Gibson and Fear rocket up world rankings to 13th after "amazing" skate in Japan

Prestwick-born ice dancer Lewis Gibson said he and partner Lilah Fear were "really happy" with their 13th place finish in the World Figure Skating Championships today.
Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear moved up two places to 13th after the free dance at the World Championships in japan.Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear moved up two places to 13th after the free dance at the World Championships in japan.
Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear moved up two places to 13th after the free dance at the World Championships in japan.

The couple moved up two places after the free dance segment of the competition, leapfrogging Marie-Jade Lauriault and Romain Le Gac from France and China's Shiyue Wang and Xinyu Liu. First place was taken by French champions Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron, who scooped the top spot with a ten point lead over silver medallists Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov from Russia.

Gibson and Fear stood in 15th place after the rhythm dance section of their programme in Saitama, Japan, on Thursday, when a minor error saw them fall short of their personal best score achieved at the European championships in Minsk, Belarus in January. They scored 111.11 in the free dance, the 11th-best result in that section of the programme and a high enough score to propel them into 13th position overall with a score of 179.57. They last year placed 24th at the competition.

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Gibson told The Scotsman: "We are really happy to have moved up two spots and finish overall in 13th place. The crowd was amazing and we are very pleased with our skate. We will head back to Montreal and take a small break to recharge before we start to prepare for next season."

He said the pair - who have been a big hit with judges and audiences alike with their disco-themed free dance - have not yet had a chance to consider what music they will choose for next year.

he said: "We know that we want to do something that will entertain the crowd again and that’s enjoyable for us to skate to."

The men's competition also concluded this morning, with Nathan Chen of the US taking the top spot. British competitor PJ Hallam just missed qualification for the free skate final by one place after his short programme earlier in the week.

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