Home Figure Skating News Germany’s Hase and Volodin continue gold streak

Germany’s Hase and Volodin continue gold streak

2024 Grand Prix de France: Pairs

by Paula Slater
Yuan Tian

Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin

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 on Saturday. The team, who debuted together last year, won both individual events last year as well as the Grand Prix Final. Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy maintained second for the silver, while teammates Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini rebounded from sixth place for the bronze.

Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin

Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin placed first (73.72) in the short with their soulful routine to “You Were Mine” by Tami Neilson. The 2024 World bronze medalists produced a solid level-three triple twist, side-by-side triple Salchows and a throw triple loop. The lift, spin, footwork and back-outside death spiral were all rewarded with a level four, and all elements received positive grades of execution (GOE).

“Today was a little bit more hard for me,” Hase admitted. “I was a little bit exhausted at the end. It felt like a safe performance today, not yet showing all the range of emotions we can show. But we are really happy with the first outing on the Grand Prix and that we were able to show a good quality performance. We didn’t come here with any expectations on points.”

“This is the first big competition of the season,” agreed Volodin. “We kind of forgot that feeling from Worlds last season. It felt like we saved all the elements and afterwards could show the choreo. At the end, we tried to show emotions. The levels were good.”

“The twist was still only a level three,” Hase pointed out. “We work so hard on that to get a level four. We keep working hard and at some time it will come.”

The 2023–24 Grand Prix Final champions were near-solid in their free skate to The Four Seasons. The only glitch came when Volodin put a hand down on the triple Salchows which were deemed underrotated. They produced a throw triple loop and Salchow, and also landed a side-by-side triple toe-double Axel-double Axel sequence. All three lifts were graded a level four and they placed first in the free skate and overall (137.97/211.69).

“We came here knowing it was possible to win,” said Hase. “We are glad we could show a good performance again and proved that Nebelhorn Trophy was not a one-hit wonder. We are glad we could show consistency, and the win is of course very nice.”

“We try not to think too much about the fact that we won the bronze at Worlds last season, this is a new fresh season,” she added. “We are in a pretty good condition now going into in our next event. We will work now on getting more clean in the details, showing more emotions during the program.”

There next competition will be Cup of China.

Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii

Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy were near flawless in their dramatic short to Carmen Suite. The 2023 World bronze medalists produced a level-four triple twist, throw triple loop, triple Salchows and a level four lift. They had the highest component scores, but the footwork and death spiral were graded a level three. The placed second with 70.79 points.

“It was a very good feeling coming off the ice today,” said Conti. “Last year when we were here it was very difficult. Often, we have one good performance at a competition and the other one isn’t so good. But I am happy that we worked on our feelings. Last season it was difficult to feel close to each other. Now we found this feeling again, that we are in it together. That makes me feel very happy.”

“I chose Carmen because Sara is a volcano and Carmen is a program she really feels,” Macii shared. “First of all, when I suggested Carmen, people reacted like, ‘Yes, BUT..! People pointed out that there have been quite some performances on this music in figure skating in the past. But we want to create our own version of it. I also think it hasn’t been used in pair skating for a long time.”

Conti and Macii skated to “Papa, Can You Hear Me?”—a tribute to her father and his grandfather—for their free skate. The team opened with a level-four twist, but then Macii turned out his triple Salchow. That was the only error in another otherwise strong performance. The 2023 European Champions landed a side-by-side triple toe-Axel-double Axel sequence, and both the throw triple loop and throw triple Salchow were solid. All lifts and the pair spin were graded a level four, and they picked up season’s best for second place in the free skate and overall (132.60/203.39).

“We are very happy and pleased with our first outing at a big event this season,” said Macii. “It is a much different silver medal here compared to last season. Last year, we skated poorly and lost the gold, this year it feels like we won the silver.”

“Overall, we feel really good about this competition,” added Conti, who was confused about the level two on the death spiral.

They will compete next at Cup of China

Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini

Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini of Italy finished sixth (60.74) in the short program after Ambrosini took a fall on the side-by-side double Axels. Ghilardi hung on to the landing a throw triple Lutz and the triple twist was graded a level three.

“These things happen,” said Ghilardi of the mistakes. “Tomorrow will be a new day, and we know we can come back. Performing these programs in shows already over the summer helped us a lot in order to perform it in front of a big crowd like today.”

The two-time European champions fared better in revised “Dracula 2.0” free skate, but there were still mistakes. Ghilardi fell on the triple Salchows and singled the last jump in a double Axel-Axel-double Axel sequence. She also fought for the landings on the throw jumps, but all lifts were graded a level four. The finished third in the free skate and moved up three spots to third overall (115.88/176.62).

“Today was better than yesterday, but we still a lot to work on,” Ghilardi acknowledged. “Now we want to go back home and prepare well for our next event.”

They went back to their last season’s free skate as they weren’t feeling their new “Phantom of the Opera” routine. The feedback wasn’t that good either.

“So, we created Dracula 2.0.,” explained Ghilardi. “We changed the music a lot compared to last season and also changed the transitions quite a bit. We really like this program. We feel good with it.”

They will compete next at Finlandia Trophy.

Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov

USA’s Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov landed their side-by-side triple toes and throw triple loop in their dynamic short to “Ameska” and “Uccen.” The 2024 Skate America bronze medalists also received a level four for the death spiral and lift, and improved their score from Allen, Texas, by just over a point (64.08) for fourth place.

“We feel really good and really happy!” said Efimova. “It was a long day, and I was really, really nervous, out of nowhere, more than usual. I am happy that we managed our nerves.”

“It was a tough fight and we are happy we stayed on our feet,” added her partner. “Skating here felt great, we knew we would have France right after Skate America, so we feel well prepared. It was really nice to skate here. The crowd is very warm and welcoming.”

The 2024 U.S. silver medalists placed fourth in the free skate and overall (107.84/171.92) after their performance to “Je suis malade.” Efimova doubled her triple toes, just as she had at Skate America, and then took a fall on the throw triple loop. But the team also lost two levels on the death spiral. They aborted the group five Axel lasso lift, losing many points, but the throw triple Salchow was clean.

“If something doesn’t work the way you trained for, it’s always a bit of a disappointment and we aren’t feeling too good right now,” said Efimova. “We were happy that we got this opportunity to skate at two Grand Prix events and even medal at Skate America. That was for sure a highlight for us.”

They will have another event ahead of nationals that will be determined soon.

Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud

Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud of Canada put out an entertaining short to “Sing, Sing, Sing” for third place and a season’s best of 64.38. Last year’s champions landed side-by-side triple toes and a throw triple Salchow. The lift and footwork were both graded a level four, while the death spiral, spin and twist received a level three.

“We feel really good about today,” said Pereira. “We still gain new experiences every time we go out there. This was our first time coming back to an event we won last year, so dealing with some kind of expectations was new. But overall, it was very nice to come back here where we know the venue already and everything feels familiar.”

Michaud said that Jean-Luc Baker and Olivia Smart choreographed the routine and that they were two of his best friends.

“For Olivia, it was actually the first choreography she ever did,” he said. “We love her, she is so creative and such a good performer!”

“People told us we look like we have so much fun during practices, so we wanted to show that in this new fun program,” added Pereira. “It shows this fun part of our personalities very well. We really enjoy performing it.”

The national silver medalists struggled in their free skate, with Pereira taking a fall on both throw jumps. However, they picked up a level four on all three lifts and the pair spin and placed fifth (106.29). With a total score of 170.67, they slipped off the podium to fifth place overall.

“I can’t really tell what happened,” said Pereira. “We worked so much on the throws since Nebelhorn, also worked with mental performance coaches. We skated clean long programs over and over again in practice. So, I really can’t explain what happened in the moment.”

“Usually, we feel more comfortable with the free skate compared to the short program, but not today,” added Michaud. “We both wanted to skate to a tango for a while.”

They will compete next at Cup of China.

Ekaterina Geynish and Dmitrii Chigirev of Uzbekistan, the 2024 Skate Canada silver medalists, finished sixth overall (161.99), followed by the French teams of Camille Kovalev and Pavel Kovalev (157.04) and Aurelie Faula and Theo Belle (128.72).

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