GB’s Fear and Gibson win European medal but miss out on gold

Due to having to settle for bronze at the Sheffield International Figure Skating Championships, Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson were unable to capture Britain’s first gold medal at the event for 32 years.

The duo placed second in the final round of the ice dance competition, but timing issues on the second element of their free dance routine prevented them from rising to first.

Fear and Gibson maintained their silver medal drought for the fourth consecutive Europeans, winning it again in 2025 and adding to their silver in 2023 and 2024.

Fear and Gibson made the most of the skaters’ creative freedom when they performed free dance.

They performed a Scottish-themed medley in honor of Gibson’s roots-tan costumes and all, and were dubbed the “Disco Brits” for their funky music choices.

A strong finish and a few early timing issues did not turn them off, and Utilita Arena received standing ovations.

However, it wasn’t the flawless performance they needed to end Britain’s three-decade search for European gold.

Fear recalled their mistake, “In my head I was like, that’s not ideal.” However, these things do occur because we have so much experience.

We must refocus, otherwise the mistake might distract from the entire situation. We also wanted to experience the joy and the home crowd.

“It felt like an out-of-body experience, but I had to skate with my body.” When I was skating, I was frightened.

Since 1994’s ice dance competitions with Sir Christopher Dean and Dame Jayne Torvill, British skaters have not won an event at the Europeans.

After finishing one point ahead of Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron in the rhythm dance, Fear, 26, and Gibson, 31, had a great chance to end that run.

However, Gibson slipped a little into the second-element of the routine, the synchronized twizzles, after a strong start and flawless execution of their most difficult lift.

Their looks of disappointment on the ice at the conclusion were telling, even though they regained momentum and peaked brilliantly at the conclusion as bagpipes blared around Sheffield.

The audience was “absolutely incredible,” Gibson said, “we’re so proud to be British today.” The noise “was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

Fournier Beaudry, 33, and Cizeron, 31, who only collaborated in March, won gold.

After Cizeron’s bitter split with his ex-partner Gabriella Papadakis, who had accused him of having controlling behavior, they became a pair.

The oldest male and female skaters at these championships, Guignard, 37, and Fabbri, 36, have since returned to Sheffield, where they both competed in their first European Championship together in 2012.

Fabbri won his sixth medal at the Euros, breaking a new record at his previous 14th.

In Sheffield, fellow Brits Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez performed a smooth, spine-tingling routine that received a standing ovation earlier.

The young duo, who are 20 and 24 respectively, only improved after starting well because their choreographed spin and step movement toward the routine’s conclusion was much higher than their base value in terms of execution.

At the halfway point, it placed them in first place overall and gave them a season-best 106.75 in the free dance.

Following the freestyle discipline, the men’s competition decided the medals for the afternoon session.

Nika Egadze from Georgia resurrected his career with four quadruple jumps to win the gold.

The 23-year-old secured their second gold of the competition with 184.72 points and a scorching score in what was anticipated to be a close showdown in what was meant to be a close encounter.

“I was a little shaky when I first got to the ice.” I started to get anxious, but I also thought about my coaches’ advice to slow down a little bit and work it out for this amazing crowd, Egadze said.

Eteri Tutberidze, who berated Kamila Valieva at the 2022 Olympics and was the subject of a doping investigation, coaches Egadze.

Tutberidze’s tough coaching approach is well known in the world of figure skating. Due to the country’s ongoing attack on Ukraine, she previously worked with the Russian national team, whose athletes are prohibited from these championships and will compete as neutrals in Milan in 2026.

He previously trained at her private rink before a competition-standard facility was constructed in Georgia last year. The pair have worked together for nine years.

Matteo Rizzo of Italy came in second place, Georgii Reshtenko of the Czech Republic, who was born in Russia, coming in third after the short program.