2026 Olympics | Figure Skating | Pairs’ Short Program

Germany’s Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin tangoed to nearly a five-point lead in the Pairs’ figure skating Short Program on Sunday. Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava of Georgia are currently in second place, followed by Canada’s Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud.

Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin

Skating last, Hase and Volodin opened their tango-infused short program with an excellent level-four triple twist followed by solid side-by-side triple Salchows and throw triple loop. The 2025 World silver medalists went on to produce a level-four Axel lift, death spiral and combination spin, earning high grades of executions throughout their routine. The only mistake came when Hase had a minor slip in the footwork which was graded a level three. They placed first with new personal best score of 80.01 points for their routine to “El Abrazo” by Maxime Rodriguez.

“I was just thinking, ‘don’t make another mistake now,'” said Hase of the wobble on the footwork. “We controlled everything well afterwards. Sometimes little stumbles happen, and we try to cover them up well.”

“We finally did our spin together,” pointed out Volodin, adding that breaking the 80-point mark doesn’t feel new.”

Hase said they wanted their program to feel like training.

“To block out all the stress and the Olympics,” she explained. “It’s just another run. That’s how we went onto the ice. We did our job, and so of course we are very happy with the first part. But the big emotions, we’re saving those for later.”

Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava

Metelkina and Berulava had a near-solid short program set to Boléro, opening with strong side-by-side triple Salchows and a level-four throw triple twist. The only mistake came when Metelkina stepped out of the throw triple flip. The 2026 European champions went on to earn a level four on the spin, reverse lift and footwork, placing second with 75.46 points.

“I’m always a maximalist, so I’m not satisfied that I made a mistake on an element that is usually the most consistent for me,” said Metelkina. “I will try to do everything clean tomorrow. I’m absolutely satisfied with what my partner did today. I am also grateful about the great support my partner gave me.”

Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud

Pereira and Michaud placed third with a new personal best score of 74.60 points after their heartfelt routine to “Say You Love Me.” Michaud hung on to his triple toe in the side-by-side jumps, but the throw triple loop was solid. The 2025 Four Continents bronze medalists also earned a level four on the triple twist, reverse lift, spin, and death spiral while picking up positive GOEs throughout.

“We’re very proud!” said Pereira. “We’ve put in so much work, and we feel like we’ve been here for a long time as well. After being pretty content with the short program of the team event, we still came out wanting more. We’re very motivated people, and we always want to put out our best. Today we did that, so it’s a really nice kind of full circle moment to do that at the end of the week.”

Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko

Maria Pavlova and Alexei Sviatchenko of Hungary picked up a new personal best of 73.87, placing fourth after a flawless performance to Michael Jackson’s “Earth Song”. The 2026 European bronze medalists powered through a triple twist, throw triple Lutz, and side-by-side triple toes. The lift, triple twist and spin were graded a level four, and the team also earned positive GOEs in all elements.

“We are super happy. We got our season’s best,” said Pavlova. “The atmosphere was amazing! The crowd was crazy, cheering for us, and the flags were there; they came out for us. That made us very proud. It was… wow. I’m honestly speechless.”

Pavlova noted that the step sequence had dropped a level from four to three.

“We don’t know yet why, but it’s okay,” she said. “We got the level four lift, which makes us very happy. This was one of the most incredible programs and competitions for us.”

Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara

Japan’s Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara were confident in their fierce routine to “Paint it Black,” but heavy favorites left points on the table. The current World champions had a good start with a level-three triple twist. Incidentally, the Polish judge docked this element with a -2 GOE while the rest of the panel rewarded them with +2, +3 and +4s. They went on to land solid side-by-side triple toes but then the there was an early exit out of a group 5 Axel lift that was graded a level two with negative GOEs. Miura hung on to the throw triple Lutz, and they also earned a level four on the spin, footwork and death spiral. They placed fifth with 73.11 points going into the free skate.

“I have not seen the footage yet,” Kihara commented. “It can’t be helped. There’s nothing to do now but to face ahead. The competition isn’t over yet. There are still things we have to do. I just don’t understand why it happened, though.”

“Lifts are completely about timing and that unspoken connection between us,” said Miura. “So if it’s even slightly off, this is what happens. I really wonder why. I think some of it was also bad luck. However, because of this mistake, we want to approach tomorrow even more carefully, step by step, with our minds cleared.”

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han

Wenjing Sui and Cong Han of China earned 72.66 points for sixth place after their playful short program to Habanera from Carmen. Sui, who is dealing with a hip injury, turned out her jump on the side-by-side triple toes, but the team quickly recovered to execute a level-four triple twist. The 2022 Olympic gold champions also produced a strong throw triple flip and level-four reverse lift.

Han had retired in 2023 due to injury, and Sui followed suit shortly thereafter. However, they announced their return nearly two years later in June 2025.

“After the 2022 Olympics, I went to university and also worked in choreography,” said Sui. “I helped our junior skaters and had the honor to collaborate with Lori (Nichol) as well. But two years ago, I started thinking that Chinese pair skating needed support. That’s when I decided I wanted to come back.”

The team got a nod from the Chinese Skating Association who supported the return.

“I did many tests and prepared physically to regain my strength and power,” said Sui. “I was waiting for Cong to come back too. At the beginning, there were many challenges. I tried to help him a lot because in pair skating, there has to be balance.”

“Unfortunately, I then got injured and needed surgery, which created additional difficulties,” she added. “But we are really proud that we were able to return and perform our program well. We had a very short preparation time, but we still challenged ourselves. I think we can send a positive message to the younger Chinese pairs: even with limited time, you can push yourself and achieve more than you expect.”

Rounding out the field

USA’s Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea scored a new personal best of 71.87 points after a near solid performance to “Hallelujah.” The only mistake came when Kam put a hand down on a throw triple loop.

Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii of Italy placed a close eighth (71.70). Their passionate routine to “El Toro Salvaje” and “Concerto de España” was highlighted by a throw triple loop and strong level-four triple twist, but Conti stepped out of the side-by-side triple Salchows.

“Tonight, it was the worst short program of the season, but, you know, shit happens,” said Macii. “And that’s okay. You need to accept it. Nothing is written in this competition. Skating on the home Olympic ice is beautiful, but it’s not easy. I feel much better because I’ve already tried. She feels much better, too. We are still doing something very difficult on ice. It’s very slippery, so you need to be very precise. Tonight was like that, and we accepted it.”

USA’s Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe put out a good short program to “Nyah” by CH2, placing ninth (70.06). Chan put a hand down on the throw triple loop, but the side-by-side triple toes were solid. They also showed a level-four triple twist, and lift and footwork.

Howe has been nursing a recurring shoulder injury for the past several years.

“My shoulder is great!” he said. “When we started back up at the end of June last year, getting ready for the season, we really got together with a good team and just had a good routine. Both of us have been, thankfully, very healthy throughout the season. And my shoulder’s good. Our bodies, in general, are doing really well. And I think it’s been a big reason why we’ve been able to do pretty well this season.”

“We’ve had a better support team this season,” added Chan. “Just looking at the previous seasons, with Spencer going to the military, we’ve had time to kind of take a look at our plan. Knowing when he would come back, we had such a short time to plan for the Olympics. We used that time to make a plan, just to see if there were any gaps. We filled those in, so when we would come back, it was a little bit more organized.”

Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini of Italy are currently in 10th place after a new season’s best score of 69.08.

“It was amazing to be in our home country, we enjoyed it from the beginning,” said Ambrosini. “The last practice we had the other day was public, too. We transformed this energy into a powerful positive, and we felt that from the beginning.”

Surprise placements

Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps of Canada, found themselves in 14th place (66.04) after two costly mistakes. Deschamps put a hand and foot down on the side-by-side triple toes, while Stellato-Dudek tripped while exiting a lift.

“What happened on the lift, that has never happened before,” said Stellato-Dudek. “It was the first time. That was very surprising. I guess it cost us around ten points. Still, we’re proud of ourselves. We did great. We were really enjoying the people up there, and that was the most important thing.”

Stellato-Dudek suffered an injury 10 days ago, but did not want to comment on it.

“My only focus was how we could make it to the Olympic Games,” she said. “I didn’t have time to process it or really reflect on what happened. So I’d rather not speak about it in any way right now. We’re not giving any details because I’m not ready yet. No details about the accident.”

Japan’s Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi did not qualify for the free skate. Nagaoka took an uncharacteristic fall on both the side-by-side triple loops and throw triple Salchow, and the 2026 Four Continents bronze medalists scored 59.62 points.

“I feel both thankful and apologetic,” said Nagaoka, who was in tears. “Throughout this season, we’ve been able to deliver good performances in the short program, so I went in with confidence. But after making a mistake on the loop, I thought we could recover with the throw, and then we made another mistake there as well. I’m very frustrated.”

“This has become an irreplaceable experience,” added Moriguchi. “We are not finished, so I hope we can keep pushing forward and deliver a good performance next time.”

Related info:

• Official Results
• Olympic Qualification System for Figure Skating
• Competition Threads
• Replay Lounge
• More Olympic Figure Skating news

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