SHEFFIELD, England, Jan 13 : French ice dancers Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron arrive at the European Figure Skating Championships as the team to beat, their elegant precision and soaring scores marking them among Olympic gold medal favourites.
The French duo, who despite only teaming up in March had a dazzling debut on the Grand Prix circuit, face a spirited challenge from Britain’s Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson on home ice in Sheffield.
With the Games just weeks away, this clash of styles — French elegance versus British flair — promises to be an exciting showdown at the final major international event for Milano-bound athletes before the Olympics.
Medals will be awarded at Utilita Arena across men’s and women’s singles, pairs and ice dance.
With Olympic medal favourite Adam Siao Him Fa of France withdrawing with an ankle injury, defending champion Lukas Britschgi of Switzerland and Daniel Grassl of Italy headline the men’s field, while Estonian Niina Petrokina and Anastasiia Gubanova of Georgia are among the women to watch.
World silver and bronze medallists Minerva Fabienne Hase and Nikita Volodin of Germany are the favourites in pairs, with Italy’s Sara Conti and Niccolo Macii having withdrawn from the event.
Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron have surged to the fore following their Grand Prix debut, winning both the Grand Prix of France and the Finlandia Trophy before finishing runners-up to Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates at last month’s Final.
Their partnership is a comeback for both skaters. Cizeron is the reigning Olympic champion and five-time world champion with previous partner Gabriella Papadakis, who retired after the Beijing Games.
Montreal native Fournier Beaudry competed for Canada with previous partner Nikolaj Sorensen. She received French citizenship in November, clearing her path to Olympic eligibility with Cizeron.
Britain’s powerhouse duo Fear and Gibson have brilliantly built upon their history-making momentum. Last March, they won Britain’s first world championship medal in ice dance since Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean’s last world title in 1984.
The moment Europeans landed on home ice, the blueprint for their programmes was inevitable.
“Patriotic, be as patriotic as possible,” Fear told Olympics.com. “Something that really drilled that home for us is the fact that Europeans will be in Sheffield and that is a huge honour and we wanted to express that through our choices and programs.”
Their rhythm dance is to a Spice Girls compilation, while the 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.
For Fournier Beaudry and Cizeron, this will be their last major international outing before Milano, with a strong showing reinforcing their quest for Olympic gold and vindicating their rapid ascent together.
Fear and Gibson will be crowd favourites at Utilita Arena, and will look for momentum ahead of the Games, where they aim to be the first Britons to climb the podium since Torvill and Dean’s bronze in 1994.
Competition kicks off on Wednesday with the pairs and women’s short programmes.
