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Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear (GBR) are the leaders after the Rhythm Dance at the ISU Grand Prix Skate America in Allen, USA © ISU

Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson (GBR) created the first big surprise of the second competition day at the ISU Grand Prix Skate America, placing first in the Rhythm Dance ahead of reigning ISU World Champions Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) Saturday in Allen, TX (USA).  

Fear/Gibson (GBR) upset Chock/Bates in Rhythm Dance

It was time for rock ’n’ roll, The Beatles, ABBA and more in the Rhythm Dance in Texas, and there were some surprises when ISU European Ice Dance silver medalists Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson of Great Britain beat hot favorites and reigning ISU World Ice Dance Champions Madison Chock/Evan Bates (USA) in the first day of the Ice Dance competition. Georgia’s Diana Davis/Gleb Smolkin placed third.

It was “Le Freak” and “Superstition” for Fear/Gibson, who skated last of the 10 Ice Dance teams. The British Champions got the crowd going from the first second, delivering an upbeat and fast-paced performance, picking up mostly level threes and fours for their elements. The two-time European silver medalists set a new season's best with 83.56 points.

“We wanted to go out there and just kind of improve on what we had done in our previous two competitions, and I think we did that," Gibson said. "We also had a lot of fun and the crowd were very engaged."

Fear said they focused on their own performance, not their competition.

“We weren't aware of what happened before, and regardless we knew that we had a lot to execute to perform to the standard that we set for ourselves,” she said. “So we really tried to stay present. We were really pleased with our score and the improvement that we made to have a season's best. Also there is still a lot of room to improve, as usual. We’re keeping our focus on tomorrow and letting that be its own day and really honoring it in that way."

Chock/Bates make a journey through the decades from the 1950s to the '70s in their Rhythm Dance. The four-time Skate America Champions started off well with excellent level-four twizzles, but Chock fell in the choreo rhythm sequence, which turned out to be a costly mistake.

 

Madison Chock and Evan Bates (USA) placed second in the Rhythm Dance at Skate America on Saturday © ISU

The two-time World Champions recovered instantly and the rest of the program was strong, with difficult footwork and a level-four lift. Chock/Bates scored 77.88 points.

“We are so proud to be here, excited to be at Skate America starting another season,” Bates said. “We're honestly proud of the performance today. Obviously we had an unfortunate mistake, but I think considering that it happened quite early in the program, I feel like we really used our experience to recover well and to do the rest of the program very well. So I think there's a lot of positives to take. It's another experience under the belt and we'll just look towards tomorrow to give you our free dance, which we're very excited about.” 

Chock spoke about their unusual concept.

“When we were listening to music from all the decades, there were so many great options that we found it hard to narrow down. We had a bunch of different ideas, and then we finally said, well, we like all of the eras, so let's skate to all of the eras and just make it kind of a dance through the '50s, '60s and '70s and show all the different styles of dance and just have the evolution of dance from the '50s through the '70s.”

Davis/Smolkin put out another fun dance to “Lady Marmelade” and “Music Is My Way of Life” and had level fours for the twizzles and the lift to score 73.16 points. The husband-and-wife team are now for the first time in medal contention at an ISU Grand Prix.

 

Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin (GEO) are third after Saturday's Rhythm Dance at Skate America in Allen, TX © ISU

“I think we're a bit surprised and it's only our second Grand Prix in our life,” Smolkin told the press. “So there's still half of the work (that) needs to be done tomorrow (in the Free Dance). So my thoughts are only about Free Dance. It's challenging, but we love to do our Free Dance. We think it is a very interesting and very different program. We haven't done anything like that, so we're excited to show that.”

Alicia Fabbri/Paul Ayer (CAN), competing as a late replacement, are ranked fourth at 71.75 points, while Olivia Smart/Tim Dieck (ESP) are fifth (70.99). Marie-Jade Lauriault/Romain Le Gac (CAN) are sixth (70.38 points). The couples ranked fourth to eighth are separated by just two points, so a lot can happen in the Free Dance on Sunday.

Check out the ISU Grand Prix Standings to find out who is on their way to qualify for the Final (data will be available after the conclusion of the first event):

Men      Women            Pair Skating      Ice Dance

 

What & When

The schedule of Skate America is as follows:

Friday, Oct 18: Pairs & Women’s Short Programs

Saturday, Oct 19: Rhythm Dance, Pairs Free Skating, Men’s Short Program & Women’s Free Skating

Sunday, Oct 20: Men’s Free Skating & Free Dance, Exhibition Gala  

 

Follow the ISU Grand Prix Series

The schedules of each ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating event are available below:

• 18 - 20 Oct 2024 Skate America in Allen, TX (USA)
• 25 - 27 Oct 2024 Skate Canada International in Halifax (CAN)
• 01 - 03 Nov 2024 Grand Prix de France in Angers (FRA)
• 08 - 10 Nov 2024 NHK Trophy in Tokyo (JPN)
• 15- 17 Nov 2024 Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN)
• 22 - 24 Nov 2024 Cup of China in Chongqing (CHN)

 

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final:

• 05 - 08 Dec 2024 Grenoble/FRA

 

About ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating

The ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Series started in 1995 (previously known a s the ISU Champions Series) and consists of six invitational international senior events and the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. The top six of the past World Championships are seeded. Competitors collect points in their events towards the qualification for the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final. Only the top six Skaters / Couples in each discipline can qualify for the Final.