Belgian figure skater Loena Hendrickx was crowned European champion for the first time in her career on Saturday in Kaunas, Lithuania. Nina Pinzarrone brought home a second medal for Belgium by taking bronze.
The 24-year-old Hendrickx took the lead after the short program on Thursday and never relinquished it in the long program. She received 138.59 points for her routine, bringing her total score to 213.25 points.
Hendrickx started the battle for the medals on Saturday with a combination of a lutz and a cherry flip, two triple jumps, a double axel and a triple flip. She intended to finish with a series of three jumps, but dropped the last one when she knew she had sealed the win.
Talent and hard work
Last year at the European Championships in Espoo, Finland, Hendrickx finished second behind Russian skater Anastasiia Gubanova, who competes for Georgia. Gubanova finished second this time with 206.52 points. Hendrickx also holds two world championship medals, having won silver in 2022 and bronze in 2023.
Born in Turnhout, Hendrickx has been skating for 20 years. She always had talent, but hard work became her motto. The decision to hire sports psychologist Eline Berings as her mental coach a year ago seems to have been an important step toward the absolute top.
Mastery and serenity
Pinzarrone, who is only 17 years old, won her first European Championship medal on Saturday. She scored 132.59 points in the long program and finished with 202.29 points to win the bronze medal and improve her personal record of 198.80 points.
Despite her young age, Pinzarrone stands out for the mastery and serenity with which she skates. Choreographer Benoit Richaud, who has known her for four years, already dares to speak of medals at the 2026 Olympics. Loena Hendrickx, on the other hand, has planned her farewell in Milan.
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