figure skating
Berlin newcomers have their sights set on European Championship gold
Reaching for the pair skating title at the European Championships: Minerva Hase and Nikita Wolodin. photo
© Mindaugas Kulbis/AP/dpa
Berlin’s Minerva Hase and Nikita Wolodin are aiming for the pair skating title at the European Championships in Lithuania. Only the Georgians Metelkina/Berulawa show a better short program.
The German co-favorites Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Wolodin won despite an imperfect short program The chance of winning the title was preserved at the European Figure Skating Championships in Kaunas, Lithuania.
The two 24-year-olds from Berlin came in second with 69.63 points. The best short free skate was presented by the Russians Anastasija Metelkina/Luka Berulawa, who competed for Georgia. The couple who last competed in the juniors were rewarded with 71.30 points for their presentation.
“I was very nervous and I’m happy that I was able to pull myself together,” said Hase after her European Championship debut with her new Russian partner of the same age. He made a slight mistake with the triple Salchow. “The landing wasn’t good,” Volodin confessed.
Things didn’t go well for last year’s third-place finisher Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel, who was handicapped by back problems before the European Championships. The 23-year-old from Berlin only turned the Salchow twice instead of three times, meaning she only finished sixth with 62.52 points. In order to win a medal again, the duo would have to get a good five points more than the third-placed Italians Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise for the free skate on Thursday (6 p.m.).