Dreamy Olympic ice dancer Lewis Gibson enjoyed a breakout campaign after publicly coming out as gay.
And this season, he and his partner, Lilah Fear, have picked up right where they left off!
The pair recently celebrated two big wins: their first Grand Prix championship in Japan, and their sixth British championship title. They also competed in their second Grand Prix Final.
Gibson celebrated the duo’s big moments on Instagram.
“Thank you everyone for your support and to everyone that we made memories with along the way. Now time for a rest!” he posted.
Gibson and Fear wow’d the judges at the ISU Grand Prix event with a trip back to the ’80s, earning a second-place finish skating along to the classic dance-floor hits, Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)” and “Here Comes the Rain Again.” Their routine featured eye-dropping level-four twizzles and perfectly executed pattern steps.
Then, the 2023 European silver medalists gave an inspiring performance to the Rocky soundtrack, whirling and twirling their way to first place in the free dance.
In addition, Gibson and Fear included some shadow boxing and pantomime jump rope exercises into their stellar routine. Gibson even dropped down for some pushups… on the ice!
“We are both happy with our performance and will continue to build our program,” said Gibson, via GoldenSkate. “It was great to skate in front of such a warm audience.”
Fear added that Japan is their favorite place to compete.
“I am still shaking. The energy was so electric!,” she said.
While Gibson and Fear have enjoyed an incredible run (more on that later), it’s fair to say their Grand Prix gold was a true highlight.
At the end of their routine, they brought the crowd to its feet.
Gibson and Fear made their Olympics debut at the 2022 Beijing Games, shortly after Gibson spoke publicly about being gay for the first time. He expressed trepidation that his sexuality would impact his score.
“I just think, could this be a detriment to my skating?” he asked. “And I thought, I can’t live never sharing who I am and sharing who I love.”
But as it turns out, those fears were for naught. They finished 10th in rhythm dance and ninth in free dance.
“Team GB has had such a long legacy of ice dance in particular,” said Gibson afterwards, via Olympics.com. “We’re just so proud to carry that on and continue to carry it on as well.”
Gibson and Fear excelled in the 2022-23 season, earning silver at the European Championships. The out gay Scottish dancer and his partner produced the best finish for a British team since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean won gold in 1994.
Performing to a medley of Lady Gaga hits, Gibson and Fear’s high-tempo routine wow’d the crowd and judges.
They started off with a classical version of “Bad Romance,” before accelerating their energy for their final number, with “Born This Way” blaring in the background.
“The crowd was electrifying and we fed off of that,” Gibson said in the post-skate presser. “It was so amazing when we got to perform with everybody behind us.”
Following their spectacular silver medal triumph, Gibson and Fear finished a career-best fourth at the World Championships in Japan, just 3.15 points behind the bronze medalists.
Speaking of Torvill and Dean, Gibson and Fear were inspired by the legendary pair’s work on the British reality TV show, Dancing on Ice, in which celebrities were coached by the championship duo.
“I wouldn’t be here if they didn’t create [that],” Gibson told Olympics.com. “I remember watching that first episode and my mum shared with me where she was when she watched them [in 1984], so it came full circle again to start a resurgence of people skating in the UK.”
Mission accomplished. Gibson and Fear are leading, and inspiring, along the way.
“We worked for this moment — it is a dream come true,” said Gibson following their NHK Trophy performance. “With our programs, we want to have fun out there and push the sport forward. We want to get more fans and people involved in the sport.”
They are doing exactly that, one ’80s dance classic at a time!
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bachy
All I can say is WOW!! Staggering talent.
dbmcvey
So great! And gorgeous!
Huron132
He’s adorable! That smile is amazing!
ZooLittle
I have been a fan for the past few years but I don’t understand why it states he is on a campaign. They are ice dancers so they compete but they don’t campaign to win medals in Ice Dance.i think they will be getting more wins in the upcoming seasons because they are getting really good. With ice dance they tend to just get better with time. I absolutely love their Rocky Free Dance this season. I think they will be strong medal contenders for the 2026 Olympics. I am excited to see what they will do the next few seasons.