The figure skating pair Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nikita Volodin are in first place after the short program at the Grand Prix final in Beijing.
Thanks to a flawless run, the pair skaters from Berlin achieved a personal best of the season with 72.56 points. This means that Hase/Volodin will go into the freestyle decision on Friday as leaders. Behind the Berlin duo are Deanna Stellato-Dudek/Maxime Deschamps (Canada/71.22 points) and the Italian European champions Sara Conti/Niccolo Macii (70.30) in second and third place.
To music from Rhianna, Hase/Volodin managed the triple toe loop single jump perfectly parallel, and Hase landed the triple throw Rittberger safely. The couple also carried out the other elements in a stylish manner. The decision about the victory and the medals will be made on Friday in the pair skaters’ free skate (9.40 a.m./ARD live stream).
Hase and Volodin recently celebrated successes at the Grand Prix in Finland and at the NHK Trophy in Osaka. This meant they qualified for the lucrative Grand Prix final. Their collaboration only began last year. The European Championship third-place finishers Annika Hocke/Robert Kunkel from Berlin had to cancel their start in Beijing. Kunkel suffers from back problems.
