I remember a couple years ago when a similar deduction happened to Marie-Jade and Romain at 4CC. An element they had been doing all season was also called illegal. And in that case it was also to benefit a couple USA teams and keep Canada from having a podium sweep. They actually placed 3rd in the Free Dance but were buried back in 7th place in the RD.
2026 World Figure Skating Championships | Free Dance
- Thread starter dorispulaski
- Start date
Good for the British! At least they are challenging the judges..unlike the US who did not support Chock and Bates at the Olympics..even the announcer on the World feed said that the French team made mistakes on their twizzles at the Olympics!World medal loss 'formally challenged' as Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear miss out due to 'illegal' lift
By Jane K Bradley
British Ice Skating is “formally challenging” the results of the World Figure Skating Championships ice dance final as Scottish skater Lewis Gibson and partner Lilah Fear missed out on a second World medal by less than a fifth of a point - after having two points deducted for an “illegal element”.
The skating federation said it would raise its concerns over the “incorrect” penalty with the International Skating Union (ISU) and also said it would call for a “full and independent review of the officiating process”.
Other skaters raised concerns over the judging process in the ice dance event earlier this season.
World medal loss 'formally challenged' as Lewis Gibson and Lilah Fear miss out due to 'illegal' lift
The pair finished in fourth positionwww.scotsman.com
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2017
So it looks like the British Skating Federation is officially challenging the call on the opening lift. I went back and watched their performance at the Olympics and the lift is the exact same - one arm is clearly more bent than the other in both performances so I think it’s fair to challenge the call when they’ve done that lift all season. Either way hopefully it will be a wake-up call to the ISU that judges and tech panels need to be following strict criteria across all competitions to avoid this mess.Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson deserve the bronze medal here.
I don't understand why suddenly they get a deduction for an illegal lift and that all season the technical panel didn't call it.
It's a shame for them. I want to pray for them
Also just to point out - everyone is complaining about the French judge at the Olympics but this is the 3rd competition this year where the tech panel was led by an American tech controller and the harsh tech calls benefitted an American team. I appreciate that the tech specialists were British and Canadian but my understanding is that the tech controller can overrule them.
It will be interesting to see what comes from the investigation. It could be a completely fair call but the ISU needs to get all the tech specialists singing from the same hymn sheet cause it’s so unfair on teams if they have done the element all year and only now is it called. I’m also not saying that the American tech controller is corrupt - just trying to point out how easy it is to say so and so is corrupt or cheating if the judging or tech calls don’t go the way a team’s fans want. The ISU really need to find a way to make the system work better.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2022
That lift ending (copying Miura and Kihara's final pose from their FS) was new for Worlds. They used a different ending at Europeans and the Olympics. Perhaps no one checked the height above his shoulders and the length of time he held the lift.
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2009
ISU says score stands as final, no surprise. https://www.reuters.com/sports/isu-...re-stands-after-british-challenge-2026-03-29/
I feel a bit sorry for the skaters Fear/Gibson since I think they were truly blindsided, but this Wuzrobbed anger should be directed at their coaching/choreography team who should have known better. When I watched Nebelhorn and saw them do this lift, Lewis' arms were bent slightly, especially the right arm, but I said to myself back then that they are playing with fire and it wouldn't take much for Lewis to inadvertently straighten those arms and turn this lift illegal. There is a reason that ice dance teams don't tempt fate with overhead stretch lifts like this, and keep within the safe zone when choreographing programs.
I didn't see F/G's individual Grand Prix FD's, but as the season progressed to the GP Final, I noted that lift was crossing the red line and his arms were getting more extended with locked elbows. Frankly, Tech Panels should have been calling this lift illegal earlier than Worlds. IMO, this Tech Panel, regardless of the country composition of its members, was the only one that got the call on this lift correct. But as someone said above, getting a free pass in prior competitions is not an excuse to be let off the hook on further competitions.
Were I the British Fed, I'd be pretty careful with the indignation and opening up judging to scrutiny. A look at the British dance judges at some major competitions this season (including Worlds) reveals some.....very interesting scoring with respect to direct competitors of F/G.
I feel a bit sorry for the skaters Fear/Gibson since I think they were truly blindsided, but this Wuzrobbed anger should be directed at their coaching/choreography team who should have known better. When I watched Nebelhorn and saw them do this lift, Lewis' arms were bent slightly, especially the right arm, but I said to myself back then that they are playing with fire and it wouldn't take much for Lewis to inadvertently straighten those arms and turn this lift illegal. There is a reason that ice dance teams don't tempt fate with overhead stretch lifts like this, and keep within the safe zone when choreographing programs.
I didn't see F/G's individual Grand Prix FD's, but as the season progressed to the GP Final, I noted that lift was crossing the red line and his arms were getting more extended with locked elbows. Frankly, Tech Panels should have been calling this lift illegal earlier than Worlds. IMO, this Tech Panel, regardless of the country composition of its members, was the only one that got the call on this lift correct. But as someone said above, getting a free pass in prior competitions is not an excuse to be let off the hook on further competitions.
Were I the British Fed, I'd be pretty careful with the indignation and opening up judging to scrutiny. A look at the British dance judges at some major competitions this season (including Worlds) reveals some.....very interesting scoring with respect to direct competitors of F/G.
- Joined
- Mar 7, 2015
funny considering the figure skater's name Brandon Frazier ... how two worlds collide with different spelling.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2022
So they were using the lift earlier in the program prior to Worlds? I just checked their ending pose in videos from Europeans and Olympics before I replied earlier. It must have been closer to a legal, brief dance lift previously, but I didn't see too many of their performances earlier in the season. We pairs skaters usually keep a close eye on ice dancers encroaching on our territory. I know dancers and coaches who stay away from inching-into-pairs lifts because of the danger when the man is on the short dance blades.
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2009
The lift in question is the first one at the beginning of the program, a stationary lift with the overhead extension that then goes directly into a moving rotational lift. The stationary part is the trouble spot where Lewis is holding a horizontally-positioned Lilah over his head while he rotates in one spot, the moving rotational part has always been fine. Good point you make about the enhanced danger that some pairs-type lifts would pose, when balanced on dance blades instead of the more-stable freestyle blades.
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2022
Not sure how to post new threads so will just say that I feel a little salty about the dance results. I haven’t seen all of them yet but were zingas and Kolesnik deserving of bronze. Not happy with this instant tradjectory. Olivia and Tim should have won over them. They got a standing ovation! Sheesh. I watched some of the press conference and the body language says a few things. I kind of skimmed over it. I don’t usually watch those. Vadym was a little arrogant to piper and Paul. Maybe it was him trying to be humorous. I am pleased for Guiamme and Lawrence but I can’t blame their contemporaries for being salty. Just coming in and swooping up golds. Idk. Ice dance is ice dance but it is infuriating at times
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2009
As things shook out, yes a good case could be made for why Z/K deserved bronze. #6 L/B, #7 R/A, #8 C/P and other teams below that definitely did NOT put out RD and FD that were comparable to Z/K, at least as I saw it. #4 F/G lift issue has already been talked about, but in addition to that Lewis got a Level 2 on his twizzles (Lilah got L4) and both only received Level 2's on their One-Foot sequence. Had F/G had better levels on either of those 2 elements, they would have just squeaked by Z/K for the bronze, even with the lift deduction. This point seems to have been ignored so far.
That leaves #5 S/D. They lost to Z/K on the RD, being almost 3 points behind. S/D had a wonderful FD but just couldn't quite make up the difference. I do think Z/K had the better RD--same BV as S/D but got better GOE and slightly better PCS.
I'm not sure how you interpreted Vadym as being arrogant to Piper/Paul. AFAIK, Vadym is not known for bad attitude. I'm sure he/Emilea were as surprised as anyone that they ended up on the podium. He IS known for his extremely good skating skills, one of the best male dancers currently competing, and getting better. Judges would be aware of him from his Junior days (2020 World Jr Champ).
- Joined
- Jan 3, 2007
Yes, after her boyfriend partner got the initial ban 2024 after Worlds and Papadakis went solo December 2024. While Gaby was in Europe, Laurence & Guillaume were quietly practicing not to team up but to stay in shape until they figured out what came next with their partners. Eventually he formally asked her to team up in January 2025. My math is a bit off - I remembered 2024 and thought March 2024-March 2026 is 2 years, but it was a bit less - so a year and couple of months. I spoke without checking exact dates - it is not a pleasant subject to revisit but that is my bad. I'd rather just talk about the skating and leave the conflicts off ice.
Last edited:
None of us are experts in ice dance. All we can say is there most definitely is manipulation in terms of marks. I did say vadym may have been being humourous, just the way it came across. You can’t deny there has been a lot of “talk” about judging this year. Like I said ice dance is ice dance. I still feel Tim and Olivia should have got bronze here nothing against the American team
- Joined
- Mar 3, 2007
So happy for Z/K, and I personally preferred them to F/G, but I hate that this is how it went down. I hope other fans don't hold it against them moving forward.
- Joined
- Feb 18, 2014
Yes, what's up with that? F&G have been doing that lift all season and they only get penalized NOW??TBH... I was shocked that F/G were dinged for a move they have done all year....
but at the same time, I like Emilea and Vadym's skating better so I am not unhappy about the result
As for Zingas & partner, I liked their FD last season but this R&J looks dated and failed to engage me. They're young and a more modern theme would suit them better. Not happy that they got 3rd place.
- Joined
- Sep 1, 2020
Exactly. Mark H said the deduction was for 'an extended lift.' The problem with the overhead in ice dance is that it can't be held too high, and there are violations for lifts lasting too long all the time in ice dance.
I think trying to compare F/G's Worlds lift with the one at the Olympics is futile. How can fans watching on home screens visually measure the difference in height and longevity accurately from two different event performances? Plus, different tech panels can see it differently from event-to-event. In this case, the lift was judged to be held too long by F/G. Is the length of time requirement 8 seconds? They should have been extra careful all season about how high overhead they hold it, and how long. I recall that Hubbell/ Donahue got dinged at least once for their pioneering overhead lift, which was held very briefly and with care to not hold too high. But again, even they were dinged at least once for holding it too long.
To the poster who mentioned that U.S. fed did not support a Chock/ Bates challenge to the FD results at the Olympics. Most likely, U.S. officials knew it was a fruitless and baseless battle.
ETA:
Oh, I see you are speaking of F/G's ending lift, not their opening lift? So, it was a new added on lift that got dinged for being held too long?
Last edited:
- Joined
- Oct 15, 2025
Some seasons ago in pairs Metelikina/Berulava was similar situation in European championships with death spiral
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2016
Why would they move? It seems to be a good fit for them with Shpilband and Co.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2007
Thus far, at least in their public statements, Z/K are extremely complimentary of Igor, and I'm pretty sure he spotted Emilea and foresaw the possibility of a partnership and instigated her switch to ice dance, so I don't see them leaving him any time soon. From a fan's outsider view, Igor's been a great coach for them, and seems to oversee their conditioning, packaging, training, competition strategizing, etc. all very well.
To keep their artistic vision fresh, I'd be much more interested in seeing them in the next year or two consider other choreographers in addition to Richaud. I'd love love love to see what they could do in collaboration with Jean-Luc Baker, for example. To me, that makes more sense than changing their whole (so far extremely successful) coaching team.
Also, frankly, my knee jerk reaction to hearing of any more teams going to the IAM monolith is "Please, God, no!" We need variety for the sport, not everyone coming from the same team.
Similar threads
