Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin won the Short Program at NHK Trophy 2023 in Osaka, Japan © ISU
Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nikita Volodin (GER) took top spot as the NHK Trophy continued in Osaka (JPN) Friday with the Pairs Short Program. The NHK Trophy is the sixth and concluding event of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating series and is the final opportunity to get into the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023/24 in Beijing (CHN) December 7-10.
Hase/Volodin skated to the lead closely followed by Italians Lucrezia Beccari/Matteo Guarise. The young Australian team of Anastasia Golubeva/ Hektor Giotopoulos Moore is currently ranked third.
Hase/Volodin skated in the first group as this new team does not yet have many World ranking points. They set the bar high with a clean performance of their lyrical program to “Stay” by Rihanna, landing a triple twist, side by side triple Salchow and throw triple loop. The ISU Grand Prix Espoo Champions collected a level four for the lift, death spiral and side by side combination spin to post a personal best of 67.23 points.
Hase/Volodin claimed a personal best in the Short Program at NHK Trophy in Osaka, Japan © ISU
“We did everything we could. It was our first clean skate in competition this season, so we’re even happier,” Hase told the press.
“We are relieved, to be honest. It feels like we have been running all season after this short program that we’ve been doing clean in practice all the time. Therefore, we just felt happiness when it finally worked out."
"We lost a level in the step sequence, but other than that we got everything as planned,” she continued.
Skating to “Run” by Ludovico Einaudi, Beccari/Guarise completed a triple twist, a side by side triple toeloop and throw triple loop. The ISU Grand Prix Skate Canada bronze medalists had a level four for the twist, death spiral and lift. With a score of 66.77 points, they just remained under their personal best.
Lucrezia Beccari and Matteo Guarise ended the Short Program in second place at NHK Trophy in Osaka, Japan © ISU
“We lost some levels especially in step sequence. We work hard for the steps after Skate Canada because we took level three in the steps. This time I felt a little jetlagged, but it was okay. It was better than yesterday,” Beccari commented.
“Today I wasn’t feeling too well. My legs were a little stiff. Lucrezia did 52 percent of the short program, I did 48,” Guarise added.
Golubeva/Giotopoulos Moore’s dynamic performance to “Architect of the Mind” featured a set of triple toes, a triple twist and throw triple loop. The two-time ISU World Junior silver medalists earned a personal best score of 64.61 points.
Anastasia Golubeva and Hektor Giotopoulos Moore also scored a personal best at NHK Trophy 2023 © ISU
“It was our first clean short program this season, but there is still a lot of work to do,” Golubeva noted. “We both have new blades. If you have seen it, Hektor has one black and one white blade,” she explained.
“It was better than Skate Canada and we got our personal best score,” Giotopoulos Moore continued. “As Anastasia said, we both have brand new blades. We both managed to break them within two days apart last week.”
The top three teams have a chance to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final on Saturday, but they try not to focus on that too much.
“We're also in a pretty lucky position with our first place from last week (Grand Prix Espoo),” Hase noted.
“I think if we try to skate as clean as possible, the points will come and then also the placement will come. I hope that will be enough for the Final.”
ISU European silver medalists Rebecca Ghilardi/Filippo Ambrosini (ITA) came fourth at 62.98 points followed by Chelsea Liu/Balasz Nagy (USA) on 61.23 points.
Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini are fourth after the Short Program at NHK Trophy 2023 in Osaka, Japan © ISU
Full results for NHK Trophy are available here.
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series consists of six events: Skate America, Skate Canada International, Grand Prix de France, Cup of China, the Grand Prix Espoo (FIN) and NHK Trophy (JPN). Skaters collect points towards to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final 2023/24 in Beijing (CHN).
ISU Grand Prix Standings
The General Announcement of the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here on the ISU website. The individual announcements are published on the ISU Event section under each dedicated Grand Prix event (filter with the relevant Event Series).
For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit here.
All Media Accreditations details and deadlines for the Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series can be found here.
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed with English commentary on the official ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out Where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
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ISU Grand Prix Schedule
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:
20 - 22 Oct, 2023 Skate America, Allen (Texas, USA)
27 – 29 Oct, 2023 Skate Canada International, Vancouver (CAN)
03 - 05 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)
10 - 12 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix Cup of China, Chongqing (CHN)
17 - 19 Nov, 2023 Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)
24 - 26 Nov, 2023 NHK Trophy, Osaka (JPN)
07 - 10 Dec, 2023 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Beijing (CHN)
About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known as the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.
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