Loena Hendrickx charges into Skate America lead, with home hopes Amber Glenn, Isabeau Levito 2-3

Loena Hendrickx saved the best for last on Saturday (21 October) night at Skate America.

The Belgian, who has landed on the podium at the last two World Championships, charged into the lead of the first Grand Prix event of the 2023-24 figure skating season, her "Living for Love" Madonna program delivering a 75.92 from the judging panel.

Americans Amber Glenn and Isabeau Levito sit second and third, respectively, with Texas native Glenn wowing the Dallas-area crowd wtih a 71.45 and Levito not far behind at 70.07.

Hendrickx hit a triple flip to open her program, followed by a double Axel and triple Lutz-triple toe-loop combination to close. She broke into a breaming smile as she struck her final position.

"I really love this sport and being on the ice," said Hendrickx to U.S. broadcaster NBC. "I want to enjoy every competition. I don't want to feel any pressure; I want to skate for myself. I want to enjoy what I do."

She added to reporters: "Last year I didn't enjoy competing anymore because I felt so much pressure. I wanted to get rid of the pressure. I love the sport and I love competing. Today I said I was ready to enjoy my performance and that's what I did."

Niina Petrokina of Estonia and Chiba Mone from Japan rounded out the top five.

Earlier, in ice dance, reigning world champions Madison Chock and Evan Bates skated into the lead in the rhythm dance, scoring a 84.87 to build a seven-point cushion.

The pairs event was the first to finish over the weekend, with Annika Hocke and Robert Kunkel of Germany winning their first Grand Prix gold, notching a 184.23 total.

Pairs: Hocke - 'It's a huge accomplishment for us'

After world champions Miura Riku and Kihara Ryuichi withdrew from the event last week due to a back injury for Kihara, all eyes were focused on Hocke/Kunkel and Canada's Lia Pereira and Trennt Michaud.

It was the Germans, the European bronze medallists, who had the edge from the go, the duo winning the short program and holding strong in their "Without You" free skate.

But after a fall for Annika on their side-by-side triple Salchows, the team was strong, including on a throw triple flip and then, later, a throw triple loop.

"For me, it's always difficult to realize what we did when we didn't have a clean skate," Hocke said when asked how she was reflecting on the victory. "But it's a huge thing, winning a Grand Prix, it's everything that we've always dreamed of.

She added: "It's a huge accomplishment for us."

Pereira/Michaud, in just their second season together, were making their Grand Prix debut as a pair. They finished second, just 1.64 points back of the Germans with a 182.59 overall score.

Americans Chelsea Liu and Balazs Nagy surprised for bronze with a 177.66, the team having paired up just months ago.

Ice dance: Chock/ Bates halfway to fourth Skate America win

Chock/Bates are picking up where they left off in 2023, having captured a first world title before helping the U.S. to victory at the World Team Trophy in April at the end of last season.

Their Queen medley earned strong scores in both the technical and artistic components, including Level 4 for both skaters on their twizzle sequence as well as for their program-ending rotational lift.

They lead their Montreal-based training mates Marjorie Lajoie and Zachary Lagha of Canada (77.80) and France's Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud (77.20).

That rotational lift carried extra significance for Chock/Bates after they suffered a scary fall on the same element earlier in the day in their practice session.

"[It was] really unfortunate," Bates told reporters of the fall. "I lost control of the lift at the end of our program. It's a terrible feeling as a partner; what we do is dangerous. Oftentimes we make it look so easy. It was a scary moment, honestly, [but] our coaches and the doctors were wonderful with us both - and Madi in particular.

He added: "When we got [to the arena for the rhythm dance] we knew we were both OK, but we needed to get the all-clear from the medical staff before we competed, which we did."

Skate America 2023: Schedule

All times listed in local U.S. Central Time. (UTC -6)

• Sunday, 22 October
  13:15 – Ice dance free dance
  15:00 – Women's free skate
  19:30 – Exhibition gala

You can see the full official schedule here.

Skate America 2023: How to tune in

American fans can catch the action on NBC network E!, while the event will stream live on Peacock throughout the weekend. NBC will host a recap show at noon ET on Sunday (22 October).

See the full U.S. broadcast schedule here.

For international fans, the ISU provides a "where to watch" page here. Some regions may be geo-restricted when it comes to availability. TV Asahi is the ISU partner broadcaster in Japan, with SBS carrying coverage in the Republic of Korea, CCTV in China, Eurosport in much of Europe, CBC in Canada and SBS in Australia.