Skating Legend Witt Hails New German Duo Hase/Volodin

Figure skating icon Katarina Witt believes that after securing a silver medal at the World Championships, the Olympic gold is the clear objective for Minerva-Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin. “When you finish second at the World Championships, you naturally enter the Olympic Games expecting to compete for gold,” Witt stated. “That’s very clear, and I believe they see it the same way.”

As reigning European champions and World silver medalists, the Berlin-based duo carries the primary hopes for the German Ice Skating Union (DEU) at the season’s main event in Italy. Witt cautioned, however, that the path to the top of the podium will be challenging. “The competition is incredibly strong, and the field is very tight.”

Witt views the pair’s narrow miss for the gold medal at the World Championships in Boston last March as a potential advantage. “It might have been good for them; they don’t have the burden of the title,” the 59-year-old explained. She praised Hase and Volodin as a “truly great pair,” adding, “Above all, they are genuine people with big hearts and a strong fighting spirit. That’s why I’m simply hoping they deliver a great performance.”

Even recent errors, like one during their free skate at the Grand Prix in Canada, are seen by Witt as valuable experience. “I think it’s important to experience a bit of a rollercoaster in your preparation, where things go very well at times, but you also make mistakes,” she said. “You have to learn from that.”



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