A series of challenges have only brought pair skaters Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel closer: 'We want to transport people'

Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel are pretty sure they’d make a mean table tennis team at Paris 2024. The German pair figure skaters have a table in the garage at home that they use to practice.

“He’s still winning against me, but I’m getting there,” smiles Hocke as Kunkel chimes in: “When we started, I was even winning with my wrong hand, but now... it’s equal.”

The duo laughs in good spirits: It’s a Saturday evening in the Dallas suburbs of Texas and they have just conquered a career-first: Capturing a Grand Prix gold medal in what is their fifth season together.

“We worked really hard this summer especially, and it was a tough time preparing for this event,” said Hocke, who is 23. “We can be very happy and we're just excited to keep going like that.”

Hocke and Kunkel have the chance to keep it going this weekend at Cup of China when the team goes head-to-head with Skate Canada winners Deanna Stellato-Dudek and Maxime Deschamps, the Canadians registering the best pairs score of the year there with a 214.64.

The Germans, who were ninth at the World Championships last March, can feel the chance to be one of the best teams of the world – skating, not table tennis, that is – within their grasp.

“I think our goals are more about the quality we're doing – and if we are able to do that, [then] the medals or results will come," said the 24-year-old Kunkel. "We want to skate very clean and then let's see what's coming out. And that's the main goal for us."

Hocke/Kunkel: Making the move to Bergamo

It was the summer of 2022 that the team made a dramatic decision: Unsatisfied with their training setup in Germany, they headed to the famed Ice Lab training rink in Bergamo, Italy, just outside of Milano.

They would be coached by two-time Olympian Ondrej Hotarek, a former pairs skater, and work on choreography with former world champion ice dancers Anna Cappellini (Hotarek’s wife) and Luca Lanotte.

It’s a pair skating hotbed, with world bronze medallists Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii based there, as well as European medallists Rebecca Ghilardi and Filippo Ambrosini – among a handful of other teams.

And just the atmosphere that Annika and Robert needed.

“It’s just a great atmosphere,” says Hocke, lighting up.

“The most important thing is trusting our coach 100 percent; letting him do all our planning,” added Kunkel. “[In Germany] we had a good coach, we tried to do what was good... but at a certain point, we couldn’t step higher. [Hotarek] is looking at maybe not tomorrow and maybe not the next week, he’s [thinking about] the big events and trying to make us fit for those.”

Added Hocke of the choreography work with Cappellini and Lanotte: “It was a fun idea to work with them. I always loved their ice dance programs, so I though, ‘Why not put that into pairs?’ It’s a good thing for us to have them.”

A struggle with funding

Part of their decision to relocate also came as they struggled to secure funding from the German federation and beyond. Kunkel describes the situation as this: “It feels like we’re not starting with zero; it feels like we’re starting in the minuses.”

He continued: “It was a very tough time [this summer] because even if we could have concentrated 100 percent on training, it would have made no sense to do this because we didn't know if we will make it through the season money-wise.”

They spent time participating in a German military camp that helped them secure funding, but call where they’re at with finances a “very critical situation,” especially in regard to the German federation.

“It's definitely difficult because you have to do so much extra stuff that shouldn't normally be a topic for an athlete because we should train, go to practice, do our job and go home,” added Hocke. “But right now, we have a lot of worries about how to finance our practice, how to fill in forms to get prize money from competition, stuff like that.”

“It's just almost like an extra job.”

Their 2022-23 season was the best yet, a first national title accompanied by a bronze at both Europeans and Grand Prix de France.

Skate America last month marked their fourth competition in a young season, but also their first win at an international event in over a year (Finlandia Trophy, 2022).

Hocke: 'We want to transport people'

With Cappellini/Lanotte as their muses, Hocke and Kunkel have let more and more dance seep into their programs, which this year feature “I Love Rock n Roll” in the short and “Without You” for the free skate.

“We want people to feel something,” Hocke said bluntly. “We want to transport people... put them in a good mood. I want to keep trying to do that.”

Kunkel said the team aspires to be different, even in a discipline – pair skating – that requires the most spell-binding and athletically challenging technical elements program after program.

“On TikTok, for example, you have three seconds to convince someone to watch something,” Kunkel offered. “We want to do something where everyone claps... that they know; that is entertaining.”

PyeongChang 2018 Olympic champions Aljona Savchenko and Bruno Massot remain the standard-bearers for German pair skating, with Sachenko having also previously won two Olympic medals with Robin Szolkowy.

Hocke and Kunkel are aware of that legacy, but are also motivated to build their own, especially as they train just near to where figure skating will be held at Milano Cortina 2026.

“We try to continue this path,” Kunkel said. “We’re trying to make entertaining programs to make it bigger [again].”

It’s an effort they’re making as team both in hard work on the ice and in table tennis, relaxing away from it.

“I think we really help each other and work good together,” said Hocke. “And that was always our most important thing: That we have a good relationship and that we work on the same side.”

“And we have the same goals,” added Kunkel. “The Olympics are just over two years away, and yes, that’s our goal, but it’s more important that we have the same idea on how to get there. And we do.”