From unexpected javelin skills to ski ballet dreams, Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson will always keep you guessing.
The ice dance pair won Britain's first figure skating World Championship medal in over 40 years with bronze in Boston and are now gearing up for a possible second Olympic Games at Milano Cortina 2026 next year.
But away from the ice, there's more than meets the eye to the three-time European medallists.
In this Q&A with Team GB, Fear and Gibson reveal each other's hidden talents, sporting inspirations and earliest skating memories.
What are your first memories of stepping on the ice?
LF: I was two years old, so I have like zero memories of it other than just some really cute photos. I would say my earliest memory though was skating at Queensway in London. I used to go after school with my friends, and I remember we had Bohdan Zahorski as our coach, and he was my first exposure to ice dance. He had this briefcase that had all of his star skater's photos inside. I just wanted to be up there in the photos one day and I knew from then it would be more than an after school activity for me.
LG: I remember going to a tiny Learn To Skate class in Scotland and they said I was too strong for badge one and I came away from that first session with like four badges out of the 10.
LF: Okay, ego!
LG: Ha! It encouraged me so much though because being a kid and being good at something made me want to do it again and again.
What would you say is the other's defining quality in ice dancing?
LG: The first thing that comes to my mind is Lilah's consistency and willingness to just making things happen. Outside of the physical attributes that make her a good skater, her commitment and openness to try things is amazing. A lot of times, things can get closed down in the creation phase and so for her to be willing to go big, I always know that I can align with her on that.
LF: Aww, thank you Lewis! I actually think that our qualities compliment each other because for you, I was going to say your creativity. I use that word a lot for Lewis but he absolutely embodies that on the ice. He's a Taurus so he's stubborn but in a great way, and he just always says 'why not'. We try things that are very unconventional in our sport and not necessarily in the rules but he's just so curious to push the boundaries and be unique and so I always want to try his ideas.
If you weren't an ice dancer, what job would you do?
LF: If I didn't pursue skating, I don't quite know what job I would be in. I wanted to be an architect or an actress when I was younger. But looking beyond skating, I hope to still use everything I've learnt mindset wise as an athlete and distribute that knowledge to kids and teach them how to be world class at whatever thy decide to do. It's what I see as my mission away from skating.
LG: I actually stepped away from pursuing jewellery and silversmithing to skate full time. It was such an unusual thing for me to do but I loved the sculpting and design element to create a beautiful product. I didn't love the fine art aspect of things, it was more of the use of interesting and different materials to make jewellery, like a necklace out of carabiners.
And if you could do another sport?
LF: I would love to be able to sprint really fast! Like, if I could beat Usain Bolt running, that would be insane. But thinking about my skills now, I'm weirdly good at javelin. Maybe that was a fluke that one time so please don't ask me to do it again, but hypothetically I'm pretty good at javelin.
LG: There's something that used to be an Olympic demonstration sport called ski ballet. They're dancing around essentially on skis and it looks so difficult but it's so much fun to watch. I love the campness of it and I just think it's something I'd enjoy.
LF: But you've never skied before.
LG: Well yes, I've never skied before but I think there's a bit of skating skill involved there. If it ever comes back then maybe I'll give it a try! It should be, it's an amazing sport.
What would you say are each other's hidden or unexpected talents?
LF: Lewis is amazing at building things. Since he was little, he would build stages with cardboard and I have no idea how he does that. Last Halloween, he built us huge skates by hand and on a budget. He's good at constructing things. It's his self care.
LG: A talent for Lilah would definitely be singing. She's an actual trained singer and we sing in the car together.
LF: We both love Adele and Lewis is funny because he's not a natural singer but he's less tone deaf when it's Sam Smith, Adele or Dua Lipa.
LG: No I definitely can't do Dua!
So what is the go-to karaoke song?
LF: 'Still The One' by Shania Twain is my go-to karaoke but we both love Tate McCrae at the moment. We listened to her at worlds all the time.
LG: I'd do something with an iconic dance move like 'Proud Mary' because the crowd would live for that and I can do a little dance.
Who are your sporting inspirations?
LG: In skating, there was a Japanese singles skater called Daisuke Takahashi. I loved his flair on the ice and his creativity was so apparent. I used to copy all of his routines, and I actually think that's what made me a better skater. What's funny is that he retired in around 2014 and then came back as an ice dancer and we got to compete against him, and we beat him which was wild and such a full circle moment. And then Tom Daley. As an out athlete, he was a trailblazer and created so many safe spaces for people. I'm very grateful for what he's done and with so much class as well.
LF: In skating, Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir are the reason I do ice dance. I saw them in 2010 and was amazed so I made them the screensaver on our family desktop! Going from that to training with them in Montreal and being dear friends with them is amazing. And outside of skating, I admire Simone Biles so much. I study psychology and knowing in Paris that she was going to face this huge fear in front of the world, that strength and courage gives me chills. I bow down to her.
Finally, with Milano Cortina 2026 around the corner, what do you hope your inclusion in a second Olympics does for ice dance in Britain?
LF: This next season is a huge opportunity for us to show our sport. We want to showcase the fun, the creativity, the opportunity to express ourselves and get as many people involved as possible. It feels like a big responsibility that we take really seriously, and we feel lucky we get to do this. We want to make the most of these opportunities and we're really passionate about getting people involved in this sport and continuing this British ice dance legacy.
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