Scottish figure skater in silver medal spot one day after partner carried off ice following training fall

Scottish ice dancer Lewis Gibson and partner Lilah Fear are lying in second place after the rhythm dance at the Finlandia Grand Prix - just one day after she had to be carried off the ice following an accident during training.

The pair scored 84.02, just two points behind Canadians Piper Gillies and Paul Poirier, who are in the gold medal position following the first round of the competition. Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis of Finland are in third place, after a strong skate on home ice.

The Finlandia Trophy is the penultimate competition in the main part of the Grand Prix series, with six couples due to compete in the Grand Prix Final in France in December.

Ms Fear suffered a bad fall in training on Friday and were unsure if they would be able to compete. Mr Gibson’s foot hit Ms Fear’s leg during a twizzle sequence, knocking her over. He carried her off the ice, where she was attended by medical staff.

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“We mistimed our revolutions in the twizzle, and then intercepted one another, and then that took me off my feet,” Ms Fear said. “The pain was from the impact of the kick, but I was super lucky that it wasn't a blade. 

“It just meant that I couldn't really bear weight until last night, but we took really good care of it. I'm so happy to be in skates and skating today. I'm just so grateful to be here and really excited for tomorrow.”

Two times European Championships silver medallists Ms Fear and Mr Gibson won gold in their first Grand Prix assignment in the US last month, paving the way for a spot in the final.

“The audience was so warm,” said Mr Gibson, from Prestwick. “I could hear a lot of clapping and they were super energetic and very receiving of us too, so that was really cool. We're both super happy with the skate and just happy to be skating today.”

Mr Gibson and Ms Fear will compete in the free dance final of the competition tomorrow.