At the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics, Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin took the lead with 80.01 points in the pairs short program. Japan's Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, two-time world champions, dropped to fifth after a rare mistake.
The pairs short program at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics took place on February 16, where Germany's Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin earned 80.01 points for a precise performance to claim the lead. As reigning world silver medalists, they benefited from unexpected errors by others.
Japan's two-time world champions Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara finished fifth due to a rare mistake, opening up the competition ahead of Monday's free skate.
"Our goal was to go out there and feel like we do in practice," Hase said. "So we tried to do that. After the program, we were happy that everything worked out."
The session highlighted the Germans' accuracy amid mistakes from rivals, setting the stage for the free program to determine the final standings.
