Lewis Gibson (figure skater)

Lewis Gibson (born 1 May 1994) is a Scottish ice dancer who represents Great Britain. With his skating partner, Lilah Fear, he is the 2019 Skate Canada bronze medalist, the 2016 CS Lombardia Trophy silver medalist, the 2019 CS Autumn Classic silver medalist, the 2018 Bavarian Open champion, and a two-time British national champion (2017, 2019).

Lewis Gibson
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson at the 2018 Skate America
Personal information
Country represented Great Britain
Born (1994-05-01) 1 May 1994
Prestwick, Scotland
Height1.72 m (5 ft 7 1⁄2 in)
PartnerLilah Fear
Former partnerHeather Murdoch
CoachRomain Haguenauer, Patrice Lauzon, Marie-France Dubreuil
Former coachLeanne Collins, Jennifer Holmes, Kren Quinn
ChoreographerRomain Haguenauer
Skating clubAlexandra Palace London
Former skating clubMagnum Ice Dance and Figure Skating Club
Training locationsMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Former training locationsEast Kilbride, Scotland
ISU personal best scores
Combined total195.35
2019 Skate Canada
Short dance76.67
2019 Skate Canada
Free dance118.68
2019 Skate Canada

Personal life

Gibson was born on 1 May 1994 in Prestwick, Scotland.[1] He was raised in Prestwick and played football before becoming interested in skating.[2]

Career

Early career

Gibson began skating in 2006 in Scotland, training at Ayr Ice Rink and Stevenston's Auchenharvie Leisure Centre.[3] He cited the first series of Dancing on Ice, hosted by British ice dance champions Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, as his initial inspiration to begin skating.[4] In addition to his career in men's singles, he competed in pairs for two seasons. In 2010–11, he and Heather Murdoch won the novice pairs title at the British Championships.[5] They received the bronze medal the following season.

As a single skater, Gibson was coached by Jennifer Holmes at Ayr and Auchenharvie rinks before moving up to the junior international level. He then went on to train under Leanne Collins in East Kilbride, Scotland.[6] Competing on the senior level, he won silver at the British Championships in November 2013. In the 2014–15 season, he appeared at two Challenger Series competitions, placing thirteenth at the Lombardia Trophy and Volvo Open Cup, and took the silver medal at the Hamar Trophy in Norway. He ended his singles' career in December 2015.[7]

2016–2017 season

Gibson began a partnership with Lilah Fear, coached by Karen Quinn at the Alexandra Palace Ice Rink in London, England,[8] and by Romain Haguenauer in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[7] The duo made their international debut in late July 2016 at the Lake Placid Ice Dance International, finishing eleventh. Ranked second in both segments, they received the silver medal at a Challenger Series event, the Lombardia Trophy in September. They placed fifth at the International Cup of Nice and fourth at the Open d'Andorra. In December, they won the British national title, in the absence of Penny Coomes / Nicholas Buckland, and silver at the Santa Claus Cup in Hungary.

In January 2017, Fear/Gibson qualified to the final segment at the European Championships in Ostrava, Czech Republic; they ranked 19th in the short dance, 14th in the free dance, and 15th overall. They made their World Championship debut later that season, placing 22nd.

2017–2018 season

Beginning their second season together, Fear/Gibson placed sixth at the International Cup of Nice and won silver medals at the Open d'Andorra and the Ice Challenge. They competed in three Challenger events that season, placing ninth at both the 2017 CS Finlandia Trophy and 2017 CS Lombardia Trophy and fourth at the 2017 CS Warsaw Cup. Competing at the British Championships, they won the silver medal, this time behind a returning Coomes/Buckland. They subsequently competed at the Santa Claus Cup again, placing fourth.

At the end of the season, they were again sent as the United Kingdom's representation to the 2018 World Championships, placing 24th.

2018–2019 season

Wanting to challenge themselves, Fear/Gibson selected for their free dance a disco medley of songs by Donna Summer and Earth, Wind and Fire. Both professed as well to be fans of the genre.[4] Gibson said, "A lot of the routines of recent times have been very slow and lyrical, but we wanted to do something fun and something that would stand out to help us make a name for ourselves."[2]

Fear/Gibson began their season with two Challenger assignments, placing fourth at the 2018 CS Nebelhorn Trophy and fifth at the 2018 CS Ondrej Nepela Trophy. In October 2018, the two finished fifth at the 2018 Skate America – their Grand Prix debut. A month later, they improved their placement by finishing fourth at the 2018 NHK Trophy, achieving new personal bests in the free dance and overall score, and ranking second in the free dance.

After winning their second British national title, Fear/Gibson next competed at the 2019 European Championships, placing seventh in the rhythm dance and sixth in the free, for sixth place overall. They were pleased with the result, Gibson commenting that they "came in with the goal of a top-ten finish after we came 15th two years ago. Now we’ve managed to get two spots for Great Britain next year which is really exciting."[9] At the 2019 World Championships they placed thirteenth, having made the free dance for the first time.

2019–2020 season

Fear/Gibson began the season on the Challenger series, winning the silver medal at the 2019 CS Autumn Classic International after placing fifth in the rhythm dance and second in the free dance. At their second Challenger, the 2019 CS Nebelhorn Trophy, they placed sixth in the rhythm dance and third in the free, for fourth place overall. Assigned to two Grand Prix events, they began at 2019 Skate Canada International, where they placed fourth in the rhythm dance and third in the free skate, taking the bronze medal. This was the team's first Grand Prix medal, and the first for a British team since 2014. Gibson remarked: "For us, this is huge. We didn’t expect it."[10][11] Competing again at the NHK Trophy, they were fourth in the rhythm dance, earning a perfect score on the Finnstep pattern dance for the first time.[12] They were third in the free dance, remaining in fourth place overall.[13]

At the 2020 British Championships, Fear/Gibson placed first in the rhythm dance even though Fear had fallen out of the twizzles, and placed first in the free winning their third national title by 73.37 points.[14]

Programs

Ice dance with Fear
Season Short dance Free dance
2019–2020
[15]
2018–2019
[1]
2017–2018
[16]
2016–2017
[7]
  • Blues: Save My Soul
    performed by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy
  • Swing: Diga Diga Doo
    performed by Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Men's singles
Season Short program Free skating
2014–2015
[6]

Competitive highlights

GP: Grand Prix; CS: Challenger Series

Ice dance with Fear
International[17]
Event 16–17 17–18 18–19 19–20
Worlds22nd24th13th
Europeans15th6th5th
GP NHK Trophy4th4th
GP Skate America5th
GP Skate Canada3rd
CS Autumn Classic2nd
CS Finlandia Trophy9th
CS Lombardia Trophy2nd9th
CS Nebelhorn Trophy4th4th
CS Ondrej Nepela5th
CS Warsaw Cup4th
Bavarian Open1st
Cup of Nice5th6th
Ice Challenge2nd
Lake Placid IDI11th
Open d'Andorra4th2nd
Santa Claus Cup2nd4th
Shanghai Trophy2nd
National[17]
British Champ.1st2nd1st1st

Men's singles
International[18]
Event 11–12 12–13 13–14 14–15 15–16
CS Lombardia Trophy13th
CS Volvo Open Cup13th
Hamar Trophy2nd
NRW Trophy12th
Triglav Trophy10th J4th J
National[18]
British Champ.5th J4th J2nd4th5th
J = Junior level

Pairs with Murdoch
National
Event 2010–11 2011–12
British Championships1st N3rd N
N = Advanced novice level
gollark: You are, though, as you just solved the economy and also climate change.
gollark: Amazing, you just solved the economy.
gollark: Those are directly practical skills. Research, while often valuable, doesn't pay well because the applications are a while down the line.
gollark: ... no? It might be hard to directly apply.
gollark: Academia isn't very well-paying, apparently.

References
  1. "Lilah FEAR / Lewis GIBSON: 2018/2019". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018.
  2. Falkingham, Katie (30 November 2018). "British Figure Skating Championships: Lewis Gibson & Lilah Fear on Olympic ambitions". BBC News.
  3. Wilson, Mike (27 January 2017). "Skaters Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear head to European Championships". Daily Record (Scotland).
  4. "Getting to know Great Britain's Fear and Gibson". Ice-Dance.com. September 20, 2018.
  5. "2010–2011 British Figure Skating & Synchro Championships". National Ice Skating Association. November 2010. Archived from the original on 1 November 2013. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  6. "Lewis GIBSON: 2014/2015". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 23 May 2015.
  7. "Lilah FEAR / Lewis GIBSON: 2016/2017". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 31 May 2017.
  8. Corbett, Charlie (15 December 2016). "Ice dance sisters are set to take on the world". Camden New Journal. Archived from the original on 24 January 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  9. Slater, Paula (January 26, 2019). "Papadakis and Cizeron defend European title; pockets fifth consecutive gold". Golden Skate.
  10. Slater, Paula (October 26, 2019). "Hubbell and Donohue dance to lead at 2019 Skate Canada". Golden Skate.
  11. Slater, Paula (October 27, 2019). "Canada's Gilles and Poirier snag Skate Canada title". Golden Skate.
  12. Slater, Paula (November 22, 2019). "Papadakis and Cizeron grab lead in Sapporo with record score". Golden Skate.
  13. Slater, Paula (November 23, 2019). "Papadakis and Cizeron take NHK Trophy gold with record scores". Golden Skate.
  14. Bradley, Jane (December 1, 2019). "Medal haul for Scottish skaters at British championships". The Scotsman.
  15. "Lilah FEAR / Lewis GIBSON: 2019/2020". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 17 September 2019.
  16. "Lilah FEAR / Lewis GIBSON: 2017/2018". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018.
  17. "Competition Results: Lilah FEAR / Lewis GIBSON". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018.
  18. "Competition Results: Lewis GIBSON". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 28 January 2017.
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