What began three and a half years ago is now reaching its grand finale: that’s when Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin first met, to see if they wanted to skate together. Now, the two 26-year-old pair skaters are already decorated with World Championship silver and bronze, as well as European Championship gold, and are among the favorites at the Winter Games in Milan.
The short program is on Sunday evening, and the free skate on Monday. For Hase, these are her second Games after the drama in Beijing, where her partner Nolan Seegert was in COVID-19 quarantine just before the competition and then skated weakened on the ice. Multiple falls and broken lifts were the result. For Volodin, a native Russian and now a German citizen since 2025, it’s his Olympic debut.
WELT: For both of you, the Olympic dream had actually been abandoned. Now you are considered co-favorites for gold. What does that mean to you?
Minerva Hase: For me, it means getting a new chance, having another opportunity to experience even better Games than those in Beijing and to prove myself. Not against others, but above all to prove to myself that I belong here, that I have the potential to compete with the best. And then also, my mother will come, my best friend will be there. Being able to share this experience with other people, having a partner by my side with whom I can compete at the very top – a huge chance.
WELT: With which you hadn’t counted on?
Hase: I wouldn’t have thought four years ago that I would have another opportunity to start at the Olympics. After Beijing, I didn’t know if and how it would continue. It was hard. That’s why I’m super grateful that Nikita and I have come so far.
Nikita Volodin: I’m really looking forward to it too. Before I met Minerva, I had actually given up competitive life and was performing in shows. But it was always my dream as a little boy to compete in the Olympic Games. I did everything I could to make it happen – so it was okay that I didn’t make it. That’s life. I didn’t have a partner then, but I kept training anyway. It wasn’t easy, and I needed to earn some money – so I performed in shows. I didn’t believe anymore that I would get another chance.
Hase: Then Dima called me, my Russian coach. And now we can live out our sporting dreams together. For me, it’s still surreal to say: We are World Championship silver medalists, have European Championship gold and silver. I never expected that as a five-year-old. There are so many figure skaters who want that – and now I’m one of the few who have made it.
WELT: Beijing, Ms. Hase, was tough and heartbreaking for you and Nolan Seegert. How long did it take you to move on?
Hase: It was definitely difficult. In the week after the Olympics, I thought I would quit completely, I wouldn’t do another World Championship. That was it for me. You work on the Olympic dream for 20 years – and then you experience Olympic Games like that. It was really bad. Dima and Nolan then talked me into competing in the World Championships anyway – in retrospect, that was very important, because with two very good programs we finished fifth at the World Championships and had a positive end to the season. That was really good for us.
WELT: But it was your last joint competition.
Hase: Eventually, I realized that I wasn’t finished yet, but that I had to end the time with Nolan. Either a new start or I’d quit. I was at a turning point – and in a hole. I stayed away from the ice for two months. Then I started skating a little for myself. Then Dima (coach Dmitri Savin, with whom Hase had worked for a long time, ed.) said he had a trial training session for me in July 2022.
WELT: And then the motivation returned?
Hase: I first thought: Why not? I watched videos of Nikita and started training more again. I wanted to have something to offer him when he came to Berlin. Dima was very euphoric and said: He’s perfect for me – and I trusted Dima. That’s how I discovered a new passion and quickly realized with Nikita that the figure skating chapter wasn’t over yet. I regained hope. I really didn’t think you could fall into such a deep hole after the Olympics. I had read that it was something that happened, especially when people were successful – but in my case it was the opposite.
WELT: You and Seegert were powerless against the situation. That’s perhaps even harder to digest.
Hase: You work your whole life towards the Olympics, then you reach it – and it’s so far removed from what you imagine. In all respects. It was just awful and not a nice memory. I still don’t see anything positive about it.
Volodin: Maybe we wouldn’t have met otherwise.
Hase: That’s true.
WELT: You are now fighting for a medal. A childhood dream?
Hase: I had rather cautious goals. It wasn’t until after Beijing that I thought for the first time: Actually, I want to be really successful. I had the feeling that it was in my body. But I need the right counterpart to tease that out. And then I was very lucky with Nikita that he said right from the start: If we skate now, we want to compete for medals. We found each other at the right time to take the next step.
Volodin: It was a little different for me. I stood on the ice for the first time at the age of three. And I actually wanted to win an Olympic gold medal as a little boy.
Hase: I’m still more of a pessimist – then you won’t be disappointed if it doesn’t work out. It was unusual at first with Nikita. I said: “A medal would be nice.” And he says: “No, we want to win.”
Volodin: If, then properly.
WELT: And what do you say with a view to Milan?
Volodin: We want to show a gold performance at the Olympic Games. And what happens then, happens. We can’t influence that. But then we will have done everything in our power.
WELT: How did your first meeting go? How quickly did you realize that it clicked?
Hase: I picked him up at the airport in Berlin at the time. It was a bit difficult because I didn’t speak Russian and he didn’t speak English or German. That is: communication was not possible, or only through our coach, who translated. But that’s how we realized: You don’t always have to talk, it’s much about the feeling. When we did the first lifts, the first elements on the ice, I immediately noticed that I could trust him. Everything felt very easy, also very rhythmic. I was on fire and thought: I have to hold on to this one. After five days we already did the first triple jumps.
Volodin: That was unusually early.
Hase: Originally it was planned that we would not only train in Germany, but I would also come to Russia from time to time so that Nikita could be at home. But the Bundeswehr forbade me from traveling to Russia for training. Nikita has to make much more sacrifices than I do – and I’m very happy that he does. But it was worth it, at least.
WELT: How stressful was it that the naturalization would happen in time?
Hase: I was quite nervous when the test came up, always looking at my cell phone and waiting for him to write. It should be said that after the first season, the then head of the base, Jens Ter Laak, now sports director, pushed us very quickly to integrate German lessons for Nikita into the training plan. It was good that there was a little pressure and, above all, support from the German Ice Skating Federation.
Volodin: The German lessons started in May 2024. It was difficult at first, but after six or seven months it was okay. I can talk to my German teacher. Really understanding the German language, also what it means, is a challenge. And I want and have to get better.
Hase: It takes a lot of practice, but you did well. To pass the test within a year, that’s what others need longer for.
Volodin: You are also studying alongside, which is not easy.
WELT: Let’s talk about your current programs. The music for the tango in the short program was created especially for and with you. In the free skate you dance to music by Max Richter. Have you met him?
Hase: No, but that would be cool.
Volodin: If we skate well at the Olympic Games, maybe we’ll have a chance…
Hase: Oh yes! After the Olympics, if he wants to – we would be ready. I’ve listened to a lot of Max Richter before, it touches my heart. We wanted two completely different programs, and we wanted to show that depth in the free skate. And that’s when choreographer Benoit Richaud played us this music and told us the story he wanted to tell. We were immediately enthusiastic. Exactly that’s what we wanted – we didn’t want to play it safe, do something theatrical, but let the music come alive through the choreography and the elements. That is definitely difficult, even more difficult than we thought. But I think you should take risks at the Olympics. And if we skate the free skate in Milan as well as we can, flawlessly, it could be very special.
WELT: How did Benoit present the story he wanted to tell?
Hase: He actually wrote us a little short story, very nice to read. The title translates to: When hope returns. This proves intended to represent that you can get out of difficult phases of life when everything is chaotic, you are sad, confused and don’t know what to do. That there is always another side, a new perspective that gets you out of there. That you can regain hope from every situation, rediscover new zest for life and new passion. We thought that also fits our own story in sport.
WELT: The Olympic dream that you both had already given up.
Hase: We rediscovered the hope after we thought it was over. And everyone has gone through a difficult phase, everyone has their story that they can connect with the free skate.
