2024 Europeans: Womens' thoughts?

[gsk8]

Hendrickx finally clinches coveted gold at Europeans

2024 European Figure Skating Championships: Women Loena Hendrickx of Belgium finally clinched the coveted gold at the 2024 Europeans Championships on Saturday in Kaunas, Lithuania. Georgia’s Anastasiia Gubanova rose to claim the silver, […]

www.goldenskate.com

Hendrickx finally did it! She got her title!

Gubanova is just so lovely to watch and I will be following Joos more closely

What are your thoughts on the Women's event?

 

[Anna K.]

Oh la la

We knew it was going to be Loena but what a performance!

 

[noskates]

My favorite skate was Gubanova's. She's almost ethereal on the ice. And it was nice to see Loena with a little less body showing! She did have a great skate.

 

[Skating91]

I really liked Kaiser thought her PCS was too low, she has such great height on her jumps and stability. Her lutz is a great jump.

I thought the last three did well to skate to their maximum. Gubanova especially knowing what one or two mistakes will do to her score. The pressure she was under must have been intense.

Nina getting hit with 4 q's when those landings were if anything better than Loena's landings is outrageous. I will post photographic proof in the coming days. If Loena had somehow finished behind Gubanova, I think Nina would have been judged differently (controversial territory I won't go there it's just a wild theory of mine).

Some of the GOE's on Loena's jumps were absurd as well on the opening combo for Loena both jumps were dirty one borderline q and the other should have been a q but similar GOE to Gubanova's opening combo which was executed properly with jumps fully rotated. Doesn't make sense . Sorry, this is just wrong. It is clear manipulation of the result.

Gubanova's score was too low in the short program for a clean skate with clean jumps, Loena's way too high with that dirty combo. Then if you add that Gubanova had the better free skate with jump errors but still gets two jumps looked at compared to Loena's one (could have given a q on 5 of the jumps), it could have been really, really close. In fact fully justifiable giving the win to Gubanova. Yes she's slow, but doesn't make nearly as many errors as Loena. Loena's makes fundamental errors in almost every jump element. I am not exaggerating and will post proof in the coming days.

Still it's justifiable giving the win to Loena, and justifiable giving it to Nina if she was held to the same standard as Loena by the officials.

I'm really impressed by Nina's consistency seems like she hasn't made a mistake whenever I have watched her.

 

[niks]

Loena is an energectic skater and it's nothing against her per se, but I just can't get behind her winning here or any other major title this year. Simply because both her programs this season are truly awful. The choreo doesn't even pretend to keep any link to the music (Loena will keep moving her arms frantically around no matter what, even when there is actually a silence in the music) and the music is not even music, it's just background noises

I'm sorry but these programs must be some of the most terrible ones I've even seen, at least at Elite level, and by a big margin. The fact that they both were deemed the best programs at each segment and won Europeans is actually a sad fact that reflects poorly on the current level of European skating. I do not know who made these programs but now with an European gold medal, they can very well feel vindicated and believe there is any merit in their work, and worse yet, keep producing more programs as horrible as these

Loena does indeed deserve better material, but then again this is what got her an European title, so she probably won't see any damage in continuing to skate to similar awfulness

 

[readernick]

Loena is the best skater. Like her programs or not ( Personally, I liked the SP but not the FS) her SS, spins, StepSeqs, performance quality are just so much ahead of everyone who was here. ( At least everyone else capable of rotating more difficult jumps, Lara, Olga, Josefin, Emmi, and Julia S. also have nice basics and performance quality) IMHO she just didn't have real competition at this event.

Gubanova and Nina did well but they just aren't as good of skaters, yet.

 

[Crowdproud]

I just have to say -- what an improvement in the scores for Livia Kaiser! Definitely the one to watch. Lines; musicality; big, beautiful jumps. I hope the next season will see a breakthrough for her.

 

[rabidline]

Oh la la

This is still stuck in my head Very happy for Loena who was able to make better memories in Euros this year!

Happy for Gubanova too, I have a soft spot for her skating especially with music like her FS. Nina has so many years ahead of her, looking forward to see how she can further develop as a skater and performer.

And was the crowd for the FS amazing or what??? Their energy was impeccable.

 

[Olly96]

Livia Kaiser's FS was the highlight for me. So happy to see the music from The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes movie used in figure skating! A little sad that she did not medal but excited to hopefully see her again at Senior and/or Junior Worlds!

Also so proud of our Nataly Langerbaur for finishing in a very respectable 14th place at her first Europeans!

 

[Zora]

My highlight was Josefin's step sequence, very well choreographed! Which makes me wonder, when did Morozov choreography become out of fashion?

 

[Skating91]

This is Loena's opening combo where some of the judges were giving +3

I'll get around to posting them but Gubanova's opening combo was not fully rotated on either jump but nothing like Loena.

Nina's first jump on her opening combo is a legitimate q but no worse than the q on Loena's 3T which was ignored.

 

[lariko]

Super, super happy for Kaiser, Gubanova and Shields! Hendrixx was fantastic as well, but I am not the biggest fan of her free this year as a program.

 

[noskates]

I think Loena should have won the gold for "most flailing and animated arms!" I also didn't care for the mindless pandering to the judges at the end of her program. I think she's a very, very talented skater but am being put off by the sex kitten act that's soooo unnecessary for a skater of her calibre. At least bits and parts weren't on display with her free skate costume. I know I'm sounding harsh but I just don't see the need for that persona. I really liked Gubanova. I thought she was classy, smooth, graceful and just well-packaged. I think she's going to be very competitive in the years to come.

 

[Rebecca Moose]

I think she's a very, very talented skater but am being put off by the sex kitten act that's soooo unnecessary for a skater of her calibre.

if loena's lp is a "sex kitten act" you're gonna be SHOCKED what teens today are watching and doing

 

[Couch Expert]

Sorry, this is just wrong. It is clear manipulation of the result.

This.
Actually I wouldn't even try to analyze Loena's jumps this close because rigged results were obvious from the start just by ridiculous differences in PCS between her and others starting from SP. Despite the evident lack of footwork which she tried to replace with energetic but rather clumsy armswork. However in figure skating what blades are doing on ice should be more important than what arms are doing IMO - else with judges encouragement of programs like Loena's they will turn figure skating into some arms dance on one place event where an athlete just can let their legs rest for long periods of time. It won't be skating anymore.

 

[Skater Boy]

Loena is an energectic skater and it's nothing against her per se, but I just can't get behind her winning here or any other major title this year. Simply because both her programs this season are truly awful. The choreo doesn't even pretend to keep any link to the music (Loena will keep moving her arms frantically around no matter what, even when there is actually a silence in the music) and the music is not even music, it's just background noises

I'm sorry but these programs must be some of the most terrible ones I've even seen, at least at Elite level, and by a big margin. The fact that they both were deemed the best programs at each segment and won Europeans is actually a sad fact that reflects poorly on the current level of European skating. I do not know who made these programs but now with an European gold medal, they can very well feel vindicated and believe there is any merit in their work, and worse yet, keep producing more programs as horrible as these

Loena does indeed deserve better material, but then again this is what got her an European title, so she probably won't see any damage in continuing to skate to similar awfulness

I understand your comments and somewhat agree BUT with out a Kostner and without Russia she is the best of the worst. She does have personality. But if you added 3 Russian girls and say a top Italian/French or another top Eastern European Loena might not even be top 5 and most likely off the podium. Right now is now a mountain high in figure skating especially in Europe.