Almost 90 points! Alena Kostornaia shows INCREDIBLE skating skills to take lead at Russian nationals (VIDEO)
Rising Russian star Alena Kostornaia has practically killed all of the intrigue surrounding the national figure skating championship, delivering a superb performance in the short program, scoring almost 90 points.
The 16-year-old masterfully coped with all the jumping elements, including a gorgeous triple axel in the beginning of her routine.
The winner of the Grand Prix final, who made her senior debut this season, received 89.86 points for her program, leaving her opponents, who failed to break through the 80-point barrier, in a state of shock.
Is Alena #Kostornaia's triple axel the best ever in the women's field?The answer is yours.In the short program of the Russian Championships she got 89.86 points out of the 93.90 available with an incredible TES of 51.55. pic.twitter.com/4jQg4wmR70
— Massimiliano Ambesi (@max_ambesi) December 27, 2019
Kostornaia confidently took the lead, outscoring the closest pursuer, Anna Shcherbakova, who was also flawless on Friday.
The first-year senior showed marvelous skating, perfectly landing all of her jumps, including a triple lutz-triple loop combination which was thrown in for the second part of her program.
The reigning national champion scored 79.93 points to move into second place.
< Russian Nationals 2020 >Today’s Official Practice sp run through 2A , 3F+3Lo / 3Lz+3LoEverything is clean 😚Video cr. @fsclips (IG)#AnnaShcherbakova#АннаЩербакова#アンナ・シェルバコワ#シェルバコワ#TeamShcherbakovapic.twitter.com/hVVHMFOiPt
— TeamShcherbakova｜Анна Щербакова (@Dear_AnyaS) December 27, 2019
Russian quad-jumping sensation Alexandra Trusova is in third place, trailing by more than three points to her training partner, Shcherbakova.
To avoid mistakes, she decided not to include unstable and risky elements in her routine, safely nailing a double axel and triple toe-loop combination.
That decision was apparently made after Trusova fell on a triple axel in the Grand Prix final, a mistake that cost her an overall victory.
Alexandra Trusovaアレクサンドラ・トゥルソワ pic.twitter.com/oqiekHx3Ym
— l.esprit.mao.asada (@lesprit_mao_26) December 27, 2019
The 2015 world and European champion, Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, demonstrated a solid triple axel in her short program, though slight errors on landing and spins prevented her from overcoming the less experienced skaters who occupy the top three places in the current standings.
Tuktamysheva scored the fourth best total in the women’s short program, finishing less than a point behind Trusova.
Two-time world champion Evgenia Medvedeva, who was forced to change skates hours before the competition, sits at fifth with 71.08.
Reigning world and Olympic gold medalist Alina Zagitova is not taking part in the competition, as she decided to put her competitive career on hold indefinitely.
The competition will continue on Saturday with the free programs.
