Anastasiia Metelkina & Luka Berulava (GEO) captured the lead with a sharp performance as Saatva Skate America kicked off in Lake Placid, NY (USA) with an exciting Pairs Short Program on Friday.

Anastasiia Metelkina & Luka Berulava (GEO) shine 

Metelkina & Berulava of Georgia captured a strong lead followed by two-time and reigning ISU World Pairs Champions Riku Miura & Ryuichi Kihara of Japan. Germany’s Annika Hocke & Robert Kunkel are currently ranked third.

Metelkina & Berulava looked sharp and precise from the first second in their “Bolero” Short Program. The two-time ISU World Junior Champions had the attention of the crowd at the Olympic arena in Lake Placid right away with their opening pose with her in a headstand on the ice. The 2025 European bronze medalists produced a triple twist, side by side triple Salchow and throw triple flip to set a new personal best of 78.83 points. 

“We feel good even though we woke up at 4am and did not sleep,” Berulava said. “We pulled ourselves together and did our job. The program was a bit hard today but we managed everything and it came out quite well.”

Metelkina and Berulava (GEO) are feeling comfortable in their surroundings in Lake Placid © ISU

The skaters are enjoying Lake Placid. “Nastia and I are here for the first time and we feel very comfortable here if you don’t count that we can’t sleep. I love the nature here, there are wild animals roaming around. We feel like in a camp rather than at a competition. We feel the Olympic spirit here, the Games were held here twice,” Berulava added. 

Miura & Kihara opened their fast-paced program to “Paint It Black” with a nice triple twist, but then Miura doubled the toeloop. The 2025 ISU Four Continents Champions recovered to complete a difficult Axel Lasso lift and a throw triple Lutz. They earned 74.42 points.

“We did make a mistake, so it was not perfect but the other elements including the throw were clean and we are proud of that,” Miura shared. 

Miura and Kihara (JPN) recovered from an early mistake to sit second in the Pairs © ISU

“It (Lake Placid) is a very historic place and I am glad and honored to participate here,” Kihara noted. “It is an Olympic season and it motivates me a bit more. I will be visiting the Olympic museum and there is a speed skating oval where I’ll do five laps or so.”

Skating to “Hold My Hand” by Lady Gaga, Hocke & Kunkel delivered a season's best performance that included a triple twist and throw triple flip, only the side by side triple Salchow was wobbly. The 2023 Skate America Champions scored 68.26 points. 

“We are very happy with the second half of the program,” Hocke said. “I did a mistake, but we improved a lot in the second half and for now we are happy.” 

Hocke and Kunkel (GER) are focused on their Olympic goals and are in the medal places in Lake Placid © ISU

She enjoys being in Lake Placid as well. “I love winter and snow. We train in Italy and Germany and there is not much snow, so I enjoy the winter here. The facility is super nice and it is great to see the Olympic rings. It makes the goal visible.”

Kunkel agreed: “They took care of the Olympic venues, everything is still new and they continue to use it.”

ISU Skate to Milano silver medalists Karina Akopova & Nikita Rakhmanin (ARM), who came in as a last-minute replacement, finished fourth on 64.74 points, while two-time ISU Four Continents silver medalists Emily Chan & Spencer Akira Howe (USA) placed fifth on 61.51 points. 

The schedule of the ISU Grand Prix Saatva Skate America is as follows:

Friday, November 14: Pairs & Men’s Short Programs
Saturday, November 15: Rhythm Dance, Pairs Free Skating, Women’s Short Program, Men’s Free Skating
Sunday, November 16: Free Dance, Women’s Free Skating

ISU Grand Prix Standings

Check out who is on their way to qualify for the ISU Grand Prix Final:

Men                 Women        Pairs       Ice Dance

For full entry lists and further information regarding the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series please visit here.

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The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:

• 17 - 19 Oct 2025                       Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
• 24 - 26 Oct 2025                       Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)
• 31 Oct-2 Nov 2025                   Skate Canada International in Saskatoon (CAN)
• 07 - 9 Nov 2025                        NHK Trophy in Osaka (JPN)
• 14- 16 Nov 2025                       Skate America in Lake Placid (USA)  
• 21 - 23 Nov 2025                      Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN) 
  
  The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final: 
  04 - 07 Dec 2025                        Nagoya (JPN)