“Now our girls are stronger than men”: Trankov about breaking Kostornaya, refereeing and favorites of the Czech Republic in women's skating

“This is phenomenal for those who see Kostornaya’s performance for the first time.”

- The level that Alena Kostornaya demonstrates can be called phenomenal, or have similar performances by Russians already become familiar?

- This is phenomenal for those who see Kostornaya’s performance for the first time. But for those who follow her throughout the season, it is already familiar. I was very pleased to see her rental live, really wanted to see it that way, and not on TV. I enjoyed it a lot.

- And again we saw the sky-high axel ...

- Yes, it is gorgeous, and for me it is “+5”, although some judges still rated it “+4”.

- Did it surprise you?

- No, I would just not agree with this, but the judges are experienced people, they have been working at the Russian Championship for many years and have undergone special training. On the other hand, this jump is no longer a trump ace in the arsenal of skaters. It is performed not only by Alyona, but also by Elizabeth Tuktamysheva, and Japanese Rick Kihira, and American Alice Lew.

- At the same time, Kostornaya’s rating is still higher than that of the stronger sex ...

- It only says that now our girls are stronger than men. See how many skaters cleanly skated their programs. And the loners had practically none.

- Kostornaya provided herself with a comfortable enough gap in order to feel calm before an arbitrary program? He’s even more than at the Grand Prix finals.

- It is unlikely that you can feel calm on slippery ice. Especially when one of your rivals has five quadruples in an arbitrary, and you have none. No one can be calm now.

- Are the Russian figure skaters getting too high points from the judges at the home tournament?

- At the international level, it will be difficult to get such high marks, but this happens at the Russian Championship. And why not push athletes to even better results? Give them extra motivation. In addition, the judges are also people, and among the skaters they can also have their idols.

- Considering how Kostornaya and Anna Shcherbakova cleanly rolled out their programs, do not you think that they are morally more stable than Alexandra Trusova?

- In my opinion, psychology is all right for all the girls, because we saw these clean rentals. All is well with the moral state of Liza Tuktamysheva, who, as an adult, mastered the quadruple jump. Also need to be able to. And Trusova declares five quadruples in her free program. What problems are we talking about?

- But doesn’t it seem that Eteri Tutberidze is still dominated by the selection of the national team over the three students?

- No, everyone understands that no one is safe from mistakes. I wish the girls to do without blots. To be honest, I don’t share this trio at all. They all shine. Last year, Shcherbakova became the champion of Russia, and then it really was a surprise.

- How did the attitude towards them change after a year?

- Probably, today rivals can call this three Serpent Gorynych. It seems to me that without one of them this could not have happened. They train together. It helps a lot - athletes motivate each other.

- Apparently, in the arbitrary program of Tuktamysheva, it is necessary to perform the quadruple toe loop. In your opinion, is she able to intervene in the argument for rewards?

- We will find out very soon, I do not want to make forecasts. As for the sheepskin coat, in training she performed this jump. And if so, why not do it in competitions?

- Trusova received a higher score for components than Tuktamysheva. This is true?

- Sasha skated very well. In my opinion, it has grown even compared to the level that recently showed at the Grand Prix. In her speech, there were ligaments, and the image was perfectly revealed, so I would not have found fault with the estimates.

- Did you expect more from Evgenia Medvedeva?

- At least a twisted cascade. On the other hand, given the problems with the shoes, Zhenya really had a very difficult time. In addition, she skated last.

- Should skaters have a spare pair of boots to avoid such troubles?

- Personally, I never had a second pair. And the Canadian Patrick Chan was carrying a replacement. He rode in some boots in the morning, in others in the evening. North American athletes practice this, but ours usually do not. I don’t know what this is connected with.

- Is it true that the skater gets so used to his pair of shoes?

- Yes. What Eugene faced is nervous and difficult. But she is a shot sparrow: in spite of everything, she rode very convincingly and raised the hall.

- Alina Zagitova could intervene in this fight?

- She amazingly skated her short program at the recent Grand Prix finals, so this is a rhetorical question.

- Is it possible to expect new records from the upcoming rentals in a free program?

- Yes, I think we are waiting for a record and not one. But since this is the championship of Russia, they still won’t count.

- In your opinion, who is the main favorite?

- It's hard to say, I'm not a bookmaker. Itself not so long ago went on this ice and I know that the price of error is very high, and from failure to triumph one step. There is no favorite. For example, who could suggest that for men Arthur Danielyan from 13th place after a short program will rise to second?

- Is it realistic for rivals to win back ten points of the advantage at Kostornaya?

- This is one jump. One good triple axel - and a backlog of ten points can be leveled.