut season.

She flourished as I expected, but what I felt anew was the extension in each step and the smoothness. In other words, when she skates, she doesn't have to do a lot of crossovers to pick up speed; before you realize it she has already accelerated.

In addition, the quality of her transitions caught my eye. In this era, there has been a tendency to neglect the performance right before a jump. Skaters are so focused on the jump--to the point that it seems like they're putting 150% of their emotions into the jump--and even if they do some kind of movement before the jump, their hearts aren't in it. It just becomes part of the preparation for the jump.

From the point of view of the spectators, you get the nervous feeling of 'they're going to jump! they're going to jump!', but that is different from performing. However, Kostornaia maintains her expression all the way through those transition moments."

Yes, it definitely seems the Japanese coaches and commentators were very impressed with Aliona over the past season! :biggrin: :love:
 

McBibus

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 7, 2019
T
Hmmm, well, it's true that she has a lot of different interests, but my guess is that she's probably (almost) late all the time because she got distracted watching something on her phone. Like Vampire Diaries. ;) :rofl:

Well... that's an interest too :biggrin:
 

Fluture

Record Breaker
Joined
Apr 26, 2018

I love how much thought she gave to each of her answers! And it‘s so wonderful to have so many news recently, even though I‘m still dying to know what her SP will be. Hopefully something lyrical.

Also, that interview with the Olympicchannel was amazing. Showed again how mature, grounded, intelligent and articulate she is. She has a very realistic outlook on life and skating and I‘m sure she‘ll be a great neurosurgeon! It still makes me a bit sad, though, to hear that she doesn’t think you can win when you‘re older because there are unstoppable 15 year olds with quads. It is, again, realistic in the current competitive environment but I do wish it wasn‘t like that. I understand and respect Aliona‘s wish to dedicate her life to something other than skating after Beijing but I keep imagining the kind of maturity, vulnerability and expression she could show after more seasons of artistic growth...
 

SkateSkates

Medalist
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Well, I tried to translate the podcast. I apologize in advance: my English isn’t that good and I didn't have much time, so this is more a draft than a finished work.
I apologize for the text lenght too. I tried to summarize, but they talked A LOT about Aliona, more than half an hour :laugh:

(about the technical panel)
[Ambesi - 33:34] In the ladies competition they were very strict. To be honest, the level of tolerance was similar for all, except for one. Mariah Bell was treated with kid gloves on all the pointed jumps, unlike the others.
Kostornaia's triple axel in the short was good, maybe there could be doubts about the first in the free.
...
[Ambesi] I didn't understand anything about the judgment in Grenoble. My parameters are completely different.
When I see that Aliona Kostornaia, for some judges, has weaker skating skills and transitions than Mariah Bell, then something’s wrong.
For some judges Aliona was behind Mariah in that components, for others on par. We are facing an aberration. It’s a denial of reality. It’s like claiming that the earth is flat.
There’s a limit to everything. Kostornaia is weaker in two components that have an objectivity, more than the others ... no, it’s not possible!
When I see, this is insane, the SP of Kostornaia, recycled from the past season, very nice, very refined, which proportionately is valued less than the free, which instead is still to be finished, it means that I see something quite different than the judges.
Moreover, if you give to Kostornaia’s SP the same score you gave to Trusova in Skate Canada, then we have a serious problem.
I concede that Trusova’s SP is skated mostly on one foot and that there’s something good ... but we are on another planet. There cannot be only tenths of a point of difference. It's inexplicable.
...
[Paone - 72:48] As for the ladies competition, the main theme is Aliona Kostornaia, who won clearly in Grenoble.
Have you been surprised that Kostornaia, a newcomer (at senior level), has beaten Zagitova so clearly?
[Ambesi] In short: zero.
First of all there was a precedent in the Russian championships. Kostornaia thrown away the last Russian national championship, falling in the step sequence of the SP, otherwise she would be the current Russian national champion.
It’s simple. Compare the base value of Kostornaia’s programs and the base value of Zagitova’s. If Kostornaia doesn't have a meltdown, she is unattainable for Zagitova.
The real question is: with the same programs, if they performed the same elements, who would be better between the two? My answer is: Kostornaia is better.
Not everyone agrees, someone think that Zagitova has greater artistic maturity. I respect every opinion but we must talk about facts, not fairy tales.
The real facts are that Kostornaia's programs, if skated clean, have a huge base value margin above Zagitova's. Adding the base value and the available GOEs, if they both skate clean, Zagitova is behind by 15 points to Kostornaia on the technical side. Compared to Trusova she is behind by 36 points.
[Dolfini] It hurts. It’s painful.
[Ambesi] If Kostornaia skate clean, with three triple axels, when can she lose to Zagitova?
[Dolfini] Never.
[Ambesi] End of speech.
[Dolfini] I’m not surprised. I’m admired.
It was not to be taken for granted, to win at the debut in the senior category. She showed a great character. She had some difficulties with the triple Axel in practise.
In my opinion she needed the triple Axel to beat Zagitova, in her first international competition as senior. Zagitova is the current Olympic and world champion.
If she were weak in that element, her competition would have been complicated, even if I agree that Aliona has excellent quality in the components, despite her young age. But if she lands the Axel, there’s no history.
She wasn’t event treated well by the judges and by the technical panel, because the triple Axel in the short had not left me in doubt ...
Maybe, watching it in slow motion, they have had a better point of view but a different call wouldn't have surprised me at all.
[Ambesi - 76:41] There are unwritten rules in this sport, that everyone follows.
It appears to the audience that the components scores of Kostornaia’s programs were very low. However, if we analyze the newcomer's scores, especially in the FS, none in the past has ever approached those of Kostornaia.
She got over 71 in the components of the FS, with a program that is objectively much weaker than the short.
Honestly, I would have no problem giving 38 to Kostornaia in the SP. I would have no doubts.
On the current FS I have some more doubts. Clearly her SS should be above 9, and her TR should be around 9. On the other components we can discuss but 9 points average is fair, which means at least 72 points in the FS.
I feel that, refining the FS, she can get more points. Even in the SP she can get at least 36 points in the components.
It seems to me that Kostner still has the record in the SP, like 39 points. I think that the best Kostornaia is not at all inferior (to Kostner). We will see where Aliona, who is still young, will arrive.
Surely, the components score in the SP cry for vengeance. As I finished watching her short program, I expected the world record. I expected 85 points.
[Dolfini] Instead, we didn't even get close.
[Ambesi - 78:39] She got nine points less. I think that everyone was appalled.
I know that some Kihira’s fan consider her SS superior to Kostornaia’s. Let's talk about it ... (meaning he doesn't agree)
[Dolfini] I think that in some aspects Kihira is superior to Kostornaia, but not in the SS.
I am a big fan of Kihira, who I followed for a long time, since she was in the Junior categories, when she had inconstant results. I like her SS but Kostornaia is an exceptional athlete.
All the 3A are exceptional athletes but I regret not seeing the fair difference between Kostornaia’s components and those of Trusova. I would like to see a wider gap.
There must be a difference, just as there is an abysmal difference on the technical side between Trusova and all the others.
If she (Trusova) lands her jumps, she is unapproachable, maybe even for the best Kostornaia, because she simply can’t get the necessary points.
[Ambesi - 80:18] If you add the base value and the maximum GOEs available, Kostornaia starts from 21.17 under Trusova.
[Dolfini] For me it’s amazing that we have three athletes so different that they can satisfy all preferences.
Kostornaia is technically complete. She has a beautiful triple Axel, excellent interpretative qualities, at the highest level.
Trusova is the pure jumper.
Shcherbakova is somehow in the middle. She has something less than Trusova in the jumps and something less than Kostornaia from the artistic point of view.
If these three don’t have a meltdown, it’s very difficult for everyone to get close.
Kihira is extraordinary. There are other athletes of great quality, but right now the three Russian girls are objectively above all.
[Ambesi - 81:44] There is always room for improvement. I think that Aliona’s SP is already the excellence.
Compared to last year, the change from a double Axel to a triple Axel needs a different preparation.
Something, in the preparation for the jump, was lost, because that double Axel is the textbook example of an unanimous +5 GOE.
With the change to the triple Axel you gain points but some quality is lost.
However, I think that at the end of the season the short program with the highest score in the components should be Kostornaia’s.
In the FS the game is more open, but the others don’t have the overall quality of this skater.
Not surprisingly, Kostornaia, who is one year younger than Kihira, always had higher scores at junior level.
...
[Paone - 83:17] Excluding Gleichengauz, which choreographer would you like to make a program for Aliona?
[Ambesi] I can tell who I wouldn't trust: Lori Nichol.
I'd like to see her work with Jeffrey Buttle, even with different rhythms. With Shae-Lynn Bourne too.
[Dolfini] I was thinking about Shae-Lynn Bourne too.
[Ambesi] Even David Wilson.
But it doesn’t matter, because as long as she remains there (in Eteri’s group), she will work with Daniil.
Daniil is doing a good job.
In my opinion, however, if we look at the FS of the four leading athletes of Tutberidze, the one further back is that of Kostornaia. It will certainly improve a lot in the coming times.
-------
Massimiliano Ambesi is a professional sportcaster on Eurosport Italy.
Angelo Dolfini is a former competitive figure skater, a figure skating coach and a technical commentator of figure skating on Eurosport Italy.
------

There’s been some negativity around Aliona in the Russian Ladies thread recently, so I thought I’d bring back up this awesome review from Max Ambesi’s podcast after IDF (thanks to madmax again for translating!)

As the leader of the season she is now facing some harsher criticisms from before that I do not necessarily agree with, but everyone has their own opinion. Just spreading this positivity of these 2 great Italian sports commentators who appreciate how special Aliona is across all aspects of her skating - her SS, jumps, performance, musicality, etc.
 

nussnacker

one and only
Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 16, 2019
There’s been some negativity around Aliona in the Russian Ladies thread recently, so I thought I’d bring back up this awesome review from Max Ambesi’s podcast after IDF (thanks to madmax again for translating!)

As the leader of the season she is now facing some harsher criticisms from before that I do not necessarily agree with, but everyone has their own opinion. Just spreading this positivity of these 2 great Italian sports commentators who appreciate how special Aliona is across all aspects of her skating - her SS, jumps, performance, musicality, etc.

Love italian commentary, they’re so passionate!
Yeah, I know... I read those ridiculous insults, that were made just to be use the sharpest and most poisonous phrases.

Aliona’s Musical and artistic talent is obvious to pretty much everyone, despite those people trying to shout nonsense. All of it is there, because we all kinda know she’s head and heels above other skaters with comparable technical content, and those fans of those skaters can’t handle the reality: in everything else Aliona is beyond perfection.
 
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