What 'Disco Brits' Fear and Gibson must do to win Olympic medal

As we debriefed Monday's action, I asked former Olympic figure skating champion Robin Cousins what Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson need to do to win an ice dance medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

After a brief pause, he gave a concise answer: "They have to be flawless."

Fear and Gibson - aiming to be the first Britons since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean in 1994 to win an Olympic figure skating medal - are in fourth place after the rhythm dance.

In the first half of the ice dance competition at Milan-Cortina, they performed to their popular Spice Girls mix - but could not match the season-best score they secured in the team event three days earlier.

Fear, 26, lost her balance slightly at one point, but she and her partner recovered well to keep themselves firmly in the hunt for a podium finish.

Their score of 84.57 points left them 0.71 behind third-placed Canadian duo Piper Gilles and Paul Poirier going into Wednesday's free dance, when the medals will be decided.

Gold and silver are probably out of reach. France's Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron lead with a huge 90.18. World champions and pre-event favourites Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who have already won gold in the team event for the US, are in second on 89.72.

But bronze remains within grasp for Fear and Gibson.

The 'Disco Brits' are the darlings of British figure skating - as was evident at last month's European Championships in Sheffield.

You could have your photo taken on the arena concourse with a pleasure-beach style cut-out - your face on the bodies of Fear and Gibson.

Their Spice Girls-themed routine drew applause from the band's official account on Instagram.

There were even misty-eyed stories of how the last time the European Figure Skating Championships were held in Sheffield in 2012, Fear was a flower girl.

But amid all the glitz and hype, the hard truth is that while they are definitely good enough for a medal, this is such a competitive field that any error is costly.

Fear and Gibson won bronze in Sheffield, but it could - maybe should - have been more. In just the second element of nine in their free routine, Gibson slipped slightly into the synchronised twizzles, and gold was gone.

Fear and Gibson are used to overcoming the odds.

In a discipline in which many partnerships are competing together by their mid-teens, theirs is an unusual story.

Fear and 31-year-old Gibson first trained together in Montreal in 2016. Fear was a junior ice dancer but Gibson new to the discipline. He had only taken up skating aged 11, before switching to ice dance at 21.

But in their first season together, they won the British title - and Cousins thinks their differences from the norm are their greatest strengths.

"They don't have a history, meaning unlike some of the couples they are competing with they came together late in their careers," Cousins, who won men's figure skating gold in 1980, told BBC Sport.

"That gave it an edge. There was no time to play catch-up and it worked - they found a niche in the way they perform compared to everyone else. People love them and how they perform.

"To have it so clean and proficient takes time, and it is time they have not had. They are trying to mould themselves and hone the bladework which others have had a lot more time doing.

"But the possibility is fantastic for them. If I were to speak to them, it would be to say that what other people think of you is none of your business."

Fear and Gibson's uniqueness is present in their routines.

As well as the Spice Girls compilation, their free programme is a tribute to Gibson's Scottish roots with a mix of The Bonnie Banks of Loch Lomond, Auld Lang Syne, and The Proclaimers hit I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles). They worked with highland dance experts to perfect the choreography.

"They're the hits!" Fear said of their musical tastes. "We started the season with a slower middle, but we changed it to an upbeat piece - they are crowd favourites."

They are also not afraid to go against the figure skating mould off the ice.

Gibson, who is gay, said at the Europeans that he would like to see same-sex partnerships allowed on the international stage in his event - adding his voice to a growing movement in favour of the change.

On the ice, they still have momentum. Since finishing 10th at Beijing 2022, Fear and Gibson have won the first World Championship medal for Great Britain in more than 40 years, were ranked first by the ISU after the 2024-25 season and have won continental medals at every opportunity.

So, to Wednesday, and the hope they will bring their very best at the moment they have trained for all this time.

"There is an amazing confidence," said Cousins. "It is not arrogance, it is confidence, they carry that on to the ice when others don't.

"The visibility is great, but to know how hard they have worked in the last few years - all we hope is that they step off the ice in Milan happy. What the judges decide to do is up to them.

"There is a chance [of a medal] - they must do their best and hope for the best."