MILAN (AP) — Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin were the beneficiaries of another unpredictable night of Olympic figure skating.
The German pair, who have struggled with consistency themselves, made it through their short program cleanly while all of the other favorites faltered Sunday night, giving them a comfortable lead going into the free skate at the Milan Cortina Games.
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Sui Wenjing stumbles with her partner Han Cong of China compete during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea of the United States compete during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan react after competing during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud of Canada compete during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany compete during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Performing to “El Abrazo” by French composer Maxime Rodriguez, Hase and Volodin opened with a brilliant triple twist, landed their side-by-side triple salchows, and their throw triple loop put an exclamation mark on a program that earned them 80.01 points.
“Our goal was to go out there and feel like we do in practice and just do our job,” Hase said. “So we tried to do that and then after the program we were happy that everything worked out. The crowd was amazing. They supported us a lot. So we are happy overall. But it was just the first part. So tomorrow we have to do the same again.”
Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava, who made a mistake on their throw triple flip but were otherwise solid, were well behind in second place with 75.46 points as they try to give Georgia its first ever medal at the Winter Games.
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud of Canada were third with 74.60 in what could be a tight competition for the podium Monday night.
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara, the world champions from Japan and heavy favorites to win gold, will have to stage a big comeback after a major mistake on their lift cost them nearly six points. Miura awkwardly slid off Kihara's shoulders near the end of the element, and that error was enough to send them tumbling all the way to fifth place with 73.11 points.
By comparison, Miura and Kihara scored a career-best 82.84 points for the same program during the team event last weekend.
The defending Olympic champions, Sui Wenjing and Han Cong, went long before the rest of the favorites because the order is based partly on world rankings. And because they only began a comeback last June after a two-year retirement brought on by Han's injuries, their ranking had suffered, and they wound up being the second pair to take the ice.
They also became the first of the favorites to stumble; Sui fell on their opening triple toe loop and they finished with 72.66 points.
“This is a good memory because this is our third time at the Olympics,” Han said. “We wanted to show what we have now.”
Former world champions Deanna Stellato-Dudek, the 42-year-old from the Chicago area, and her Canadian partner Maxime Deschamps weren’t even sure they would compete at these Olympics when she sustained a head injury in a recent practice fall.
They had a strong program going until Stellato-Dudek’s fluke fall at the end of their reverse lasso lift. They scored just 66.04.
“That has never happened before. It was the first time,” Stellato-Dudek said. “I guess it cost us around 10 points.”
Ellie Kam and Danny O’Shea, who helped the U.S. capture team gold last week, were the top American pair in seventh place with 71.87 points. Emily Chan and Spencer Akira Howe, a private first class in the U.S. Army, were ninth with 70.06 points.
“Everybody’s goal is to go out there and skate clean and nail all the elements,” Howe said. “For me, a big goal has always been getting out there and feeling good. Because if you can feel good, then you have your best chances of delivering what you need to do.”
The Americans have not won an Olympic pairs medal since 1988, but they appear to be on an upswing in the discipline. And their top team, national champs Alisa Efimova and Misha Mitrofanov, isn't even at the Winter Games because the Finish-born Efimova was not able to secure her American citizenship in time, which is one of the requirements of the International Olympic Committee.
“There are some amazing pairs teams within the U.S., and I think that you’ll see all three of them at the world championships this year,” O'Shea said. “It’s awesome, because pairs in the U.S. is very dear to my heart.”
AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Sui Wenjing stumbles with her partner Han Cong of China compete during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Ellie Kam and Danny O'Shea of the United States compete during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara of Japan react after competing during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud of Canada compete during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany compete during the pairs figure skating short program at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
The battlefield is narrowing and the timeline is tightening in a congressional redistricting contest among states seeking a partisan advantage ahead of the November midterm elections.
The end of Maryland's legislative session this week marked the demise of Democratic efforts to reshape the state's U.S. House districts. But Virginia voters are deciding Tuesday on a Democratic redistricting plan that could help the party win several additional House seats in this year's election. And Florida lawmakers are to begin a special session April 28 for a Republican attempt at congressional redistricting.
Voting districts typically are redrawn once a decade, after each census. But President Donald Trump triggered an unusual round of mid-decade redistricting last year when he urged Texas Republicans to redraw House districts to give the GOP an edge in the midterm elections. California Democrats reciprocated, and redistricting efforts soon cascaded across states.
So far, Republicans believe they could win nine additional seats in states where they have redrawn congressional districts, while Democrats think they could gain six seats elsewhere because of redistricting. But that presumes past voting patterns hold in November. And that’s uncertain, especially since the party in power typically loses seats in the midterms and Trump faces negative approval ratings in polls.
Democrats need to gain just a few seats in November to wrest control of the House from Republicans, potentially allowing them to obstruct Trump’s agenda.
Officials in more than a dozen states debated or floated redistricting proposals. The immediate focus is on two states — one led by Republicans, the other by Democrats.
Current map: eight Democrats, 20 Republicans
Proposed map: Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis has called a special legislative session to begin April 28 on congressional redistricting. Republicans haven't yet publicly released a specific plan.
Challenges: The state constitution says districts cannot be drawn with intent to favor or disfavor a political party or incumbent.
Current map: six Democrats, five Republicans
Proposed map: A new U.S. House map passed by the Democratic-led General Assembly could help Democrats win up to four additional seats. For the map to take effect, voters would have to approve a constitutional amendment allowing mid-decade redistricting. That amendment is on Tuesday's ballot.
Challenges: The state Supreme Court ruled the referendum can proceed, but it has yet to rule whether the effort is legal. The court is considering an appeal of a Tazewell County judge’s ruling that the amendment is invalid because lawmakers violated their own rules while passing it.
New U.S. House districts have been adopted in six states since last summer. Four took up redistricting voluntarily, one was required to by its state constitution and another did so under court order.
Current map: 13 Democrats, 25 Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a revised House map into law last August that could help Republicans win five additional seats.
Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in December cleared the way for the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It put on hold a lower-court ruling that blocked the new map because it was “racially gerrymandered.”
Current map: 43 Democrats, nine Republicans
New map: Voters in November approved revised House districts drawn by the Democratic-led Legislature that could help Democrats win five additional seats.
Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in February allowed the new districts to be used in this year’s elections. It denied an appeal from Republicans and the Department of Justice, which claimed the districts impermissibly favor Hispanic voters.
Current map: two Democrats, six Republicans
New map: Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe signed a revised House map into law last September that could help Republicans win an additional seat.
Challenges: A Cole County judge ruled the new map is in effect as election officials work to determine whether a referendum petition seeking a statewide vote complies with constitutional criteria and contains enough valid petition signatures. The Missouri Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit claiming mid-decade redistricting is illegal. It's scheduled to hear arguments in May on claims the new districts violate compactness requirements and should be placed on hold pending the potential referendum.
Current map: four Democrats, 10 Republicans
New map: The Republican-led General Assembly gave final approval in October to revised districts that could help Republicans win an additional seat.
Challenges: A federal court panel in November denied a request to block the revised districts from being used in the midterm elections.
Current map: five Democrats, 10 Republicans
New map: A bipartisan panel composed primarily of Republicans voted in October to approve revised House districts that improve Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.
Challenges: None. The state constitution required new districts before the 2026 election, because Republicans had approved the prior map without sufficient Democratic support after the last census.
Current map: no Democrats, four Republicans
New map: A judge in November imposed revised House districts that could help Democrats win a seat. The court ruled that lawmakers had circumvented anti-gerrymandering standards passed by voters when adopting the prior map.
Challenges: A federal court panel and the state Supreme Court, in February, each rejected Republican challenges to the judicial map selection.
Governors, lawmakers or partisan officials pushed for congressional redistricting in numerous states. In at least five states, those efforts gained some initial traction but ultimately fell short in either the legislature or court.
Current map: seven Democrats, one Republican
Proposed map: The Democratic-led House in February passed a redistricting plan backed by Democratic Gov. Wes Moore that could help Democrats win an additional seat.
Challenges: The legislative session ended in April without the Democratic-led Senate voting on the redistricting plan. The state Senate president said there were concerns it could backfire on Democrats.
Current map: 19 Democrats, seven Republicans
Proposed map: A judge in January ordered a state commission to draw new boundaries for the only congressional district in New York City represented by a Republican, ruling it unconstitutionally dilutes the votes of Black and Hispanic residents.
Challenges: The U.S. Supreme Court in March granted Republicans' request to halt the judge’s order, leaving the existing district lines in place for the 2026 election.
Current map: two Democrats, seven Republicans
Proposed map: The Republican-led House passed a redistricting plan in December that would have improved Republicans’ chances of winning two additional seats.
Challenges: Despite pressure from Trump to adopt the new map, the Republican-led Senate rejected it in a bipartisan vote on Dec. 11.
Current map: one Democrat, three Republicans
Proposed map: Some Republican lawmakers mounted an attempt to take up congressional redistricting.
Challenges: Lawmakers dropped a petition drive for a special session on congressional redistricting in November, after failing to gain enough support.
Current map: 14 Democrats, three Republicans
Proposed map: The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in October proposed a new U.S. House map that would improve Democrats’ chances of winning an additional seat.
Challenges: The Democratic-led General Assembly declined to take up redistricting, citing concerns about the effect on representation for Black residents.
A mug holds pens at the Culpeper County Voter Registration office during the early voting period in the Virginia redistricting referendum, Friday, April 3, 2026, in Culpeper, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A sign supporting the Virginia redistricting referendum stands among flowers Friday, April 3, 2026, in Madison, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Fairfax County Republican Committee members Harry Lowcock and Esmat Mostafaeithe wait to talk voters outside the Fairfax County Government Center during early voting for the Virginia redistricting referendum Friday, April 3, 2026, in Fairfax, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Voting booths are seen at the Culpeper County Voter Registration office during the early voting period for the Virginia redistricting referendum Friday, April 3, 2026, in Culpeper, Va. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
