Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson are well-placed to land Great Britain's first gold medal in ice dance at the European Figure Skating Championships for 32 years. The British pair, known as the 'Disco Brits' due to their flashy and confident performances, have wowed audiences with a flawless performance to a Spice Girls medley, capped off with a complex rotational lift.
Their score of 85.47 points puts them second on the leaderboard ahead of Saturday's free dance, where British skaters can secure gold. The last time Britain won an event at Europeans was in 1994 when Dame Jayne Torvill and Sir Christopher Dean took gold in ice dance.
The pair has been making a name for themselves with their performances on the Grand Prix circuit and are now bracing themselves for the highly competitive finals. Fear, who will be competing for her first European medal, said she was able to use the crowd's energy to her advantage.
"We were so focused on each other, but we were aware of the noise... We let the muscle memory take over," Fear told a news conference after their performance.
French ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron topped the leaderboard with 86.93 points, while British skaters Kristen Spours finished 23rd in the women's competition.
Meanwhile, Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez also impressed with a season-best score of 71.64 points, which secured their place among the top 20 for Saturday's free dance.
Their score of 85.47 points puts them second on the leaderboard ahead of Saturday's free dance, where British skaters can secure gold. The last time Britain won an event at Europeans was in 1994 when Dame Jayne Torvill and Sir Christopher Dean took gold in ice dance.
The pair has been making a name for themselves with their performances on the Grand Prix circuit and are now bracing themselves for the highly competitive finals. Fear, who will be competing for her first European medal, said she was able to use the crowd's energy to her advantage.
"We were so focused on each other, but we were aware of the noise... We let the muscle memory take over," Fear told a news conference after their performance.
French ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron topped the leaderboard with 86.93 points, while British skaters Kristen Spours finished 23rd in the women's competition.
Meanwhile, Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez also impressed with a season-best score of 71.64 points, which secured their place among the top 20 for Saturday's free dance.
! using the crowd's vibe to fuel their routine is a genius move... it's clear they're totally in sync with each other both on and off the ice 
. hopefully they can bring home that gold for GB 
- we haven't seen one since 1994! 
Their performance to that Spice Girls medley was pure magic - I mean who doesn't love a good dose of nostalgia with their skating? The way they wove in those familiar tunes was expertly choreographed, and that rotational lift? Absolutely on point. It's no wonder they're racking up the points! Their score of 85.47 is impressive, especially considering the stiff competition from Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron. But I'm keeping an eye on Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez - those two have been making waves with that season-best score of 71.64 points! It's gonna be a real nail-biter at these Europeans...
. I mean, don't get me wrong, they're still super talented and all that, but is it really necessary to call them the 'Disco Brits'? It feels like a bit of a gimmick to me 
. And what's with the Spice Girls medley? Is that really the best music for figure skating performances? I'm not saying they can't pull off a good performance, but let's keep things real and focus on their actual skills rather than trying too hard to be flashy 
.
. It's nice to see athletes being humble about it all. But can we talk about the judging system for a sec? 86.93 points from Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron seems super high, even if they are French 
. Maybe I'm just not seeing something here that everyone else is 
.
but seriously, their performance was flawless... I can only imagine how nerve-wracking it must be for them to compete for a medal 
British fans are holding out hope 
. Lilah and Lewis have this magic chemistry that's hard to deny - their performances are always top-notch and visually stunning 
. I'm rooting for them so hard, fingers crossed they'll make history and bring that gold 
! Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron are gonna give 'em a run for their money though, we can expect an epic battle 
i've been following them on the grand prix circuit for ages and they're always so confident and fabulous. hope they can take home that gold medal for britain 
fingers crossed they win on saturday 