Loena Hendrickx (BEL) marked her birthday with a dominant win in the Women's event at the Grand Prix de France © ISU
World silver medalist Loena Hendrickx of Belgium celebrated her 23rd birthday in style by winning the first ISU Grand Prix gold medal for her country as the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event Grand Prix de France continued Saturday in Angers (FRA). Korea’s Yelim Kim earned the silver while Rion Sumiyoshi from Japan rose from fifth to clinch the bronze. Kim and Sumiyoshi earned their first ISU Grand Prix medals while for Hendrickx it was her second after bronze in Italy a year ago.
The win in Angers is Hendrickx's first ISU Grand Prix gold medal © ISU
Performing to “Poeta” and “Fallen Angel”, Hendrickx delivered and reeled off six triple jumps including a triple Lutz-triple toeloop combination as well as two level-four spins and level-four steps. The World silver medalist earned a season’s best of 143.59 points and totaled 216.34, winning with more than 20 points to spare.
The Belgian topped both the Short Program and Free Skating standings on her way to the Grand Prix de France title © ISU
“Of course it feels amazing. I was a bit nervous because the program was pretty new. The changes we’ve made were kind of last minute and it was hard mentally for the Free Skating,” Hendrickx shared. “I felt confident after my practice this morning. It’s crazy, I just won gold at a Grand Prix and I am proud I could do it for Belgium and the sport in my country,” she continued.
Yelim Kim (KOR) held on to the silver medal despite finishing fourth in the Free Skating © ISU
Kim’s program to “Summer of 42” featured four clean triples, but she fell on a Lutz and a Salchow. At 125.83 points, the Korean skater ranked fourth in the Free Skating, but overall remained in second place with 194.76 points, just ahead of Sumiyoshi.
Kim's silver medal is her first medal on the ISU Grand Prix circuit © ISU
“I am quite disappointed with my performance, but I am happy and grateful I got second place. I’m going to work hard for my second Grand Prix in Japan to be better,” Kim said. “This is my third season on the Grand Prix circuit and my first medal. I am very happy about that and I’m going to practice more.”
Rion Sumiyoshi (JPN) also secured her first ISU Grand Prix medal with bronze in Angers © ISU
Sumiyoshi went for a quadruple toeloop in her routine to “Enchantress” but missed. The Japanese skater recovered to land five clean triples and ranked third in the Free Skating with 130.24 point. That was enough to move her from fifth to third overall with 194.34.
“My skating was not my best, but I was really enjoying this competition and I am happy to be third. I started practicing the quad toe last year in summer, but my success rate was not good. This year the success is about half in terms of landing or stepping out,” Sumiyoshi commented.
Haein Lee (KOR) scored 130.72 in the Free Skating to take fourth place overall © ISU
The 2022 ISU Four Continents silver medalist Haein Lee (KOR) was second in the Free Skating and moved up from sixth to fourth overall with 193.49 points. Audrey Shin (USA) finished fifth (183.93 points) while Mana Kawabe (JPN) slipped from third to sixth place (182.50 points).
The Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA) November 4-6 is the third of six events in the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating.
More than 150 Skaters/Couples representing 29 ISU Members have been invited to the series. The maximum number of entries for each event is 12 Ladies, 12 Men, 8 Pairs and 10 Ice Dance couples.
The General Announcement of the 2022/23 ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series is available here. The individual announcements are published under the respective events. Full entry lists and further information are available on the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series page.
Selection Criteria
In order for a Skater/Couple to be eligible to compete at an ISU Grand Prix event, a minimum total score must have been achieved in the 2021/22 or current 2022/23 season in an ISU event (Grand Prix, Junior Grand Prix, Championships) or a Challenger Series event. Exceptions apply to host country Skaters, previously ranked Skaters or split ranked Couples who return with new partners. The minimum total score is 3/5 of highest score per discipline at the ISU World Figure Skating Championships 2022 and are as follows: Women: 141.65, Men: 187.49, Pairs: 132.65, Ice Dance: 137.89.
Following the IOC recommendation and in order to protect the integrity of ice skating competitions and for the safety of all the participants of international ice skating competitions, the ISU Council based on Article 17.1.q)i) of the ISU Constitution, agreed that with immediate effect and until further notice, no Skaters belonging to the ISU Members in Russia (Russian Skating Union and the Figure Skating Federation of Russia) and Belarus (Skating Union of Belarus) shall be invited or allowed to participate in International ice skating competitions including ISU Championships and other ISU Events. The same applies to Officials listed in the respective ISU Communications and/or Regulations under Russia and Belarus (see ISU Communication 2469).
Grand Prix Standings
Men Women Ice Dance Pair Skating
Where to Watch
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events will be live streamed on the official ISU YouTube Channel in most countries. Find out where to watch the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating competitions.
Subscribe to the ISU YouTube Channel to receive all the latest videos and follow the conversation with #GPFigure.
ISU Grand Prix Schedule
The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating events are available below:
21 - 23 Oct, 2022 Skate America, Norwood (USA)
28 – 30 Oct, 2022 Skate Canada International, Mississauga (CAN)
04 - 06 Nov, 2022 Grand Prix de France, Angers (FRA)
11 - 13 Nov, 2022 MK John Wilson Trophy, Sheffield (GBR)
18 - 20 Nov, 2022 NHK Trophy, Sapporo (JPN)
25 - 27 Nov, 2022 Grand Prix Espoo, Espoo (FIN)
08 - 11 Dec, 2022 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final, Torino (ITA)
About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating
The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their Grand Prix events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.
.png)
