Alena Kostornaia’s switch to Pairs Figure skating is going so well that it appears the Olympics may be a realistic goal. Kostornaia’s progress in just three months, with a new skating partner, has been truly exceptional and this new partnership could debut competitively as soon as next season. She really appears to have adjusted to her new skating discipline like a fish to water!
Kostornaia recently confirmed that her surprise switch to pairs was health and injury related, she had discovered that Pairs training resulted in less pain and discomfort related to past injuries. So, it seems that there was logic behind this decision in order to ensure her career continues for as long as possible. We love to see a clever career move!
Kostornaia explained during a recent interview:
“When I was trying to recover the elements, I felt a very heavy load. My leg began to hurt a lot, which was not the case when I was practicing doubles.
I was practicing my singles and in the evening I would come to another rink and learn doubles. As strange as it may sound, my leg did not hurt on the last ones, but on the jumps, for example, it still hurts,” Alena said.
She was very cautious when she first tried Pairs, as she wasn’t at all sure that this was the correct move. But she surprised herself at how well it went! We feel it is, in large part, down to the fact that she has picked a great partner in Georgy Kunitsa. While they work hard, they also appear to be having a lot of lighthearted laughs and fun.
She added, “We started with learning supports and simple elements – almost immediately we had some success. Then we started to add complexity. I can say that I can now do around 75% of supports, triple throw, backspin, still double, etc. And the hardest thing for me was the synchronised steps – it’s not easy to work on the side-by-side elements”.
Soon after the news of the transition became public, Kostornaia and Kunitsa went on holidays to Cuba. Even there, the pair continued off-ice training and sent regular progress videos to coach Sergei Rosliakov. While on holiday, Alena wore an arm bandage, so they practiced only those elements that the arm injury allowed.
They are currently preparing to debut on the Pairs circuit this autumn, and aiming for the next Olympics, if all goes well.
We’re so excited to see their first outing on the competitive skating circuit next season, and we wish them lots & lots of luck!
Source: sports.ru, TASS.
