Alena Leonova: With two clean programs our girls will be ahead of Kihira

Alena Leonova commented on the result of ladies’ competitions at the Four Continents Championships 2019.

by Anna Korobkova for sportsdaily.ru

Rika Kihira was only fifth after the short program, but still won the competitions. Is it possible to fight with her at the World Championships?

– I think it is possible. As practice shows, she is not a consistent girl. Especially in the short program, not everything goes well there, and then she pulls herself out in the free. Of course, Kihira is a very strong athlete, but with clean performances of both programs our girls should place higher.

It is expected that the Russian and Japanese women will fight for the medals at Worlds. Will Elizabet Tursynbaeva, who took the second place at the Four Continents Championships, join this fight for medals?

– I’m not sure about medals. But if she performs her quadruple Salchow, which she started doing recently, and skates the rest of the program cleanly, she will be able to compete with our, Japanese and American girls. I think she will fight for the top five. Because in PCS she still does not reach senior level of skating. Her advantage is mostly in technique.

Related topics: Alena Leonova, Elizabet Tursynbayeva, Rika Kihira