Lewis Gibson did his best to smile, but the pained pinch on Lilah Fear’s face gave the game away. The Team GB pair had spent years dreaming of becoming the first British Olympic skating medallists since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean. But when it really mattered they suffered a nightmare on ice.
Gold went to the French couple Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron with 225.82 points, with the US team of Madison Chock and Evan Bates, the reigning three-time reigning world champions, having to settle for silver on 224.39 points. The Canadian pair of Paul Poirier and Piper Gilles claimed bronze with 217.73.
Long behind them were Fear and Gibson in seventh. In truth, their night was over before it had really begun. No sooner had the crowd started to boisterously clap to the Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles), than Fear stumbled and lost her balance through the twizzle sequence. One yellow box, a signal of a technical error, quickly became two.
And while the British pair held it together in a classy denouement to Auld Lang Syne, their score in the free dance of 118.35 – 12th overall in the section – told the story.
Before the final dancers took to the ice, the crowd at the Milano Ice Skating Arena were introduced to Torvill and Dean, who were here to cheer on Fear and Gibson, who they had mentored during the embryonic stages of their partnership.
Inevitably they were asked about the Bolero, a routine that remains the epitome of British sporting perfection even with 42 years’ distance. The long row of perfect sixes. The sensuality and impossible drama. The skating revolution dressed in purple-dyed silk chiffon.
Back in 1984, over 23 million people watched spellbound as Torvill and Dean took gold in Sarajevo. A decade later millions also shared in the agony as Torvill and Dean were controversially awarded bronze in Lillehammer. Since then, though, there has been little to make British skating fan’s dream again.
But over the past year, Fear and Gibson had shown themselves ready to scratch that 32-year itch. At the 2025 world championships they were third, a performance they matched at the ISU grand prix in December. They knew, though, that sport’s biggest stage had different pressures.
That much was evident in Monday’s night rhythm dance section. A tiny mistake here and there had left them in fourth place on 85 points, looking up at Canada on 86.16, with Italy not far behind. Far ahead of them France and the US looked to be battling for gold, with the French team on 90.18 points and the US just 0.42 behind.
Afterwards Fear and Gibson had been all smiles in public, but behind the scenes there had been tears. But Wednesday was another day. They were ready to give it everything they had. Sadly it was not nearly enough.
