Scots ice dancer in seventh place after rhythm dance at World Figure Skating Championships

Prestwick-born ice dancer Lewis Gibson and his partner Lilah Fear are lying in seventh place after the rhythm dance in the World Figure Skating Championships.

The pair, who train at the Ice Academy of Montreal with many of the top-flight couples, were just 0.51 points behind the sixth place couple, former GB ice dancer Olivia Smart and partner Adrian Diaz, who skate for Spain.

Winter Olympics gold medallists Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron were top after the free programme, with US skaters Madison Hubbell and Zacahary Donohue just under three points behind them with 89.72 points. Fellow Americans Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who beat Hubbell and Donohue in the US national championships, scored 87.51 in third place.

Two Russian couples usually in the top five – Nikita Katsalapov and Victoria Sinitsina and Ivan Bukin and Alexandra Stepanova – have been banned from skating in this year’s world championships due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Gibson, who finished in seventh place at last year’s world championships, told The Scotsman: “We were so happy with our skate and performance. We really felt determined out there and enjoyed each second.”

The start of the ice dance competition comes as British pair skaters Zoe Jones and Christopher Boyardji received their best-ever ranking in a major championships after finished tenth after the free skate final.

Jones, 42, who is the oldest skater in the competition, where she first appeared as a singles competitor in 1997, announced that the pair would retire after this competition.

Jones said: "This is my partner's decision. Christopher wants to develop as a coach. We train kids together at the Swindon skating rink, he also has his own elite skating school and another