KAUNAS, Lithuania — Loena Hendrickx took the lead at the European figure skating championships in the women’s short program on Thursday as fellow Belgian skater Nina Pinzarrone followed close behind.
Hendrickx led the way with 74.66 points after landing a triple flip, double axel and a triple lutz-triple toeloop combination. The 17-year-old Pinzarrone is second on 69.70 and last year’s winner Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia is third on 68.96.
In Saturday’s free skate, Hendrickx will be aiming for her first major championship title after finishing second to Gubanova at last year’s European championships and winning silver and bronze world championship medals.
The pairs free skate is later Thursday. Georgia’s Anastasiia Metelkina and Luka Berulava lead that event after the short program.
Russia and Belarus are not competing at the European Championships because they remain barred from International Skating Union events following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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