The vibes of the 1990s swept through Sheffield’s Utilita Arena as Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron of France captured the Rhythm Dance lead at the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2026 on Friday. The battle is not over yet, however, with the top teams separated by just a few points. 

Fournier Beaudry & Cizeron lead the way

The 28 Ice Dance teams lit up the ice with their high-energy performances, led by the top three teams Fournier Beaudry & Cizeron of France, Great Britain’s Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson and Charlène Guignard & Marco Fabbri of Italy. The top three are separated by just a little over two points and their challengers are not far behind. 

Fournier Beaudry & Cizeron are still a new team with a low world ranking and so skated in an earlier group to their rivals. The ISU Grand Prix Final silver medalists delivered a characteristic dance to “Vogue”, highlighted by effortless-looking footwork and a rotational lift. The French Champions scored 86.93 points, a little below their personal best. 

Laurence Fournier Beaudry & Guillaume Cizeron (FRA) vogued their way to the top spot after an energetic Rhythm Dance © ISU

“We felt really good on the ice. The audience was great, they made a lot of noise. We were very focused but at the same time we had fun,” Cizeron noted. 

“We’ve modified a bit the second part of the program. It was very quick since Christmas. We did not practise it that much and we’re very, very happy with how we were able to perform today, just after making these changes. 

“We’ve changed the lift that we put at the end and there were some minor modifications to a step sequence which bore fruit today as we got a level three,” he explained. 

“The score is a bit lower than at our last international competition,” Fournier Beaudry commented. 

“This exclamation mark [in the choreo sequence] cost a lot of points. There are some details we’ll fix before the next competition and we’re very confident that this won’t happen again.”

The home crowd went wild when Fear & Gibson took the ice and danced to The Spice Girls. To top it off, Fear wears a Union Jack costume just like Geri Halliwell’s iconic dress.

The reigning ISU World bronze medalists impressed with their steps and twizzles, picking up a rare level four for the pattern dance step sequence to set a season’s best of 85.47 points. 

Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson (GBR) gave the home crowd what they really, really wanted with a Spice Girls routine that put them in second place © ISU

“I think the good sign is that even when I was warming up backstage with headphones in, music top volume, I could still hear the crowd,” Fear said. 

“So I was like, it's going to be fun out there. And it certainly was. And not even just for the British teams, I think for everyone they were incredibly warm and supportive, which makes me so proud. It was just electric out there and a true joy,” she continued.

Gibson agreed: “We just really wanted to enjoy this opportunity. It doesn't come around a lot in a skater's career to have a home European Championship, so we just embraced it all and we're so proud of the way that we skated today. It was how we want to skate from training to competitions.”

Three-time and reigning ISU European Champions Guignard & Fabbri skated last and produced another highlight with their Backstreet Boys Medley that featured intricate step sequences and a cool straight line lift. The Italian Champions picked up a season’s best of 84.48 points. 

Charlène Guignard & Marco Fabbri (ITA) rocked their bodies to the hits of the Backstreet Boys and were rewarded with a season's best score © ISU

“When there's so much energy in the arena, it's always a little bit easier to skate,” Fabbri commented. 

“The crowd was really supportive with everybody, so it's been really nice. We tried to stay focused on our performance and I think we delivered a very energetic program so we are satisfied with what we did.”

The Italians had competed at the same Sheffield arena in their very first ISU European Championships in 2012, coming 111th.  

“Of course we have really sweet memories,” Fabbri said. “It was our first big achievement. Just the fact of being at a European Championship for us back in 2012 was something extraordinary.”

2024 ISU European bronze medalists Allison Reed & Saulius Ambrulevicius (LTU) remain in medal contention in fourth place, scoring a personal best of 83.08 points for their fun dance to “I’m Too Sexy”. 

2025 ISU European silver medalists Evgeniia Lopareva & Geoffrey Brissaud (FRA) finished fifth on 82.38 points, which was a season’s best, while Diana Davis & Gleb Smolkin (GEO) are currently ranked sixth (78.67 points). 

Find more comments of the skaters and the press conference highlights on the ISU event website in the “For Media” section. For more information, also see the Facts & Figures published on the ISU event website. 

What & When

The schedule of the ISU European Figure Skating Championships 2026 is as follows:

Wednesday, January 14: Pairs & Women’s Short Programs
Thursday, January 15: Men’s Short Program & Pairs Free Skating
Friday, January 16: Rhythm Dance, Women’s Free Skating
Saturday, January 17: Men’s Free Skating & Free Dance
Sunday, January 18: Exhibition Gala
 

Where to watch

Follow the Where to Watch News here.

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