World Figure Skating Championships: Scottish skaters vow to ‘keep pushing boundaries’ as they finish competition in fourth place

Scottish ice dancer Lewis Gibson trains in Montreal, Canada

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson of Great Britain compete at the World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)

Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear vowed to “keep pushing boundaries” as their free dance programme, to music from film Rocky, saw them finish in fourth place in the ice dance competition of the World Figure Skating Championships.

They said they were “delighted” to have their friends and families – including a contingent from Scotland – in the audience at the championships in their adopted home city of Montreal, Canada.

The competition was won by Madison Chock and Evan Bates, of the US, with 132.12 points in the free dance and 222.20 overall. Piper Gillies and Paul Poirier of Canada won the silver medal, followed by Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri, from Italy.

Ms Fear and Mr Gibson, who train at the Ice Academy of Montreal and have lived in the Canadian city for seven years, scored 126.32 in the free dance final, achieving 210.92 overall.

The pair were lying in fourth place after the rhythm dance on Friday.

Mr Fear, from Prestwick, said the Montreal venue for the competition, which was scheduled after a planned 2020 World Figure Skating Championships in Montreal was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic, gave friends they had met locally a chance to see them performing live.

"The crowd were looking back at us and smiling and it felt really interactive,” he said.

Ms Fear added: "It was everything we wanted to do, performance-wise, in terms of bring what we trained to do into the competition. It was just about enjoying it.”

The skaters have already begun planning for next season, which begins in the autumn and is seen as key as an early qualifying season for the Winter Olympic Games in Milan in 2026.

"We’re starting the creative process pretty soon and are excited to keep pushing the boundaries, hopefully,” added Ms Fear.

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Meanwhile, Kaori Sakamoto from Japan made history by winning her third consecutive world title in the women’s competition – the first time a female skater has done so in more than 55 years – since Peggy Fleming from the US won three titles from 1966 to 1968.

“Being fourth after the short programme, I was anxious going into the free skating but I am very happy with the result,” Ms Sakamoto said.

Isabeau Levito from the US scooped the silver and Korea’s Chaeyeon Kim came from sixth place to take the bronze medal.

Britain’s entry, Nina Povey, did not qualify for the free skate final.

The men’s competition continues on Saturday night, Canadian time. Britain’s Edward Appleby also did not qualify for the free skate final.