2026 Winter Olympics: Fear and Gibson have the best season but Team GB struggle in the team event

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson recorded their best result of the season on their debut at Milan-Cortina 2026, but Team GB generally struggled in the team event.

A total of 10 teams – including Great Britain for the first time since 2014 – will compete for points across the four disciplines: men’s, women’s, pairs and ice dancing. The best skater in each discipline gets 10 points, the second best skater gets nine points, and so on.

Qualifying consists of a short program and a rhythm dance, with the top five teams advancing to the finals to skate for a medal.

Britain currently sits in eighth place with 11 points and needs nine or more points from men’s skater Edward Appleby on Saturday afternoon to have any chance of staying in the medal race.

Ice dancers Phair and Gibson performed a stunning rhythmic dance routine on Friday morning to their trademark Spice Girls mix.

Fair – who will be carrying the British flag at the opening ceremony on Friday night – wore it here as a sparkling Ginger Spice-inspired dress, as she and Gibson excitedly layered the striped elements.

They scored a total of 86.85 points, their best of the 2025-26 season to put Team GB in third place after the inaugural Ice Dancing division.

However, Britain’s hopes of fighting for a medal took a hit during the duet.

Anastasia Vaibant-Lou and Luke Digby, who have finished in the top 10 at the European Championships over the past two competitions, started strong in their Olympic debut.

But Vaipan-Law fell during Salchow’s three-pointer, resulting in no points for the item and an overall deduction of one point.

In women’s singles, Kristen Spurs missed her double axel, resulting in it being deemed an invalid item.

There were doubts about the participation of British champion Spurs (25 years old) in the Games after she underwent surgery for a herniated disc last June and then took an indefinite period of rest to prioritize her physical and mental health.

The battle for gold in the team event in Milan is expected to be between the United States and Japan, the top two finishers after the first day – with the former two points ahead of the latter.