FIGURE SKATING
Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson (GBR) clinch their third Grand Prix gold at Finlandia Trophy
17 Nov 2024
Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson (GBR) danced off with their third ISU Grand Prix gold medal at the Finlandia Trophy in Helsinki (FIN) on Sunday and secured their spot in the ISU Grand Prix Final.
Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson (GBR) dance to the top
Great Britain’s Lilah Fear/Lewis Gibson danced to their second ISU Grand Prix gold this season and their third overall, overtaking hot favorites Piper Gilles/Paul Poirier of Canada in a Free Dance competition full of suspense. Juulia Turkkila/Matthias Versluis of Finland earned the bronze.
Fear/Gibson gave an excellent performance of their Beyoncé program, producing beautiful lifts and fast footwork. The two-time ISU European silver medalists collected a level four for the lifts, twizzles and dance spin to score 121.19 points. They won the Free Dance segment and accumulated 203.22 points overall to move up one spot and claim the title.
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson (GBR) win the Ice Dance Free Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Helsinki, Finland © ISU
“We just enjoyed our free dance today,” Gibson commented. “We took it step by step and just let it build itself. Of course this week was a bit of a fright at the beginning, and we were just both so grateful to be able to compete here, and also skate the way that we did as well,” he continued referring to the practice accident on Friday when Fear injured her leg.
The couple has a busy schedule as they are headed to the British Nationals next week, and then to the ISU Grand Prix Final.
“Our goal is to get as much out of the training as we can, and learn from the scores here, and all the feedback, and then just continue to build with each competition,” Fear said.
Gilles/Poirier started well into their sophisticated program to “Air on a G-String” and “Tango on the G-String” with a reverse rotational lift and smooth step sequences. However, then Poirier went down right after the twizzles - and almost took his partner down with him.
Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier (CAN) in the Ice Dance Free Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Helsinki, Finland © ISU
The ISU World silver medalists rebounded with a level-four dance spin and curve lift. With a score of 116.14, the Canadian Champions ranked fourth in the Free Dance and slipped from first to second at 200.79 points overall.
“Today was definitely a more disappointing performance for us. There were several moments where we just didn't move together and we made several costly mistakes. We have to come out of this competition treating it like a learning opportunity,” Poirier said.
The twizzle itself was very comfortable, but I put my second foot down and in the exit I didn’t grip into the ice,” he explained about the fall. The Canadians were able to get back into the performance quickly, however.
“These are the things that we learned from practicing a program and skating together for so long. We learn how to get back together and let it affect the program as little as possible.”
Turkkila/Versluis turned in a sinuous, sophisticated Tango, to the music Bewitched, that was highlighted by interesting lifts and difficult footwork. The 2023 ISU European bronze medalists set a season’s best with 118.29 points which added up to 196.60 points.
Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis (FIN) in the Ice Dance Free Dance at the ISU Grand Prix of Figure Skating in Helsinki, Finland © ISU
The Finnish Champions picked up the third ISU Grand Prix bronze medal of their career.
“We were happy with today's performance and maybe a bit holding back, a bit too chilled maybe,” Versluis said. “There were a few levels that we can make better for next week when we're competing in China,” he added.
“Our goal in China is to get those levels, which we didn't get here, and to give our all energy and skate to our maximum,” Turkkila said.
Nathalie Taschlerova/Filip Taschler (CZE) remained in fourth place at 190.43 points while Emilea Zingas/Vadym Kolsenik (USA) pulled up to fifth place (189.48 points). Yuka Orihara/Juho Pirinen (FIN) finished sixth at 183.64 points.
Fear/Gibson won their two events and are headed to the ISU Grand Prix Final as the top qualifiers with the maximum of 30 points. Gilles/Poirier advance with 28 points. Turkkila/Versluis have 11 points and will compete again next week at the Cup of China.
For full entries, schedules & results, see the ISU Grand Prix Event Page & ISU Grand Prix Finlandia Trophy Event Page & Official Finlandia Trophy Website.
Check out the ISU Grand Prix Standings to find out who is on their way to qualify for the Final:
Men Women Pair Skating Ice Dance
What & When
The schedule of the Finlandia Trophy is as follows
Friday, Nov 15: Men’s, Women’s & Pairs Short Programs
Saturday, Nov 16: Men’s & Women’s Free Skating, Rhythm Dance
Sunday, Nov 17: Pairs Free Skating, Free Dance
Follow the ISU Grand Prix events:
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.