The top German figure skating pair Minerva Hase and Nikita Wolodin won the strong Grand Prix final in Grenoble, France, and defended their title from the previous season.
The World Cup third-place finishers prevailed with 218.10 points ahead of Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara (206.71 points) from Japan and Anastasija Metelkina/Luka Berulawa (205.78 points) from Georgia. The duo thus underlined their ambitions for precious metal at the season’s highlights. The European Championships will take place in the Estonian capital Tallinn from the end of January to the beginning of February. The World Cup will take place in Boston in the USA in March. Hase and Wolodin are the biggest German medal hopes.
Hase/Volodin with a personal best in the short program
The pair laid the foundation for victory with a flawless short program and a personal best of 76.72 points. Hase and Wolodin increased their previous record by almost three points. This put the duo in the lead. “That was just unbelievable,” said Hase after the short program.
While warming up, she slightly injured her leg with her skate. Despite bleeding, the 25-year-old quickly gave the all-clear. With a convincing freestyle, Hase and Wolodin were able to significantly extend their lead.
The Grand Prix Series is the highest international event series in figure skating. The six best couples qualified for the final in the French Alps.