figure skating
Hase/Volodin win Grand Prix final in Beijing
Minerva-Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin in action. photo
© Mikko Stig/ /dpa
Already in their first winter together, Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin are among the world’s best in pair skating. The victory at the Grand Prix final in Beijing gives hope for the European Championships and World Cup in 2024.
“We can’t believe it,” said Volodin after the great success in Beijing. In the free skate, the duo from Berlin was able to defend their lead after the short program with a total of 206.43 points with a wafer-thin lead over the Italian European champions and World Cup third-place finishers Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii (205.88). The Canadians Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps came third (204.30).
Before the total points appeared in the results computer and their victory was made official, Hase/Volodin had to tremble. In her combative freestyle, a lot of things went well and as planned, only in the triple throw-Rittberger her turns were a bit too slow, so that Hase stumbled and was only able to avoid a fall with his hand.
Illness was limiting
“We did our best,” said the 24-year-old with a smile on her face. “We came to Beijing with no expectations.” After all, the partner of the same age, who came from St. Petersburg, arrived with a bad cold. Because of the illness, they were unable to practice the free program for a long time. “I’m happy that Nikita persevered. It’s even nicer to have been rewarded with gold,” said Hase, “but it was hard to get through the free program.”
The two had shown what they could achieve together in the previous Grand Prix competitions with two victories in Finland and Japan – and had already amazed the international competition. Asked about the secret of this winter fairy tale on the ice, Rabbit replied: “Hard work and a good partner.”
Next week, Hase and Volodin will start together at their first German championship in Berlin. It is still unclear whether they will meet the European Championship third-placed Annika Hocke/Robert Kunkel there. The Berliners had to cancel their start in Beijing due to Kunkel’s back problems. The national title fights are the qualification for the European Championships in January in Kaunas, Lithuania, where Germany could theoretically compete with three pairs.