The future's bright for British figure skating, with impressive results and a lot to be proud of from the 2024 World Figure Skating Championships.
Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson further cemented their place at the pinnacle of international ice dance with their fourth-place finish, following their silver medal at the European Championships earlier this year.
Meanwhile for many of the British squad this marked their senior World Championships debut, a milestone achievement and valuable experience as they continue to climb the international ranks.
Find out how our British skaters got on:
Lilah Fear & Lewis Gibson
ICE DANCE
Rhythm Dance: 84.60 (4th)
Free Dance: 126.32 (4th)
Overall: 4th 210.92 Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson delivered a signature electric performance for their rhythm dance, generating a fantastic response from the crowd as they secured fourth place and qualification to the free dance.
A clean and energetic skate of their Rocky-inspired free dance was similarly well-received, though European gold medallists Guignard and Fabbri (Italy) ultimately narrowly beat them to bronze.
This fantastic result tops of another successful season for the pair, who continue to establish themselves as one of the top ice dance couples in the world. The reigning British Champions took Gold at Nebelhorn and the Nepela Memorial Cup this season, as well as topping the podium in dramatic fashion at the Osaka Grand Prix, securing them a spot at the Grand Prix Final. We can't wait to see what they achieve next season!
"Lewis and I are still absolutely over the moon following this week here in Montreal. We held nothing back and gave our absolute all in both performances and are so proud of how we showed up. The arena was absolutely electric and the opportunity to perform in front of such a welcoming and supportive crowd is something that we don’t take lightly and for which we are beyond grateful. This week was everything that we hoped for and more, and we are fired up for next season already!"
Phebe Bekker & James Hernandez
ICE DANCE
Rhythm Dance: 66.39 (21st)
Overall: 21st 66.39
On their World Championships debut, Bekker and Hernandez delivered a fantastic rhythm dance, narrowly missing out on qualifying for the free dance.
They finished just 0.53 points behind Japan's Misato Komatsubara and Tim Koleto who secured the final qualification spot, and while we were denied the pleasure of seeing them showcase their free dance in Montreal, we're so excited to see what the future brings this talented pair!
"Competing at our first Senior World Championships was such a valuable opportunity and we enjoyed every second of it! We're learning every time we go out and to conclude this season with a skate we are really proud of was the icing on the cake and sets us up for the next season with renewed motivation and excitement. Thank you to Skate Canada and British Ice Skating for everything!"
Anastasia Vaipan-Law & Luke Digby
PAIRS
Short Programme: 54.69 (20th)
Free Skate: 98.37 (20th)
Overall: 20th 153.06
Pairs skaters Anastasia Vaipan-Law and Luke Digby have had another successful season, consolidating their position at the top of British pairs skating and continuing to grow their presence on the international stage, including a personal best short programme and a top ten finish at the European Championships for the second year in a row.
At the World Championships they secured qualification to the free skate for the second consecutive year, ultimately finishing the competition in 20th.
It has been fantastic to see this talented pair continue to embed and build upon their experiences, growing in consistency and confidence as they compete with the world’s best.
"We are pleased with large parts of the competition here in Montreal. It wasn’t our best competition of the season, but we feel we succeeded in certain elements. Also, we are pleased with the season as a whole and have made lots of improvements. We achieved new personal best scores and are looking forward to working hard over the summer in preparation for next season."
Nina Povey
SINGLES - WOMEN
Short Programme: 59.51 (38th)
Overall: 25th (53.50)
In a testament to the kind of perseverance and dedication it takes to succeed in ice skating, Nina Povey accomplished a long-held dream to represent GB on the world stage when she took to the ice in Montreal. The British Women’s Champion delivered a beautiful rendition of her short programme, coming within 0.31 points of qualification for the free skate – though Estonian skater Nataly Langerbaur narrowly pipped her to the post.
As an organisation we are so proud of the example Nina sets for our members, never giving up on her goals and always being such a wonderful ambassador for our sport.
“My first World Championships will be an experience I will never forget. I’ve enjoyed every second, I was so excited to finally perform on the World stage.”
Ed Appleby
SINGLES - MEN
Short Programme: 59.51 (38th) Overall: 38th 59.51
From securing Senior Gold at this season’s British National Championships to his European Championships debut, to a 9th place finish at the Junior World Championships, it’s been an exciting season for Ed Appleby as he continues to transition from junior to senior competitions.
Though Appleby’s World Championship performance of his challenging disco-themed short programme may not have been his season’s strongest skate, no one could doubt his dedication or passion. We can’t wait to see what this talented young skater achieves in the future!
"I can comfortably say that it's been my best season yet. I felt that I was able to keep the balance between Junior and Senior a lot better than in previous years, I was able to qualify a spot for the Youth Olympics as well as qualifying 2 spots for next year at Junior Worlds. So I feel happy about what I'm leaving behind as I move into Senior; I've been inspired and motivated by my first Senior Championships and I'll be looking to bring this with me into next season as I develop over the summer."