British team wins China Cup World Figure Skating Grand Prix ice dance championship

China News Service, Shenzhen, November 8 (Zhang Lu Suo Youwei) The ice dance free dance competition of the 2026 China Cup World Figure Skating Grand Prix was held on the 7th at the Shenzhen Longgang Universiade Center Gymnasium. British pair Lila Fair/Lewis Gibson scored a game-high 114.93 points in the free dance and won the ice dance championship with a total score of 194.93 points. Georgian pair Diana Davis/Gleb Smolkin and Spanish pair Olivia Smart/Tim Dick won second and third place respectively.

On November 7, the 2026 China Cup World Figure Skating Grand Prix held in Shenzhen, Guangdong entered its second competition day. British team Lila Fair/Lewis Gibson won the ice dance event. The picture shows Lila Fair/Lewis Gibson in the ice dance and free dance competition. Photo by China News Service reporter Chen Jimin

In the rhythmic dance competition held the day before, Lila Fair/Lewis Gibson ranked first with a slight advantage of 0.69 points ahead of Deanna Davis/Gleb Smolkin. Coming to the free dance, the competition between the two groups of players was still quite fierce.

Dejana Davis/Gleb Smolkin, who played first, performed well and scored 114.23 points, bringing the total score to 193.54 points, which put a lot of pressure on the British pair who played last. However, Lila Fair/Lewis Gibson also continued their good form. Every spin and jump during the game attracted bursts of applause and cheers. The British group scored 114.93 points in the free dance, once again ranking first in this section with a slight advantage, and won the championship with a total score of 194.93 points and an advantage of 1.39 points.

Lila Fair said after the game: "I am very happy to compete in Shenzhen this time. The audience gave us a lot of applause. We are also proud of our performance, especially the back-to-back technical moves. Although it was very challenging, we also landed perfectly."

Lewis Gibson said: "The scores in today's game are very close. We haven't received the details of the referee's scores yet. After we get them, we will strengthen training on the shortcomings and try to give everyone a better performance in the finals."

The battle for third place is equally fierce. The Czech combination Taschlerova/Taschler, who ranked third in the rhythm dance, only scored 105.11 points in the free dance, ranking fifth, with a total score of 178.21 points. Olivia Smart/Tim Dick seized the opportunity and after scoring 107.32 points in the free dance, they overtook the competition with a total score of 178.30 points and won third place.

In addition, three groups of Chinese players Xiao Zixi/He Linghao, Ren Junfei/Xing Jianing, and Lin Yufei/Gao Zijian ranked eighth to tenth respectively. (over)