Loena Hendrickx (BEL) in the Women's Short Program during the ISU European Figure Skating Championships Kaunas (LTU) © ISU
Hot favorite Loena Hendrickx (BEL) won the Women’s Short Program as the ISU European Figure Skating Championships continued in Kaunas (LTU) Thursday.
Loena Hendrickx (BEL) tops Short Program
Loena Hendrickx of Belgium is on track for her first European title by winning the Women’s Short Program with almost five points to spare. Her teammate Nina Pinzarrone came second followed closely by 2023 ISU European Champion Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia.
Skating to “I’m nin’alu” and “Living for Love”, Hendrickx produced a triple flip, double Axel and a triple Lutz-triple toe as well as level-four lifts and spins. She only slightly underrotated (q) the Lutz. The two-time ISU World medalist scored 74.66 points for the lead.
“I was surprised it (the score) was so high, but I had all level fours, that’s why.
“It’s very risky to do it (the jump combination) in the second half of the program and that’s also in my head because I think I’m one of very few that does it,” said the 2023 European silver medalist.
“I had a very hard training towards here. I really exhausted myself and the last week before coming here I did few practices every day, less than an hour, two times a day. I think I had a very good preparation and I felt very confident,” she continued.
Nina Pinzarrone’s performance to music from the “W.E.” soundtrack included a triple Lutz-triple toe, a triple loop, double Axel as well as difficult spins and steps. The Grand Prix de France silver medalist set a new personal best of 69.70 points.
Nina Pinzarrone (BEL) in the Women's Short Program during the ISU European Figure Skating Championships Kaunas (LTU) © ISU
“It was my biggest goal to perform my best and improve my season's best, so I'm really happy to have done that,” Pinzarrone told the press. “It (my preparation) was different from other years. We had just one week after New Year, so I enjoyed the Christmas break, but I had to prepare as well and be on the ice every day, so it wasn't really a break,” the 17-year-old added.
Anastasiia Gubanova put on an excellent performance of her routine to “Mojo” as well, completing a triple flip-triple toe, triple Lutz and double Axel. The layback spin and the footwork were rated a level three, the other two spins a level four. The defending champion picked up 68.96 points.
Anastasiia Gubanova (GEO) in the Women's Short Program during the ISU European Figure Skating Championships Kaunas (LTU) © ISU
“I’m very happy with myself, today I managed to do everything I planned. I would like to note that the atmosphere is very warm, calm and kind on the ice. I had a real pleasure to skate here,” Gubanova shared.
“I planned for everything to be level four, I need to look into it and understand why the level is lower,” she continued.
Livia Kaiser (SUI) came in fourth with a strong performance and remains close to the podium (66.31 points). Olga Mikutina (AUT) sits in fifth on 63.71 points followed by Lorine Schild (FRA) at 63.27 points. 2023 European bronze medalist Kimmy Repond (SUI) fell on her triple Lutz to come eighth (60.34)
For full results please see here.
Schedule of the event
The schedule of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships is as follows:
Wednesday, January 10: Pairs & Men’s Short Programs
Thursday, January 11: Women’s Short Program, Pairs Free Skating
Friday, January 12: Rhythm Dance & Men’s Free Skating
Saturday, January 13: Women’s Free Skating & Free Dance
Sunday, January 14: Exhibition Gala
For full entries and results, please see the ISU event page and the official website. Follow the discussion on social media using #EuroFigure and #FigureSkating.
Where to watch the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2024:
The ISU European Figure Skating Championships will be live streamed on the Skating ISU YouTube Channel. Geo-restrictions will apply in markets where TV rights are in place. You will find the full list in the Where to Watch news here.
Subscribe to the Skating ISU YouTube Channel to receive alerts when the live streams start and when new videos are posted.
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