A week after their victory at their first Grand Prix together in Finland, the new German pair Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin (Berlin) are also in the lead at the Grand Prix in Japan after a flawless short program.
The Berliners brought all seven required elements perfectly onto the ice, skated with a lot of momentum and showed a very appealing, modern choreography to the title “Stay” by pop singer Rihanna.
A year and a half ago, the Russian native of St. Petersburg and the experienced pair skater met for their first trial training. It fit straight away. After a few commitments and irregular training in the following months, preparation for the season only started in June of this year.
Nervousness fully under control
The second competition in Oberstdorf led to victory at the end of September. “We are simply a good match. It worked from the first second,” says the 24-year-old Hase, looking back on her first steps on the ice. “It wasn’t that easy to find a partner who was tall enough for me at 1.67 meters and also had pair skating experience.”
Last week in Finland they wobbled at one point or another in their programs. Nikita Volodin, who was still inexperienced internationally, was particularly nervous. He now had this fully under control. From the first second things went smoothly for the new top pair from Germany. “It was easier to skate today, especially for me. It felt good on the ice from the first second. We left a level of difficulty in the step sequence. We’ll ask again why that was.
The Italians Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise are currently in second place, followed by the young Australians Anastasia Golubeva and Hector Giotopoulos Moore. With a win or a podium finish in the free skate on Saturday, the two Berliners could immediately qualify for the World Cup finals in China from December 8th – 10th.
The summary of the couple’s freestyle from the Grand Prix from Japan will be available on Saturday from 2 p.m. on the first.