Gibson and Fear scoop fifth spot at European championships

Scots ice dancer Lewis Gibson scooped fifth place at a European championships which saw five-time title holders Gabriela Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron lose their top spot.

Gibson and Fear, pictured here earlier in the season, were ranked fifth in Europe at today's competition.

Gibson, with partner Lilah Fear, moved up one place from the couple's sixth place rhythm dance finish, scoring 118.08 in the free dance and 192.34 overall at the European Figure Skating Championships in Graz. The placing was one spot higher than last year's European Championships. The overall score was marginally lower than their personal best, which they achieved at the Skate Canada Grand Prix earlier in the season.

However, European champions Cizeron and Papadakis, who train with the British couple in Montreal, were knocked from the gold medal they have won every year since 2015 by Russian dancers Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov. The Russian couple were fourth in the event last year, but ranked second in last year's world championships in Japan.

The two couples had gone into the free skate just 0.05 points apart. However, the Russian pair scored 131.69 in the free skate, just pipping Papadakis and Cizeron to the gold medal.

Cizeron said: We felt we had made mistakes during the program so we kind of already knew the final result. Of course we are disappointed with our results but happy with our performance. Every moment on this ice is unique. We always were surprised to win and now for once we are surprised to not be in the first place."

Alexandra Stepanova and Ivan Bukin, also from Russia, finished in third place. Britain's Robynne Tweedale and Joseph Buckland finished 21st, having just missed out on qualifying for the free dance.

Gibson said: "We are so over the moon with how we skated and a top five placement in the European championships means so much to us."

In the pairs competition yesterday, Britain's Zoe Jones and Christopher Boyadji finished 12th.

Dundee skater Natasha McKay scored 142.14 in the ladies' free skate last night, ending the competition 23th. Russia took the top three spots with Alena Kostornaia in first place.