Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson were the latest Team GB athletes to be heartbroken at this year’s Winter Olympics as they missed out on a shot at the ice dance podium after a disappointing free dance.
The Team GB pair distinguished themselves in the first section of the competition, the rhythm dance, earning fourth place with their score of 85.47 for their energetic routine set to a Spice Girls medley.
But on Wednesday, a Scottish-themed routine which featured music from The Proclaimers as well as The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond was peppered with errors, and saw them finish ninth with a score of 118.85.
This brought their total to 204.66, and fourth place with three pairs left to dance.
Fear in particular cut a devastated figure in the ‘kiss and cry’ as the couple waited for their scores, having lost her balance coming out of an early twizzle.
Britain have thus far had to contend with a number of near-misses on their hunt for a medal, with freestyle skier Kirsty Muir and freestyle snowboarder Mia Brookes both finishing their events on Monday in fourth place.
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson were disappointed after their free dance in the ice dance final
The couple looked devastated as they waited for their scores on Wednesday evening
The pair began their journey in Milan performing their rhythm dance to a Spice Girls medley
Team GB’s mixed doubles curling team of Jennifer Dodds and Bruce Mouat found themselves in similar circumstances on Tuesday as they lost their bronze-medal match to home favourites Italy.
Fear and Gibson have long been thought of as Britain’s best hope of a figure skating medal since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won bronze in Lillehammer in 1994 – 10 years after their gold in Sarejevo.
More to follow.
