The young Antwerp skater has won the French figure skating Grand Prix. No other Belgian skater has ever won gold in this kind of international competition.
© Belga
On her 23rd birthday, Loena Hendrickx was given the most wonderful birthday present she could have imagined. She won the Grand Prix de France figure skating championship held in Angers.
For her first Grand Prix of the season, she achieved a feat that no other Belgian had been able to accomplish. Her best result in this kind of competition was third place at the Italian Grand Prix in November 2021, in Turin. In that competition, she totalled 219.05 points, the best score of her career.
In the lead after the short programme, the Antwerp skater maintained her first place in the free programme. She finished with a score of 216.34 pts, ahead of South Korea's Kim (194.76) and Japan's Sumiyoshi (194.36).
Very emotional, she told the press, "I was nervous because it was a new free programme and we only decided to present it at the last minute. Mentally, it wasn't easy in the run-up to this competition, but after my morning training, I felt confident. I just wanted to skate well on my birthday. And I'm pleased I was able to show my best level."
After Angers, there are still three other major events on the calendar for our skater: the John Wilson Trophy, the NHK Trophy and the Finnish Grand Prix.
Already vice world champion since last March, the young Loena Hendrickx keeps on skating towards success.
