Hase And Volodin Win World Figure Skating Pairs Championships

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Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany react during the Pairs Short Program at the ISU Figure Skating World Championships 2026 at O2 Arena Prague on March 25, 2026, in Prague, Czech Republic. (Photo by Yuan Tian/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

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After settling for the bronze medal at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics, German skating pair Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin struck gold in Prague at the 2026 ISU World Figure Skating Championships.

Thursday’s title is the Pairs’ first World or Olympic title, and the first for German skating since 2018 (Aliona Savchenko and Bruno Massot).

The duo defeated Georgia rivals, Olympic silver medalists and former European Champions Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava. Though the Georgian pair settled for silver once again today in Prague, the medal marks Georgia’s world medal in Pairs skating.

Canadians Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud were a highlight of the championships, delivering personal bests across both the short program and free skates to clinch the pair’s first world championship medal, a bronze.

U.S. National Champions Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov were the top finishers for the Americans, finishing sixth in their world championship debut. Americans Katie McBeath and Daniil Parkman finished 12th, and Olympians Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe fell to 16th after a season-low free skate.

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Pairs Skating Final Results (Top 10)​

1. Minerva Hase & Nikita Volodin (Germany): 228.33
2. Anastasiia Metelkina & Luka Berulava (Georgia): 218.41
3. Lia Pereira & Trennt Michaud (Canada): 216.09
4. Yuna Nagaoka & Sumitada Moriguchi (Japan): 209.13
5. Maria Pavlova & Alexei Sviatchenko (Hungary): 205.08
6. Alisa Efimova & Misha Mitrofanov (United States): 202.51
7. Annika Hocke & Robert Kunkel (Germany): 194.11 8
8. Karina Akopova & Nikita Rakhmanin (Armenia): 190.46
9. Jiaxuan Zhang & Yihang Huang (China): 184.90
10. Oxana Vouillamoz & Tom Bouvart (Switzerland): 184.56

The Prague Play-by-Play​

Qualifying fifth after the short program, Japanese national champions Yuna Nagaoka and Sumitada Moriguchi hoped to replicate the come-from-behind win of their compatriots at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Though the duo finished just off the podium, it was one of the cleanest of the day, lifting them to the lead with just the final group to skate.

Canadians Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud recorded a personal best in Wednesday’s short program and hoped to hold onto third place to clinch their first world championship medal.

Skating to a rousing rendition from the "Gladiator" soundtrack, the duo performed with intense emotion and textbook precision, earning another personal best from the judges.

When their score posted, the pair embraced: with only two pairs left to skate, they were guaranteed a medal – they would simply have to wait to determine the color.

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Canada's Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud perform during the pairs free skating program of the 2026 ISU Figure Skating World Championships in Prague on March 26, 2026. (Photo by Michal Cizek / AFP via Getty Images)

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After winning silver in Milan-Cortina, Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava had their eyes on gold. However, the young pair fell just short for the second time this season after a crucial mistake on their throw jump.

Though the Georgian’s score was enough to surpass the Canadians for the top position, a clean skate from Hase and Volodin would bump the Georgians to silver.

Minerva Hase and Nikita Volodin did exactly that. Though the pair was not perfect – stumbling on a pair of Salchow jumps earlier in the program – they regained their composure to rally for a clean and exhilarating finish.

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