Montpellier (AP) – The German champions Nicole Schott and the couple Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nolan Seegert are targeting the top ten after very good performances in the short program at the Figure Skating World Championships in Montpellier. Both Schott and the pair runners Hase/Seegert are sixth before the freestyle.
Hase/Seegert, who were able to prepare for the Olympic Games in Bergamo after their Corona-related disappointment, remained flawless and scored 66.29 points, just below their best of the season. “We are very relieved that it worked out this time and this is a program with which we can end the season well,” said Hase. “Today it was much fresher than at the Olympic Games and much better,” added Seegert. “The training before the World Cup was quite short but better than nothing,” added the 29-year-old. The short program for pairs was won by the US duo Alexa Knierim/Brandon Frazier with 76.88 points.
With a personal best of 67.77 points and a flawless freestyle, Schott had surprisingly achieved sixth place before the final freestyle on Friday. “That was by far my personal best, the jumps were also very easy and the whole program flowed a lot,” said the 25-year-old happily. “It was tough to pull myself together after the Olympics and get back to the same level.” The absence of the Russian favorites didn’t affect them. “My goal was to finally show what I can do in training. I’m not a medal candidate, for me it doesn’t make a big difference if I’m 14th, 16th or 12th,” she said.
The Japanese Olympic bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto took the lead with 80.32 points ahead of the Belgian Loena Hendrickx (75.00) and Mariah Bell (USA/72.55). Russian athletes and pairs including 2021 Olympic and world champion Anna Shcherbakova are suspended from the World Figure Skating Championships due to the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The Chinese Olympic champions Sui Wenjing/Han Cong decided not to start in Montpellier.