2026 Europeans - Pairs Short Program - "The Full Moonie"

[Andrey aka Pushkin]

M/B are a pair with fantastic basics, beautiful elements and representing one of my favorite countries, which also happens to be a small OES federation; and yet, they give me nothing but annoyance. It requires some kind of special effort.
How do they manage to have such unpleasant programs for 3 years straight?

 

[Hedwig]

M/B
sbs 3sal very aggressive
3twist
throw 3 flip she fights for the landing
boah his feet in the lifts age me before my time

 

[skatingguy]

Anastasiia Metelkina/Luka Berulava
Coach: P. Sliusarenko, E. Zakroev
Music: Bolero (excerpt) by Milos Karadaglic

3S
Triple Twist 4
Throw 3F - turn-out
Back Inside Death Spiral 4
Flying Change Foot Combo Spin 4
Reverse Lasso Lift 4
Step Sequence 4

That feels like the first time we've seen them make an error in the short program in ages, but the rest of the program was very strong. The side-by-side jumps are the best quality in the world, and they create a moment for them every time they land them.

75.96 = 1st Place

 

[Elisheba]

I would not describe M/B as having "nerves of steel" given most of their free skates this season.

 

[Karen-W]

MetBeru - Georgian fed got their $$ worth going to Benoit for their choreo this season. SBS 3s - excellent; 3tw - not their best but fine; throw 3f - 3-turns out of the landing because it was so huge; BODS - nice; SBS spins - very close together & pretty decent unison; lift - his footwork is becoming scarier as the season progresses but they got through it; step seq - good. I'm sure this will lead, though I don't love how they skated today.

 

[miffy]

Have they finally aged out of juniors yet?

 

[rfisher]

Even with the tiny deduction on the throw landing, I'd give this to the Georgians. They skate closer together and are just crisper for a lack of a better word. Their speed is so good.

 

[Sally1214]

Just WOW!! That was a super strong skate by Anastasiia and Luka. Their union throughout the elements is fabulous although they got scarily close on those sit spins. One more revolution and they may have collided. GREAT performance though.

 

[Karen-W]

Have they finally aged out of juniors yet?

NO! I'll be seriously pissed if they show up in Tallinn this year.

 

[Hedwig]

Have they finally aged out of juniors yet?

I never will forget someone describing him as not looking like a junior but three divorces in. So correct

 

[Citlali]

Luka's footwork on the lift is not ok for the level they have, not even the first group pairs today scared me like that

 

[Wyliefan]

I thought the Hungarians were better.

 

[Andrey aka Pushkin]

H/Volodin are not much into being European champions, are they?

 

[Hedwig]

H/V
wonderful 3twist, very airy
sbs 3sal she with hand down
throw 3 loop gorgeous, did they have a wobble in the steps going in? If so, I am even more amazed by her steely focus

 

[rfisher]

Russian male pair skaters know how to sell themselves. There is a distinctive style no matter what country they represent.
I think Geo has the SP today. (I admit a bias as I think Pavel S is one of the best pair coaches in the world and I'd like to see him coach a team to olympic gold. I thought it would happen with Paniflova/Rylov but alas injuries took them out).

 

[Karen-W]

MiNiki - where's ANL gone? Nikita's showing some chest hair for him to drool all over. 3tw - nice; SBS 3s - hand down for Minerva; bit of a stumble around the boards but they got the throw 3lo off just fine; lift - nice; BODS - good; SBS spins - unison is not there at all; step seq - alright. This just felt a bit off throughout. I might put them below the Hungarians, but I'm sure the judges won't.

 

[Former Lurve Goddess]

The Olympic nerves are getting to my goddess Minerva.

 

[floridaice]

Even with the jump error, the Germans are so much better.

 

[skatingguy]

Minerva Fabienne Hase/Nikita Volodin
Coach: D. Savin, K. Schubert, S. Brandado, R. Rex
Music: El Abrazo by Maxime Rodriguez

Triple Twist 4
3S - Minerva with a hand-down
Throw 3Lo
Axel Lasso Lift 4
Back Inside Death Spiral 4
Change Foot Combo Spin 4 (3 after review)
Step Sequence 4

The top two teams both with an error in the short program so no advantage to either going into the free skate.

74.81 = 2nd Place

 

[annie_mg]

I hope Minerva is seeing a coach, it's all mental at this point. They are well trained, no doubt about that.

Nikita is incredibly consistent, it's impressive. And no shouting to Minerva, thankfully.

 

[victorskid]

Final results after the Pairs SP:
1 Q Anastasiia METELKINA / Luka BERULAVA GEO 75.96 42.38 33.58 8.43 8.36 8.46 0.00 #16
2 Q Minerva Fabienne HASE / Nikita VOLODIN GER 74.81 40.62 34.19 8.68 8.57 8.46 0.00 #17
3 Q Maria PAVLOVA / Alexei SVIATCHENKO HUN 73.32 41.49 31.83 7.93 7.93 8.07 0.00 #15
4 Q Annika HOCKE / Robert KUNKEL GER 65.47 36.06 29.41 7.36 7.46 7.29 0.00 #13
5 Q Anastasia VAIPAN-LAW / Luke DIGBY GBR 63.98 34.94 29.04 7.29 7.36 7.18 0.00 #12
6 Q Oxana VOUILLAMOZ / Tom BOUVART SUI 62.78 36.38 26.40 6.57 6.71 6.57 0.00 #8
7 Q Rebecca GHILARDI / Filippo AMBROSINI ITA 59.40 30.95 29.45 7.46 7.32 7.36 1.00 #14
8 Q Camille KOVALEV / Pavel KOVALEV FRA 58.25 31.38 26.87 6.86 6.71 6.64 0.00 #9
9 Q Julia Sylvia GUNNARSDOTTIR / Manuel PIAZZA ISL 57.45 32.80 24.65 6.14 6.25 6.14 0.00 #1
10 Q Ioulia CHTCHETININA / Michal WOZNIAK POL 56.93 31.79 26.14 6.54 6.61 6.50 1.00 #11
11 Q Gabriella IZZO / Luc MAIERHOFER AUT 54.65 30.23 24.42 6.14 6.04 6.18 0.00 #4
12 Q Anna VALESI / Martin BIDAR CZE 53.80 29.44 24.36 6.07 6.07 6.18 0.00 #3
13 Q Aurelie FAULA / Theo BELLE FRA 53.66 30.26 24.40 6.07 6.21 6.07 1.00 #6
14 Q Irma CALDARA / Riccardo MAGLIO ITA 53.29 30.01 24.28 6.21 6.11 5.93 1.00 #5
15 Q Daria DANILOVA / Michel TSIBA NED 46.57 24.54 24.03 6.00 5.89 6.18 2.00 #10
16 Q Sofiia HOLICHENKO / Artem DARENSKYI UKR 42.32 22.28 22.04 5.61 5.39 5.57 2.00 #7
WD Karina AKOPOVA / Nikita RAKHMANIN ARM #2


Protocols link: https://results.isu.org/results/sea...------QUAL000100--_JudgesDetailsperSkater.pdf


Due to the withdrawal, all teams move on to the Free Skate but there should be fewer groups.

 

[Sally1214]

Awesome death spiral from Minerva and Nikita.
2nd place. But almost a tie .... between all of the top 3. Going to be a great free skate.

 

[PRlady]

Boo. Germans should be in first for no other reason than my irrational dislike of the Georgians.

 

[Sally1214]

Question a lot of you probably know the answer to. Why do Riku/Ryu ALWAYS get level 3 on their 3twist? What requirement is it that they miss in that element?

 

[Karen-W]

Boo. Germans should be in first for no other reason than my irrational dislike of the Georgians.

Never fear, we both know the Georgians will likely not respond well to being in the lead with the pressure on for a big title tomorrow.

 

[Kateri]

Thought Miniki were hosed a bit in PCS, they were so clearly the class of the field to me. No one else moves like that.

 

[delayedaxel]

They do have the opening ceremony after the competition started??

Boo. Germans should be in first for no other reason than my irrational dislike of the Georgians.

Now I am curious: What did they do to you?

 

[Karen-W]

Thought Miniki were hosed a bit in PCS, they were so clearly the class of the field to me. No one else moves like that.

They had the highest PCS and they were a bit off today. PCS is fair, I think.

 

[Sally1214]

The Olympic nerves are getting to my goddess Minerva.

Not to worry ... we all know the odds of Riku landing her sbs jump in the SP. It all evens out.

 

[Sally1214]

Well, that was a fun way to start the day. Now I'm off for a bit. Will see you all again somewhere in the middle of the women's SP.