Volodin and Alina Ustimkina debuted their partnership in September 2014.[2] They competed at events within Russia during their first season together and began appearing internationally in the 2015–16 season. In August 2015, they were sent to Riga, Latvia to compete at their first ISU Junior Grand Prix (JGP) assignment, placing fifth. In November, they won the junior gold medal at the NRW Trophy, outscoring silver medalists Anna Dušková / Martin Bidař by 19.22 points.[3]
Ustimkina and Volodin ended their partnership in late 2017.
Partnership with Atakhanova
Volodin and Amina Atakhanova teamed up in early 2018, coached by Alexei Sokolov in Saint Petersburg.[2] In April 2018, they won gold at the Russian Youth Championships Elder Age.[5] Their partnership ended following that season. Following this, Volodin did approach Russian women's singles skater, Evgenia Medvedeva, asking if she was interested in trying to pair skating with him but she declined his offer.[6]
Partnership with Hase
In June 2022, Volodin was introduced by coach, Dmitri Savin, to German pair skater, Minerva Fabienne Hase, whose long partnership with Nolan Seegert had ended following the 2022 Winter Olympics. Agreeing to skate together and represent her country, they trained through the 2022–23 season while waiting for Volodin to be released by the Figure Skating Federation of Russia.[7] Initially, the pair were unable to communicate due to Volodin being unable to speak German nor English at the time. Savin would thus act as the team's translator until Volodin learned to speak English well enough to interact with Hase.[8]
Volodin was released by the Russian federation in May 2022. It was subsequently announced that the pair would train in Berlin Germany with coaches, Rico Rex and Knut Schubert. In addition, Savin would continue working with the pair by acting as their coach at international competitions.[9][10][11]
2023–24 season
Hase/Volodin debuted as a team at the 2023 CS Lombardia Trophy, where they won the silver medal behind reigning Italian European champions Conti/Macii, and finishing ahead of domestic rivals Hocke/Kunkel. Hase said it felt "so good to be back and even be on the podium in our first competition."[12] They went on to win a Challenger gold medal on home soil at the 2023 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, after coming back from placing third in the short program.[13]
Hase/Volodin made their senior Grand Prix debut at the 2023 Grand Prix of Espoo. They placed third in the short program behind Shanghai Trophy champions Peng/Wang and Conti/Macii after an error on their throw triple loop, but won the free skate despite jump errors and rose to take the gold medal. Hase admitted that the result felt "very lucky," but that it was "a special moment for both of us."[14] They went on to win the 2023 NHK Trophy as well, improving on all their personal bests in the process and qualifying to the Grand Prix Final as the second seed.[15]
Volodin having become ill following the NHK Trophy, the team was uncertain of their ability to compete. Returning to China for the Final, held in Beijing, they performed their first full run-through since the NHK Trophy in training. Hase/Volodin set a new personal best score to win the short program narrowly over Canadians Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps and Italians Conti/Macii. They finished second in the free skate behind Conti/Macii, but won the gold medal by 0.55 points over the Italian team. Hase said they were "overwhelmed."[16]
Hase became ill following the German Championships, as a result of which the team had only ten days of training prior to the 2024 European Championships in Kaunas. They entered as perceived favourites, finishing second in the short program. They had an error-riddled free skate, culminating in an aborted lift, that saw them place sixth in the segment and drop to fifth place overall. This was the team's first time missing the podium in competition. Hase said that they "have to appreciate what we have already achieved this season," and vowed that they would get used to the pressure of being the favourites.[17]
Following the disappointment at the European Championships, Hase/Volodin performed in the Art on Ice skating show, which they would later credit with aiding them with performing in front of large audiences.[18] At the 2024 World Championships, they placed fourth in the short program, 0.78 points behind Conti/Macii in third place. Despite Hase making a Salchow error in the free skate, they came third in that segment, and rose to third overall to claim the bronze medal. This was the first World medal for both, and the first for a German skater since Savchenko/Massot's gold medal in 2018.[19] Volodin said that "I can't believe at the moment that I won a medal at the real world championships. Maybe after some time."[18]
2024–25 season
Hase/Volodin started the season by winning gold at the 2024 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, defeating reigning World Champions, Stellato-Dudek/Deschamps, and scoring personal bests in all competition segments.[20] They went on to compete at the 2024 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur, however after completing the short program segment, the senior pairs free skate event was cancelled due to poor weather conditions. Hase/Volodin were awarded the gold medal based on their short program result.[21]
Going on to compete on the 2024–25 Grand Prix circuit, the team won the gold medal at the 2024 Grand Prix de France. Following the event, Volodin shared, "We came here knowing it was possible to win. We are glad we could show a good performance again and proved that Nebelhorn Trophy was not a one-hit-wonder. We are glad we could show consistency and the win is of course very nice." Volodin added, "We try not to think too much about the fact that we won the bronze at Worlds last season, this is a new fresh season."[20][22] Three weeks later, prior to the pairs short program at the 2024 Cup of China, Hase would suffer with food poisoning. Despite this, the pair would go on to complete their short program, finishing second in that segment behind Conti/Macii due to Volodin taking an unexpected fall during the step sequence. The following day, Hase/Volodin would put forth a strong free skate performance, winning that segment of the competition. Hase/Volodin would finish second overall to Conti/Macii.[20][23] Following the event, Hase said, "We are relieved, really just relieved. This was a hard work, like this program was hard work from beginning to the end. So, I’m really happy with what we did today. I’m just dead. I’m happy it’s done now, that I can like chill now a little bit."[24]
Note: The senior pairs free skate at the 2024 Trophée Métropole Nice Côte d'Azur was cancelled on account of inclement weather. It was later announced that the short program results would be considered as the final results for the competition.[31]
Pair skating with Alina Ustimkina
ISU personal best scores in the +3/-3 GOE System [32]
