2024 GP France: Pairs' Thoughts?

[gsk8]

Germany's Hase and Volodin continue gold streak

2024 Grand Prix de France | Pairs Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin won their fourth consecutive Grand Prix gold medal in Angers, France

www.goldenskate.com

The top two teams were clearly in a league of their own.

What are your thoughts on the Pairs' event?

 

[ladyjane]

I was so pleased for Rebecca and Filippo that they did so much better in the FS than in the SP. The top two were indeed in a league of their own, looks to me to become a promising season with thse pairs (and I am not forgetting some other pairs not here)! I felt sorry for Lia and Trennt who did so well last season. No GPF for them this time round! The couple from Uzbekistan probably just to have made it through. Back to back competitions are difficult (even Ilia admitted that, and he won two in a row!), so now they can go on with their preparations for the rest of the season.

 

[readernick]

H/V are such an incredible pairs team. I find them to offer nothing artistically, but they probably have the best pairs elements in the field. Conti/Maaci are pretty compelling skaters imho, but their pairs elements aren't as good. The judges did put them first in PCS but I would have had a bigger gap... likely wouldn't have changed the result though... so fair enough


I love Rebecca and Filippo. I feel like they have a ceiling to their scores due to SBS difficulties but they are such engaging performers.

I like Lia/Trent programs this year. Same for E/M. Both were way too messy in the FS.

 

[skylark]

Minerva Fabienne! Nikita! They're a match made in heaven!

Their elements are just superb and thrilling. I guess it depends on what one considers artistry ... and there are as many different interpretations as there are viewers. One thing that thrills me about H/V is their matching lengths of limbs and the ways they stretch them out. This may come naturally, and it's similar to Gordeeva and Grinkov, who already had many matching points before they re-learned to skate in such glorious unison. Minerva and Nikita both have long legs and arms; they maximize those beautiful features by creating the same angles (legs) and using their arms so expressively. Personally, I think Minerva's movement and facial expressions show and share such emotions; that's artistry too. And Nikita is keeping up and coming into her realm expressively. So it's a combination of natural felicity of motion and practiced felicity of techniques.

During SA, Tara & Johnny were both saying that Miura/Kihara were born to skate together; I agree, and I feel the same about Hase/Volodin. It wasn't instantaneous; each of the four had previous partners and struggled. So they really deserve the current partnerships they've earned. So happy for them! And they're happy to skate together and bring performances that move and excite fans and viewers.

 

[Rebecca Moose]

Conti/Macii have my favorite pairs LP of the season thus far. I have been critical of this team in the past, but the material is a big step up from previous seasons.

Hase/Volodin have strong elements in isolation, but the long program was slow, uninspiring, and dull -- all in all, a most fitting tribute to Petrova/Tikhonov. Let's only hope they don't hang onto this program for half a decade.

Periera/Michaud tango has much potential, but they were, as the Millennials like to say, a hot mess.

Thrilled the Russian team will not qualify for the Grand Prix Final.

 

[RobinA]

Awful. Even the teams that did manage to skate reasonably well weren't interesting. From Pairs being my favorite discipline, I wouldn't be the least bit upset if Pairs disappeared. Not that I think it's unfixable, I just don't think it will be.