Scottish skater Lewis Gibson in disappointing fifth after Grand Prix rhythm dance

Scottish ice dancer Lewis Gibson and partner Lilah Fear had a disappointing start to their Grand Prix season in Canada when they finished fifth in the rhythm dance.

Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear during their 2019 performance in Skate Canada, which won them a bronze medal. By: International Skating Union

Prestwick-born Gibson and Fear, from London, scored 71.89 last night after a costly mistake on a twizzle sequence in the first round of the Skate Canada International competition.

The couple, who train in Canada at the prestigious Ice Academy of Montreal, will have been hoping to be in the running for a medal, after taking home bronze at the event in 2019, the last time it was held before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Canadian skaters Piper Gillies and Paul Poirier were in first place after the rhythm dance with a career personal best of 85.65, followed by Italians Charlene Guignard and Marco Fabbri in second and British-born Olivia Smart and partner Adrian Diaz, skating for Spain, in third.

American couple Caroline Green and Michael Parsons, who are in their third year skating together, pipped Gibson and Fear to fourth place.

Historically, Gibson and Fear score comparatively more highly in their free dance, which takes place tonight in Vancouver and could see them move up a place or possibly two.

The couple have a second Grand Prix assignment this season, at the NHK Trophy in Japan in November. Meanwhile, this season also includes the couple’s first Winter Olympics together in Beijing in February, as well as the European Figure Skating Championships and the World Figure Skating Championships early next year.

“We’re still a new team,” Gibson told reporters after the event.

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