Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin made their debut in the 2025-26 ISU Grand Prix Series with a statement skate Friday evening (October 31) at Skate Canada International.
The German duo, the reigning world silver medalists and European champions, were just shy of their personal best (77.61) with a lead of 77.53 after the pairs short program in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
They have built a four-point lead against the 2024 Canadian world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschampsthe two-time and reigning champion here, who recorded a 73.03.
Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps registered a level one (of four) on their backward death spiral from the judges, costing them more than a point on the scoreboard.
Their Canadian teammates Lia Pereira and Trent Michaud had a career best of 70.66 in the short time to round out the top three, five points ahead of the Americans Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea (65.48) in fourth place.
Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps were second of the reigning world champions Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi two weeks ago to open the Series on French Grand Prix.
The Germans had a tough time a few weeks ago at a smaller level event, the Trialeti Trophy in Tbilisi, Georgia, where he finished second.
They said they had both been sick around that time and had missed a week of training.
“We’re pretty pleased with our performance there,” Hase said Friday evening. “It’s the best of the season so far. We’re very happy and pleased that today went so well for us.”
#Minerva #Fabienne #Hase #Nikita #Volodin #lead #Skate #Canada #pairs #verge #Grand #Prix #title