Olympic Figure Skating Gala at Beijing 2022: Everything you need to know about Loena Hendrickx

Belgium's Loena Hendrickx has been selected to take part in the Olympic Figure Skating Gala at Beijing 2022.

The closing gala is a tradition at large figure skating events and offers skaters one last opportunity to display their talents.

It's also a chance for the skaters to show more of their personalities without the pressure of competing for medals, with Hendrickx included after taking eighth in the women's single skating for which results are provisional.

Six women single skaters were selected for the gala, with Hendrickx among them.

This comes after her best display at an Olympic Winter Games, having finished 16th at PyeongChang 2018.

Hendrickx was seventh in the short program but slipped to eighth after the free skate.

Anna Shcherbakova won gold from ROC teammate Alexandra Trusova with Sakamoto Kaori of Japan taking bronze.

Making it into the group participating in the gala is just one of many positives Hendrickx has experienced in recent times.

In 2021/22, she finished third and fifth in ISU Grand Prix events in Torino and Sochi respectively.

The 22-year-old also finished fifth at the 2021 World Championships in Stockholm and fourth in the 2022 European Championships in Tallinn.

This Olympics also brought a special moment for her, as she was selected to be a flagbearer for Belgium.

When asked about that by Olympics.com, Hendrickx responded: "It’s amazing, it’s insane. I’m so honoured. I’m just really proud."

What Hendrickx has overcome makes her achievements feel even more impressive. “It was a bit strange with all the things that were going around and the corona. I just tried to enjoy every practice and every competition. I tried to give my best and I think I did," she says.

“I worked so hard for this moment, and