The top German figure skating couple Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin had to admit defeat for the first time this Olympic season.
In the Georgian capital Tbilisi, the European champions and runner-up world champions took second place behind Anastasija Metelkina/Luka Berulawa from the host country – clearly.
Hase/Volodin scored 208.28 points after the short program and free skate, while Metelkina/Berulawa scored 225.20 points.
The European Championship third-placed teams also set an exclamation mark with a view to the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo next February and remained almost four points above Hase/Volodin’s personal best.
There was another win at the start of the season
Just two weeks ago, the German duo won the season opener at the prestigious Nebelhorn Trophy in Oberstdorf, leaving the Japanese world champions Riku Miura/Ryuichi Kihara behind.
The competition in Tbilisi, like the Nebelhorn Trophy, is part of the so-called Challenger Series of the World Ice Skating Association ISU. The highlight of the figure skating season is the Olympic Games.
The European Championships are also on the agenda in January in Sheffield, UK, and the World Championships will take place in the Czech capital Prague in March.